Elisa Before the End of the World

Elisa's family is caught in a severe financial crisis, with the car at risk due to her father's overdue payments. He tells Elisa a bleak idea about humanity subsisting on cockroaches when the world ends, a notion that shapes their desperate mood. The family struggles to keep their home and basic possessions from being taken away.

Elisa tells Miguel about her father's remark and the two begin collecting cockroaches in a plastic box. They turn their small act into a makeshift effort to cope with hunger and financial pressure. The cockroach box becomes a symbol of their survival drive.

They meet Paco, a punk kid who sneaks onto their rooftop to steal chickens from a neighboring building. He quickly becomes a partner in their risky plans, sharing his own schemes. The rooftop becomes a meeting place for their uneasy alliance.

Gómez, a bank employee, explains that if Elisa's father cannot repay the debt, the bank could take the car, furniture, and even the apartment. The family is pushed further toward desperation as their possessions are threatened. The visit marks a turning point toward crime as a means to survive.

In response to mounting pressure, the family sells their television and a gun to raise money. Elisa resolves to find a job to contribute to the household's finances. The decision shifts the family from passive worry to active risk.

Paco tells Elisa and Miguel that he has something of his brother's that could help them make money. The suggestion introduces a potential criminal plan and tension within their group. His confidence is enough to push Elisa toward considering a robbery.

Paco shows Elisa a gun that his brother used in robberies, noting that it has no bullets. As a test, the pair enters a toy store and, after threatening an employee, steal two pairs of roller skates. The exercise reveals how far they are willing to go to raise funds.

Paco explains the gun had no bullets, and they could not obtain any. Remembering that the gun was sold but bullets might still be somewhere in the house, Elisa searches the parents' closet and discovers a stash of bullets. This discovery changes the feasibility of the bank robbery plan.

Elisa meets Gómez outside the bank as he arrives for work, while Miguel and Paco wait across the street. She lines up in the bank queue, preparing to use the gun if needed. The plan is set, relying on timing and the chance of a chaotic moment.

An armed group storms the bank, catching everyone off guard. Paco is shot dead outside as he tries to enter, while Elisa is caught in the crossfire inside and dies. The violence ends their plan and marks a fatal turn for both friends.

In the final scene, Miguel stands on the rooftop with Elisa's cockroach collection, removing a dead cockroach and placing it on the edge of the fence. He mourns the deaths of Elisa and Paco, lost to a desperate act of survival. The rooftop setting frames the story's quiet, lingering tragedy.