La otra alcoba

La otra alcoba

Year: 1976

Runtime: 93 mins

Language: Spanish

Director: Eloy de la Iglesia

Drama

Marcos, a wealthy Madrid businessman with political ambitions, is married to the beautiful Diana. After years without children, Diana abandons plans to adopt a Vietnamese orphan, determined to have a biological child. Marcos, secretly sterile, finally confesses his infertility; Diana reveals she already knows she can conceive, having just been told by her gynecologist.

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Timeline & Setting – La otra alcoba (1976)

Explore the full timeline and setting of La otra alcoba (1976). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Madrid, Spain, Mountain ski resort, Gas station, Nightclub, Hotel

The story primarily unfolds in Madrid, a bustling Spanish capital where Marcos operates in business and politics. It also travels to a mountain skiing getaway, and features scenes at a gas station, a nightclub, and a hotel, illustrating a clash between wealth and working-class life.

🏙️ Urban Madrid 🗺️ Spanish setting 💼 High-society milieu

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 16:24

Main Characters – La otra alcoba (1976)

Meet the key characters of La otra alcoba (1976), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Marcos (Simón Andreu)

A wealthy Madrid businessman with political aspirations who hides a secret: he is sterile. His ambition and need to preserve his image push him toward manipulation and control when his wife Diana seeks a child. He negotiates silence with money and uses confrontation to enforce his will, revealing a calculating, protective side.

💼 Wealth 👔 Power 💬 Secrets

Diana (Amparo Muñoz)

Marcos's beautiful wife who yearns for a biological child. Unable to conceive, she orchestrates an affair with Juan to fulfill her longing, masking her true motives behind social status. She is not in love with her lover, but she uses the relationship to obtain the child she desires, leading to heartbreak and a difficult reckoning with Marcos.

💖 Love 👶 Fertility 🌀 Deception

Juan (Patxi Andión)

A working-class gas station attendant who dreams of a stable life with his fiancée Charo. He falls deeply for Diana, which pulls him into a social world far from his own. His love and loyalty are tested by class difference, secrecy, and betrayal, and he faces violence when the consequences of the affair become dangerous.

💔 Love 🧭 Class

Charo (Yolanda Ríos)

Juan's fiancée who works as a secretary. She confronts the repercussions of the affair when she discovers manipulation and lies, and ultimately faces a fractured engagement. Her loyalty to Juan is challenged as the entanglements unfold, yet she remains a pivotal anchor in his life.

💑 Loyalty 🧭 Working-class

Eduardo (Ricardo Merino)

A wealthy friend of Marcos who has long desired Diana. He catalyzes the affair by inviting Diana to social scenes where she and Juan cross paths. His presence heightens the sense of entitlement among the rich and underscores the moral compromises that accompany desire and status.

💼 Wealth 💘 Desire

Baena (Alberto Bové)

A powerful associate of Marcos who embodies the predatory edge of the upper class. He lusts after Charo and becomes a conduit for rumors that destabilize Juan and Diana's arrangement. His actions illustrate how wealth and influence can intrude into private lives and enforce conformity.

💼 Influence 🔗 Temptation

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 16:24

Major Themes – La otra alcoba (1976)

Explore the central themes of La otra alcoba (1976), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💔 Infidelity

Diana's secret affair with Juan exposes the fragility of trust in a marriage built on status and secrecy. The relationship reveals how desire can override duty, with both lovers aware of the emotional costs. The affair drives a wedge between Diana and Marcos and triggers a chain of confrontations, demands, and ethical compromises. The resolution hinges on truth, sacrifice, and the limits of forgiveness.

💼 Class Divide

The film juxtaposes the opulent world of Marcos and Diana with the blue-collar reality of Juan and Charo. Wealth and power shape choices, opportunities, and perceptions, creating friction when lovers cross social boundaries. Juan's life as a gas-station attendant contrasts with Diana's privileged lifestyle, highlighting social stratification. Class tension becomes a decision-making force that influences infidelity, loyalty, and consequences.

👶 Fertility & Desire

Diana's longing for a biological child drives the central plot, driving her to pursue an affair to conceive. The pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage intensify emotional stakes and force a reckoning about motives and fulfillment. The theme explores how reproductive desires intersect with ethics, love, and marital duty. It also questions whether a child can justify deceit and broken trust.

🕵️ Secrets & Control

Power plays and concealment drive the narrative as Marcos attempts to manage potential scandal through money and coercion. Secrets about paternity and infidelity ripple through relationships, forcing characters to confront the consequences of deception. The film examines who wields control in intimate affairs and how far individuals will go to protect their status. The eventual reveal tests loyalty and reshapes future choices.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 16:24

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La otra alcoba Summary

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La otra alcoba Timeline

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