On the Fringe (2023)

Follows several storylines of poverty in Spain, each more miserable than the last. A woman about to lose her home for failure to pay works with a "Stop Evictions" group in hopes of her family being allowed to stay put. A young girl is taken into care when she's found at home alone since her mother works every waking hour to keep them housed. A man grabbing temporary work where he can has stopped taking his mother's calls out of embarrassment at his inability to pay her back. Meanwhile, that elderly mother can no longer pay her own housing costs and is falling into despair. From a different viewpoint, we see heart-of-gold middle-class Rafa chasing around all day to reunite the young girl with her mother at the expense of his own family obligations.

Though the acting is solid and the story's important, the non-stop hopelessness is hard to watch.

C-