The film opens with a poetic prologue linking post–Civil War Spain with the early 1980s, highlighting the lingering social and moral scars of the era. Cobos blends noir energy with the lyrical, almost fantastical style of cine quinqui, complemented by Bronquio’s electronic, raver-tinged score, and a meticulous visual language that evokes both the period and the genre’s iconic aesthetic. The production design, musical choices, and careful cinematography work together to create a stylized yet grounded vision of marginality and street-level ferocity.

While the genre Cobos revitalizes is raw, explicit, and confrontational, his homage is subtle, attentive to the contradictions and disorientation of Spain’s Transition. At its core, Golpes is a story of memory, blood ties, and survival, examining both the physical defeat of two marginalized brothers and the moral triumph of those who lived through a tense, passionate historical moment. It is a debut that asserts Cobos not only as a skilled screenwriter but as a director with a distinctive voice, capable of uniting lyricism, narrative rigor, and social insight in a thrilling cinematic experience.