6. Alcarràs; movie review

 

ALCARRÀS

Cert 15

120 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language

The greatest tribute I can give to Carla Simón's Alcarràs is that it felt as if it were a documentary about a real family of Spanish farmers.

This is a powerful piece about the hardship they face after being threatened with losing a farm they have run for generations.

An arrangement which they had with his grandparents is being ended by a landowner who wants to replace a peach orchard with a solar panel station.

This is a labour of deep love for Simón as it retells the story of her adoptive mother's family who lived in rural Catalonia.

It stars Jordi Pujol Dolcet as a farmer who spends almost the entire movie angry at the potential eviction from the farm he expected to inherit.

He is bewildered that his father (Josep Abad) only occupies the land on a handshake rather than a binding contract.

Obviously, he is furious with the landowner (Jacob Diarte) for insisting on taking control of it.

And he takes his frustration out on his wife (Anna Otin) and his four children despite them doing little to earn his displeasure.

Offset against all the adult politics, is the parallel world of the farmer's second-youngest daughter (Ainet Jounou).

She is the star of the show.. a little imp, delightfully finding adventures with her twin cousins (Joel and Isaac Rovira) and not understanding or caring about the family pressures.

His elder children (Albert Bosch and Xènia Roset) feel more of the fall-out as his behaviour becomes more erratic as eviction day nears.

Alcarràs has a lovely backdrop of rural Catalonia where the farmland abuts sandy hills.

Presented in the western dialect of the Catalan language, it gives a clear sense of what it must be like to grow up in a tight-knit community and the pluses and minuses that brings.

It also shows how traditions are disappearing because long-established jobs are being taken away.

There isn't much action during Simón's film but I found it engaging and enlightening.

Reasons to watch: Realistic family drama

Reasons to avoid: Low on action

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? Alcarràs is 175km west of Barcelona and is of Islamic origin, but it does not appear historically documented until the 12th century. In the Ordinatio of diocese of Lleida from 1168, it appears as Alcarraz, just like in other documents, referring to the Saracen castle and the church.

The final word. Carla Simón: "We worked with non-professional actors from the area of Alcarràs who have a real attachment to the land. In order to present themselves as a real family, they spent so much time together that now they call each other by their characters' names."

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