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Centaur (2022) movie poster

Characters & Themes

Centaur (2022) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language
2022 · 89 min · Spanish
Echo score 53
Directed by
Daniel Calparsoro
Starring
Àlex Monner, Patricia Vico, Adrián Garín, Begoña Vargas, Carlos Bardem, David Cruz Barje
Budget
$1.3M

A talented superbike racer finds himself in a dangerous situation when he agrees to transport illegal goods. To protect his son's mother and settle a debt with a powerful cartel, he abandons his racing career and risks everything on this perilous mission. The high-stakes gamble forces him to confront a world far removed from the thrill of the racetrack.

On this page (7)
  1. 1 Characters explained (2)
  2. 2 Where & when it takes place
  3. 3 Themes & meaning (3)
  4. 4 Character & meaning questions
  5. 5 Movie threads
  6. 6 Movies like Centaur
  7. 7 Every angle

2 main characters · contains spoilers

Centaur Characters Explained: Who Is Who

The main characters of Centaur (2022), heroes and villains: what drives them, how they change over the course of the story and what each of them reveals about the film's bigger ideas.

  • Sasha

    A young taxi driver who believes people reveal their true colors after dark. He is evasive about his own past, claiming a disability whose meaning shifts with each retelling, hinting at a concealed history that shapes his actions and paranoia.

    • 🧭 Mysterious
    • 🧩 Hidden past
    • 🌃 Night driver
  • Liza

    An escort who hires rides to various locations but finds herself trapped when two men force her to press on. Pragmatic and quick-thinking, she weighs her own survival against the risk of betraying Sasha, and she becomes a pivot in the ride's deadly game.

    • 🗝️ Survival-focused
    • 🎭 Power dynamics
    • 🌃 Nightlife

Last updated: February 03, 2026 at 07:34

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Setting

Where and When Does Centaur Take Place?

The setting of Centaur (2022): the year and time period, the places and locations, and how they shape the characters, the mood and the tension of the story.

Time period

Contemporary

The events take place in modern-day Moscow, with a contemporary urban rhythm. The April night sets a cool, unsettled mood as characters navigate a city that constantly pulses with traffic, secrets, and danger. The timeframe situates the story in an era of current technologies and social dynamics.

Location

Moscow

In Centaur, the action unfolds on the streets of Moscow during an April night. The city is depicted as a vast, neon-lit backdrop where private spaces blur into public routes, and danger lurks in ordinary rides. The setting emphasizes a metropolitan labyrinth where a taxi ride can become a trap.

  • 🗺️ Moscow
  • 🌃 Night city
  • 🔎 Crime setting

Last updated: February 03, 2026 at 07:34

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3 major themes

Centaur Meaning: Themes & Message Explained

What is Centaur (2022) really about? The emotional, social and philosophical themes the film keeps returning to, its symbolism and the message beneath the surface.

  • Identity

    Sasha's claims about his disability shift with each retelling, suggesting a concealed past and a fragile sense of self. The taxi becomes a space where appearances clash with reality, forcing characters to question motives. The film toys with truth versus perception as the night deepens.

  • Power

    Two unknown assailants coerce Liza to continue the ride, turning the car into a weapon of manipulation. The threats weaponize information and control, exposing how vulnerability can be weaponized in urban crime. The balance of power rapidly shifts as fear dictates every move.

  • Fear

    The city at night amplifies danger, blurring moral boundaries as characters weigh survival against ethics. Trust dissolves as suspicions mount and every stop becomes potentially fatal. Fear becomes the engine driving decisions in the enclosed space of the taxi.

Last updated: February 03, 2026 at 07:34

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Character & theme questions

Centaur Characters & Meaning: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask about Centaur (2022): who the characters really are, their relationships, what the symbols mean, where it takes place and what the movie is really about. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Where is the movie set?

The movie takes place on the streets of Moscow during an April night. The city is depicted as a vast, neon-lit metropolitan labyrinth where private spaces blur into public routes, and ordinary taxi rides can become dangerous traps.

  • moscow
  • setting
  • location
  • russia
  • night city
Q2

When does the story take place?

The events occur in modern-day Moscow during an April night. The contemporary urban setting features current technologies and social dynamics, with the cool, unsettled atmosphere of spring adding to the film's tense mood.

  • contemporary
  • modern
  • april
  • time period
  • moscow
Q3

Who is the main character Sasha?

Sasha is a young taxi driver in Moscow who believes people reveal their true colors after dark. He is evasive about his past and claims to have a disability, though the details of this disability shift with each retelling, hinting at a concealed history that shapes his paranoia and actions.

  • sasha
  • taxi driver
  • main character
  • protagonist
Q4

Who is Liza in the movie?

