Mirage 2018

In 1989, amid the opening of the Berlin Wall and a ferocious 72-hour electrical storm, a boy named Nico Lasarte [Julio Bohigas-Couto] records a video from his home and glimpses a confrontation inside his neighbor’s house. He stumbles upon the body of Hilda Weiss [Clara Segura], the wife of neighbor Ángel Prieto [Javier Gutiérrez], and when he tries to flee, a car strike traps him on the road. Prieto is arrested, the murder weapon in hand, as Nico dies in the accident.

In 2014, Vera Roy [Adriana Ugarte] and David Ortiz [Álvaro Morte] move into Nico’s old house with their daughter Gloria [Luna Fulgencio], discovering an old TV, a video recorder, and a cache of cassettes in a storage area. A storm rekindles memories from the past, and after the family watches Nico’s tape, the TV inexplicably begins broadcasting live news from the moment Nico was filming. Over dinner, they recount the event to their friend and neighbor Aitor [Miquel Fernández] and his mother Clara Medina [Nora Navas], who fill in more details about the troubled history of the house. Vera soon finds she can interact with the boy on the screen; at first terrified, she gradually tries to warn Nico to stay off the road.

The next morning, Vera awakens in a startlingly different reality: no one else remembers the previous night’s events, David is not her husband, and Gloria never existed. Desperate to set things right, Vera seeks help from Inspector Leira [Chino Darín], and together they explore the possibility that the storm allows communication with Nico through the television. Vera pushes for proof and directs the authorities to uncover a body beneath Prieto’s slaughterhouse. A skeleton found in a suitcase confirms a long-buried truth, and Prieto—now living with Aitor and Clara—is arrested. It is revealed that Prieto and Clara were having an affair and were caught by Weiss, leading to a fight in which Clara accidentally stabbed Weiss.

Inspector Leira aids Vera by sharing information about Nico and guiding her to an address. When Vera visits the address, she discovers David cheating on her with a nurse he met during surgery. Vera leverages this knowledge to pressure David for answers about Nico. It’s then revealed that Inspector Leira is Nico Lasarte, and the two have a complicated relationship in this reality.

Leira explains how waiting for Vera for years unintentionally kept her from meeting Aitor and, therefore, from forming a life with David. Desperate to correct what happened, Vera asks Leira to reset events using the TV and recorder. She sacrifices herself, hoping Leira will intervene, and he uses the devices to reach his younger self.

Vera then wakes in a new version of reality that resembles an earlier timeline—David is again her husband and Gloria her daughter, but Nico remains alive. She discovers that David’s infidelity persists and, armed with new resolve, contacts the police to uncover a body beneath the slaughterhouse. There she again encounters Inspector Leira, and this time she longs to forge a fresh future for herself and her daughter.