“Alcarras”
Movie Review
Alcarras is a Spanish-Italian drama film directed by Carla Simon
starring Jordi Pujol Dolcet and Anna Otin and filmed in Alcarras, Catalonia. The story
of the movie consists of a family rural drama concerning the disappearance of
agricultural activities and revolving around the intention to install solar
panels in an agricultural plot hitherto occupied by a peach orchard,
bringing the members of the sole family to a standoff.
It's often said that the best movies can transport you to places
far away or distant, but in Carla Simon's Alcarras, you can never be sure when
you'll be transported. Although we're given some present-day gifts mostly in
fashion and patches of growing solar panels much of this quietly stunning film
explores a rural childhood in Catalonia 40 years ago. It is this clash of times
that gives Alcarras its spark, as traditional ways of life collide with the
stimulating and profit-driven countryside of the present.
We follow the lives of a
medium-sized, close-knit family unit – cousins might as well be brothers
depending on how often they see each other – whose peach farm is under threat
from a local landowner. They acquired land through traditional methods, and a
simple man's contract between their forefathers was now completely void in the
era of official contracts. It's a conflict that causes patriarch Guimet played
by Jordi Pujol Dolcet an alarming amount of stress exacerbated by the physical
damage to his body from decades of farming but director Simon often puts it on
the back burner.
Using entirely
non-professional actors from the Alcarras region, director Simon is more
interested in simply showing the daily life of the entire family in all their
joys and frustrations from elderly grandparents to young children. Director Simon
showed a rare gift for directing children which she puts to good use here – the
scenes with Quimet’s rambunctious six-or-seven-year-old daughter Iris and her
similarly aged twin cousins are delightful. They search for hidden places,
perform strange rituals and play together as if there isn't even a camera, a
wonderful achievement by Simon.
The performances are great
across the board, in fact - you'd hardly know from looking at them that they're
all debutants. Especially Dolcet brings moving layers to Quimet. His anger and
frustration are immediately followed by brief anger followed by quiet sadness,
making the moments of familial tenderness all the more real. Meanwhile, Xenia
Rosset and Albert Bosch are drawn to the older children of the family, and the
physical and financial pressures of the farm are beginning to take their toll
on them - they listen intently to the adults' heated discussions as they work,
those who cannot express themselves in any other way.
It all feels so real, it's enough
to immerse you in this family and bring you to tears until the younger kids
sing a song that goes beyond what their grandfather taught them. Director Simon
clearly loves and respects these actors, these characters, and the region they
inhabit, crafting a story that's low-key, but deeply affecting and unflinching
about them.
WATCH THE REVIEW VIDEO FOR MORE...
0 Comments