What Have I Done to Deserve This?

What Have I Done to Deserve This?

Year: 1984

Runtime: 102 mins

Language: Spanish

ComedyDramaCrude humor and satireQuirky and endearing relationshipsEmotional teen coming-of-age stories

Trapped in a stifling domestic world, a hen‑pecked housewife scrapes by on a meager existence while coping with an ungrateful husband, wayward teenage sons, a domineering mother‑in‑law and a flamboyant sex‑worker neighbor, among a cast of other vivid characters that populate her chaotic home life.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen What Have I Done to Deserve This? yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984)

Explore the full timeline and setting of What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1980s

Set in a contemporary Madrid of the 1980s, the film portrays a society in transition after the Franco era. Economic pressures, housing shortages, and urban strain provide a backdrop for desperate family dynamics. The period's social changes contribute to moral compromises and survival strategies that drive the story.

Location

Madrid, Spain

The story unfolds in a cramped, shabby Madrid apartment located by the city’s motorways, reflecting a dense, working-class district. The setting captures urban life on the edge of opportunity, where daily struggles shape the characters’ choices. The area is known for crowded tenements, noisy streets, and a sense of social grind.

🏙️ Urban 🏚️ Working-class Neighborhood 🛣️ Periphery

Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 08:25

Main Characters – What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984)

Meet the key characters of What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Gloria (Carmen Maura)

A downtrodden housewife living in a cramped Madrid apartment. She shoulders heavy responsibilities, works as a cleaning lady, and battles financial strain while coping with a failing marriage. Desperation leads her to morally ambiguous actions that propel the plot forward.

💸 Poverty 🏚️ Domestic Struggle 👪 Family

Antonio (Ángel de Andrés López)

A taxi driver whose outward charm masks a willingness to bend rules to survive. He tries to pass on the skill of forgery to his son and becomes entangled in a scheme involving forged diary material, contributing to the family’s unraveling.

🚗 City Life 💰 Survival 🕵️ Deceit

Cristal (Verónica Forqué)

A neighbor who is a prostitute with a heart of gold. She provides a compassionate, humane counterpoint to the family’s misery and offers a glimpse into the neighborhood’s overlooked humanity.

💔 Prostitution 🧭 Social Realism 💞 Empathy

Juani (Kiti Mánver)

A bitter, compulsively clean neighbor who bullies her daughter. Her rigidity and obsession with appearances highlight the pressures and snubs within the urban micro-society.

🧹 Hygiene 🗯️ Toxic Relationships 🏚️ Social Satire

Vanessa (Sonia Hohmann)

Juani’s daughter, a girl with telekinetic powers who embodies the neighborhood’s mix of vulnerability and mystery. Her presence hints at the hidden forces shaping the story’s events.

👧 Youth 🔮 Telekinesis (metaphorical) 🧩 Mystery

Toni (Juan Martínez)

Gloria’s fourteen-year-old son who dreams of becoming a farmer. He funds that dream by selling heroin, illustrating how poverty distorts ambitions and pushes youth toward dangerous paths.

👦 Youth 🎯 Dreams 💊 Drugs

Miguel (Miguel Ángel Herranz)

Gloria’s twelve-year-old son who consents to sleeping with older men, reflecting the extreme exploitation and moral decay that poverty can breed within a family.

👦 Youth ⚠️ Exploitation 🌫️ Desperation

Abuela (Chus Lampreave)

The grandmother who is addicted to soft drinks and dreams of returning to her native village. Her nostalgia offers a softer, hopeful thread amid the harsh urban landscape.

👵 Elder 🏡 Nostalgia 💭 Dreams

Ingrid Müller (Katia Loritz)

A German singer whose past intersects with Antonio’s present through letters and photos used for forging. Her legacy acts as a catalyst for the central plot’s money-driven deception.

🌍 International 🎶 Cultural Memory 💼 Forger’s Motive

Lucas Villalba (Gonzalo Suárez)

A writer who proposes forging Hitler’s diaries, sparking the main ethical conflict of the story. He serves as a catalyst for the plot’s key crime and its consequences.

🧭 Plot Catalyst 🖋️ Inspiration 💵 Crime

Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 08:25

Major Themes – What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984)

Explore the central themes of What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💸 Poverty

Poverty is the central engine of the drama. Gloria struggles with overcrowding, low income, and the need to supplement her family’s finances through precarious work. The constant financial pressure pushes characters toward risky choices, including forgery and illicit schemes.

👪 Family Struggle

The household is a battleground of blame, dependency, and conflicting dreams. Each family member pursues a different escape or remedy, from Toni’s farming dream to Miguel’s dangerous sexuality, revealing how love and coercion intertwine in a tense domestic world.

🕵️ Deceit and Forgeries

Antonio’s involvement in forging letters and a Hitler diary plot shows how deceit becomes a survival tactic. The characters justify dishonesty as a means to support the family, exposing the moral lines they’re willing to cross under pressure.

💔 Exploitation and Survival

The film touches on exploitation in the neighborhood, including Cristal’s sex-work and Vanessa’s precarious position. These threads reveal vulnerabilities and the blurry boundaries between survival and coercion.

Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 08:25

Mobile App Preview

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Mobile App

From blockbusters to hidden gems — dive into movie stories anytime, anywhere. Save your favorites, discover plots faster, and never miss a twist again.

Sign up to be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private — always.

Unlock the Full Story of What Have I Done to Deserve This?

Don't stop at just watching — explore What Have I Done to Deserve This? in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what What Have I Done to Deserve This? is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

What Have I Done to Deserve This? Summary

Read a complete plot summary of What Have I Done to Deserve This?, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

What Have I Done to Deserve This? Summary

What Have I Done to Deserve This? Timeline

Track the full timeline of What Have I Done to Deserve This? with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

What Have I Done to Deserve This? Timeline

More About What Have I Done to Deserve This?

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about What Have I Done to Deserve This?: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About What Have I Done to Deserve This?

Similar Movies to What Have I Done to Deserve This?

Discover movies like What Have I Done to Deserve This? that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.