Like a Bolt of Lightning

Miguel Hermoso's Like Lightning offers a fresh take on a familiar scenario, the teenaged boy searching for his unknown father. Pablo is a typical teen, with a fondness for football and sneaking beers with his buddies. He enjoys a comfortable upper-middle class life with his mother (Assumpta Serna), a successful lawyer and former feminist rabble-rouser, but has a gaping hole at the core of his identity: he has no idea who his father is. Preoccupied with the question to the point of obsession, he sets out in search of answers, and finds himself on a trail that leads to the Canary Islands.

Directed by Miguel Hermoso, Like a Bolt of Lightning leans on a strong ensemble — Santiago Ramos, Assumpta Serna, Eloy Azorín — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1996.