For better or for worse, Mikel Gurrea‘s Sants doesn’t care to introduce his film’s characters, but still, viewers get a jist of who they are, like protagonist Lali (Victoria Luengo). She cares for her dying mother, Gloria (Ariadna Gil), and she eventually gets help with that job. Help comes from her friend Rosario (Eulalia Ramón). She brings her community to check on them. A film that didn’t get good reviews in San Sebastian, Sants reveals the connection between characters. Lali, a thief, learns about Rosario’s network that steals religious artifacts that are centuries old. There are a lot of churches in Barcelona and a big job is on the horizon. Lali steps up, but is the job so big that it breaks up the gang?

The movie has some cool setpieces, like that one scene when a priest loses a religious artifact. And I understand its approach by normalizing Barcelona so it doesn’t look like an inauthentic travelogue. More than half of Sants, because of Gloria’s illness, feels like a chamber drama. The art direction and similar sets is understandable but it needed to spice things up visually. Although lacking visually, at least the movie has some good sound design, expressing life’s subtle changes.

That scene when Lali finds Rosario’s friends in her home feels like an auditory slight of hand. Other sound cues, though, feel too on the nose, reminiscent of other crime films. Sants‘ stakes, on paper, seem high even if the movie is using familiar heist tropes. Lali talks herself into being the leader of a big job – yay, until things go wrong. Interrupting their job is a nun, but a seemingly dramatic plot point doesn’t go anywhere. It’s also difficult to care about these characters because this film likes to downplay its stakes.