What Have I Done to Deserve This?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.