‘Tin and Tina,’ Netflix’s latest sensation, documents the nightmarish consequences of religious obsession. The Spanish film mixes elements of horror and supernatural debauchery as a couple’s life is disrupted after they adopt a brother-sister duo from the convent. Milena Smit (recently seen in Netflix’s The Snow Girl) and Jaime Lorente (Denver from Money Heist) star as the central attraction. Tin and Tina is not your run-of-the-mill offbeat film with no answers.
Granted, the message of the film is detached from the mass appeal, but its message is cryptically hidden beneath the plot. The more you dig, the more you understand the intention of writer-director Rubn Stein. In this piece, we break down Tin and Tina’s plot and the shocking ending of the Netflix film.
Tin & Tina (2023) Movie Synopsis & Plot Summary:
‘Tin and Tina’ starts with a heartbreaking tragedy for Lola and Adolfo. The newlyweds lose their unborn twins on the day they get married. It happens right outside the chapel as the thunderous and rousing applause from their loved ones suddenly drowns as they see blood smear Lola’s white wedding dress. While the cause of the miscarriage is not very clear, what is certain is that Lola’s faith in God is upended. It has turned into abhorrence and hatred, so much so that she doesn’t allow a single crucifix or copy of the Bible in the house.
Adolfo pushes her to start afresh, and they go to the local convent for adoption. Adolfo is a pilot and has already struck a deal with the Mother Reverend, to adopt a young child. But Lola’s eye is drawn to the brother-sister duo of Tin and Tina, who play the orchestra with mesmerizing craft. Adolfo tries to warn her against taking them in, but Lola’s heart is set. The children, who have remarkably pale skin and light hair, settle in well.
Lola is disturbed by their obstinate religious beliefs and staunchly grounded faith in God. They install crucifixes around the house and continuously quote the Bible to justify everything they do. They even show Lola how she can conjure God and see Him. Lola is shocked when Tina puts a bag over Tin’s face, smothering him. But he doesn’t seem to mind and even points towards some place where he claims to see God. This is the first of the many strange incidents that happen in the house, which we will discuss in the following segments.
Why do Tin and Tina kill the dog?
Believe it or not, dogs have a sixth sense. They can anticipate danger way before anyone and know when something isn’t right. Adolfo and Lola had a beautiful, sweet dog, Kuki. But she did not like the children from the start. One night, when Kuki was sitting with Lola, the children came into her room. As she was holding her, Kuki viciously bit Lola and freed herself. The children saw this as an evil act on the dog’s part. Their strict Christian teaching at the convent taught them to be punished after they made a mistake. Otherwise, there would be no salvation for them. So that night, they stole Lola’s sleeping medicine, put Kuki to sleep, and then cut open her body to “wash her soul of sin.” Adolfo and Lola find Kuki dead in the morning, but the children certainly did it out of their innocence and following God’s word.
What miracle transpired as a result of Tin’s praying?
The family was able to move on from this frightening tragedy somehow. Lola was still suspicious of the children, but Adolfo took to them without hesitation. When Lola fell unconscious one day and was brought to the hospital, the same doctor who earlier told her that she could never bear babies announced that Lola was pregnant again. The couple was overjoyed, and Tin exclaimed that he prayed for Lola to have a baby “when he saw God.” This truly counts as a miracle because, according to the same doctor, Lola was not biologically able to have a baby. This divine intervention, though, came with its flip side as well.
Pedro, who always teased Tin and Tina as the kids of Dracula and was the school bully, slipped into a coma after falling from the rocks and down a cliff. All we hear the children say before we see that event is that “God will ensure there is justice.” There is nothing in the movie to render the supposition that the kids had anything to do with it. However, Lola does not believe and now fears for the safety of her unborn baby.
What was the consequence of Lola shunning the children’s religious faith?
Lola took down all the crucifixes and took the children’s Bibles to put them in a box. She strictly instructed them never to open the casket without her permission. But this move turned into a nightmare for Lola. She got up the next morning and was shocked to find her hair falling like melted ice. The source of her beauty was destroyed as she then had to cut off the loose hair. She increasingly suspected the children of having done something. But how could they?
Tin and Tina (2023) Ending, Explained:
What was the last straw in Adolfo and Lola’s tolerance?
Adolfo and Lola have a healthy baby boy. Life seems to have returned to normalcy for now. But Tin and Tina wanted their wish for the baby to be baptized to be fulfilled. Lola wasn’t of the opinion to do so. They concocted a plan by throwing all the groceries in the bin to distract her. They even called out for Adolfo to do the baptism together, but he was glued to the television screen. They almost killed the baby, but Lola saw them in time. She was able to save the baby, but this was the last straw in the patience of Adolfo. Until now, he had been protective of the kids and justified their actions. But this time, he took them back to the convent.
How do Tin and Tina end? Who killed Adolfo?
Adolfo and Lola’s life with the newborn went calmly after the kids departed the house. They grew to be content in their family life. But Lola still had underlying issues. She was growing unhappy in the marriage, and on the fateful night of treacherous rain and thunderstorm, she decided to tell Adolfo that she was divorcing him. Adolfo couldn’t accept it and went upstairs to rectify the television signal. All of a sudden, the lights went out, and we hear him call for Lola from the roof. To Lola’s horror, she saw that Adolfo was lit on fire. He jumped down, and instead of going into the rain, Adolfo came inside the house, which sparked a fire in the rest of the house.
Lola was convinced that Tin and Tina had returned to the house that night. All the indications – like their favorite song playing loudly over the speakers – pointed to that conclusion. Lola ran upstairs but failed to find her baby. She looked everywhere. But he wasn’t there. In her desperation, Lola covered her face like Tin did to pray to God to give her baby back. Miraculously, she found him in his bed. Lola takes the child and goes outside, only to collapse on the floor due to exhaustion.
Mother Revenrend visits her and tells her that the baby will be fine. But Adolfo is dead. He was struck by lightning. She also assures Lola that Tin and Tina were at the covenant the whole night. This leads Lola to believe that the children are innocent and that a miracle saved her baby. The movie ends with the scene of Adolfo’s burial and Lola holding the children close to her, wearing Tina’s rosary, and saying “Amen” while looking into the camera.
So was Adolfo really struck by lightning? It is a tricky question. Let’s revisit the information the film provides us and the sequence of events. Tin and Tina ask Adolfo how long it would take for them to get from the convent to the house in the starting. It isn’t that far off. During the night prayer, we see Tina and Tin looking at each other ominously without saying anything. Mother Reverend falls asleep outside. Adolfo mysteriously catches on fire, and the same song that was the children’s favorite plays on the stereo.
In our reckoning, the only thing that points towards the children’s complicity is the song on the stereo. Nothing else. It is possible Adolfo was struck by lightning. But whether the children were at the house that night is a mystery to even us. You can come to your conclusions about what happened, though, as the latter theory is also possible but not probable.
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