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A Widow's Game (La viuda negra) is a Spanish crime drama film that was released on May 30, 2025, on Netflix. It is directed by Carlos Sedes and written by Ramón Campos, Gema R. Neira, Jon de la Cuesta, Ricardo Jornet, David Orea, and Javier Chacártegui. Víctor Fandiño has produced the movie, while Ramón Campos serves as its executive producer.
The film is based on the real-life murder of Antonio Navarro Cerdán in Patraix in 2017, which grabbed national headlines. Ivana Baquero plays Maje, a young woman who plans her husband's murder after he learns about her multiple extramarital affairs. A Widow's Game also stars Tristán Ulloa and Carmen Machi in leading roles.
The film's official synopsis, as per Netflix, reads:
"When a man is found dead, the investigation shatters his widow's perfect facade and exposes a hidden double life in this thriller based on real events."
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How does Maje convince Salva to kill Arturo in A Widow's Game?
On September 3, 2016, Arturo Ferrer marries the nurse Maje, despite learning of her affair with Andres prior to their wedding. Despite this, she continues having a string of affairs post-marriage, often presenting herself as a victim of domestic violence.
Arturo and Maje's contrasting personalities make them highly incompatible as Maje craves excitement and thrill in her life, but her husband is content with their modest existence. Once Arturo gets wind of his wife's extramarital affairs, he threatens to divorce her. Since the couple signed a pre-nup, the only way Maje can benefit financially is by collecting the insurance money in the event of his death.
Moreover, her strict religious upbringing convinces her that ending up a widow is better than being a divorcee. Since she doesn't want to commit the crime herself, Maje decides to manipulate one of her affair partners into killing Arturo. When she approaches Andres to do her bidding, he refuses. Instead, he advises her to report Arturo's abuse to the police, ensuring her that he will testify on her behalf.
She then sets her sights on her colleague Salva Rodrigo, who has been obsessed with her for a long time. Maje seduces him into believing that they can live happily together once Arturo is out of their way for good. Salva complies and stabs Arturo to death with a kitchen knife in his garage on August 16, 2017.
Why does Salva change his statement in A Widow's Game?
In A Widow's Game, Eva Torres from the homicide unit leads the investigation into Arturo's murder and starts taping Maje's phone a week after the murder. Nearly three months later, Eva and her team make a breakthrough when they learn about Salva. In the meantime, Maje has taken a new lover, Daniel, while still keeping Salva wrapped around her finger.
When Salva and Maje meet at the Esquina de los Pinchos, they are photographed by Eva's team. But Eva still needs concrete proof of Maje's culpability and gets word out that her team is close to catching the killer. When Maje hears about it, she panics and calls Salva to discuss their next course of action, unaware that they are being recorded.
Later, the two meet at a restaurant, and their whole conversation is captured by the recording device Eva hid in the napkin holder placed at their table. After getting their confession on record, the commissioner orders Eva to arrest Maje and Salva. He asks her to take a cameraperson along to record the arrest as it will boost the National Police's image with the public, who have been seeking justice for Arturo.
During interrogation, both Maje and Salva stick to the same story that Salva acted alone in order to save Maje from her abusive husband, while she was completely unaware of his intentions. Maje even takes it a step further by painting Salva as an obsessive stalker.
When Maje starts an affair with an inmate in prison, Salva finally sees how badly she manipulated him and comes clean about her role in Arturo's murder. Salva is initially sentenced to 17 years behind bars, but his sentence is reduced after he cooperates with the authorities. Moreover, Maje's earlier sentence of 22 years is increased once her true role in the crime comes to the forefront.
Viewers can watch A Widow's Game exclusively on Netflix.