Liza is an escort who hires Sasha's taxi to travel to various locations. She finds herself trapped when two unknown assailants coerce her to continue the ride, turning the vehicle into a weapon of manipulation. She is pragmatic and quick-thinking, constantly weighing her survival against the risk of betraying Sasha.

  • liza
  • escort
  • passenger
  • supporting character
Q5

What does the movie say about identity?

The film explores identity through Sasha's shifting claims about his disability, which change with each retelling. The taxi becomes a space where appearances clash with reality, forcing characters to question motives and revealing how a concealed past shapes a person's sense of self.

  • identity
  • theme
  • truth
  • perception
  • self
Q6

How is power depicted in the story?

Power in the movie revolves around coercion and control. Two assailants force Liza to continue the ride, weaponizing information and manipulating the situation. The balance of power shifts rapidly as fear dictates every move, exposing how vulnerability can be weaponized in urban crime.

  • power
  • coercion
  • control
  • manipulation
  • threats
Q7

What role does fear play in the movie?

Fear serves as the driving force behind every decision in the enclosed space of the taxi. The night city amplifies danger and blurs moral boundaries as characters weigh survival against ethics. Trust dissolves completely as suspicions mount and every stop becomes potentially fatal.

  • fear
  • survival
  • trust
  • danger
  • threat
Q8

Why is the taxi setting significant?

The taxi functions as both the primary setting and a symbol of the characters' trapped circumstances. It is a confined space where private conversations become public, where a routine ride can transform into a deadly game, and where the blurred boundaries between driver and passenger create psychological tension.

  • taxi
  • car
  • setting
  • confinement
  • trap
Q9

What genre and tone does the movie have?

Centaur is an action-adventure thriller with crime elements, featuring a consistently tense and high-intensity atmosphere. The film starts with a steady taxi driver's nightly routine before accelerating into a psychological thriller, combining slow-burn tension with sustained anxiety.

  • genre
  • thriller
  • tense
  • atmosphere
  • crime
Q10

What makes Centaur a psychological thriller?

The film hinges on the ambiguity of Sasha's past and the question of his guilt regarding gruesome murders. This uncertainty, combined with Liza's secret mission and the high-stakes environment of the taxi, creates layers of psychological tension beyond a straightforward chase narrative.

  • psychological
  • thriller
  • mystery
  • ambiguity
  • guilt

Movie threads

More Movies Like Centaur, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Centaur tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Thrillers About Reluctant Criminals Like Centaur

Ordinary people forced into a high-stakes criminal underworld to protect what they love. If you liked the high-stakes pressure of Centaur, explore more movies where skilled individuals are forced into dangerous criminal missions. These films share a tense, gritty tone and often feature a morally gray 'one last job' narrative with heavy emotional consequences.

  • tense
  • gritty
  • high-stakes
  • paranoid
  • coerced
  • desperate
  • Tone: tense, gritty, paranoid
  • Pacing: variable, building to fast-paced tension
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative typically begins with a protagonist who is an expert in a specific field, living an ordinary life. They are then blackmailed or coerced into using their skills for a criminal enterprise, often to protect a loved one or settle a debt. The story unfolds as a high-pressure mission, forcing the protagonist to navigate a dangerous world they never wanted to be part of, testing their morals and survival instincts.

Why they belong together: These movies are grouped by their core premise of an unwilling participant in a criminal plot. They share a consistently tense and gritty atmosphere, high emotional stakes centered on protection or survival, and a focus on the protagonist's internal conflict amidst external danger.

Claustrophobic Thriller Journeys Like Centaur

Stories where a simple trip becomes an inescapable, high-tension prison. Fans of the suffocating tension in Centaur will enjoy these movies where characters are trapped in a vehicle on a nightmarish trip. These films masterfully build suspense within a confined space, creating a visceral sense of paranoia and inescapable danger throughout the runtime.

  • claustrophobic
  • suspenseful
  • anxious
  • paranoid
  • ominous
  • trapped
  • Tone: tense, claustrophobic, anxious
  • Pacing: variable, slow-burn to relentless
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern involves a character undertaking a seemingly normal trip that quickly devolves into chaos. The confined space of the vehicle becomes a pressure cooker, amplifying psychological tension and physical threat. The plot is driven by the need to survive the journey itself, with danger often coming from both outside and within the cramped environment.

Why they belong together: These films are united by their use of a confined, mobile setting to generate intense claustrophobia and sustained suspense. They share a similar pacing that starts steadily before accelerating into non-stop tension, and a mood that is deeply anxious, paranoid, and ominous.

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Movies Like Centaur

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Every angle

Centaur (2022) Explained: Plot, Ending, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Centaur in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning, the ending explained and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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