Review of Alcarràs

Alcarràs (2022)
5/10
A documentary style film about the rural world in crisis and the struggle to maintain that way of life.
10 March 2023
Spanish film that spells through intricate patterns of frames , sets , sound and color. The life of a family of peach farmers in a small village in Catalonia changes when the owner of their large estate dies and his lifetime heir decides to sell the land, suddenly threatening their livelihood . It is narrated in the form of a choral docudrama with the leading roles of a family of farmers faced with different forms of involuntary loss of their identity, their roots, their land. For as long as they can remember, the Solé family has spent every summer picking the peaches in their orchard in Alcarràs, a small village in Catalonia, Spain . But this year's crop may well be their last, as they face eviction. The new plans for the land, which include cutting down the peach trees and installing solar panels, cause a rift in this large, tight-knit family. This family of farmers dedicated to peach cultivation, is made up by the silent grandfather Rogelio Solé (José Abad), Quimet (Jordi Pujol Dolcet) and Dolors (Anna Otin), and the couple's three children, Roger (Albert Bosch), Mariona (Xènia Roset) and Iris (Ainet Jounou), all of them face a decisive change in their lives. After the death of the owner of the land they work, his heir wants to use the farm for the installation of solar panels as they go from anger to denial to acceptance of change. Each one of the family members confronts this situation in a different way. And for the first time, they confront an uncertain future and risk losing more than their orchard , because it is a world in which the word had the same value as the signed paper.

Colorful but a little bit boring picture stars non-professional actors, here there are no artifices, dramas , calculated set pieces or condescending looks ; furthermore, she possesses an aura of nostalgia, at times .The cast was made up of the inhabitants from the region and everything is articulated around the roots of a way of life, to a place, to a family life that lives from cultivating the land. We see the confluence of generations, adolescents, grandparents, marriages in crisis, children, conflicts in an ordinary day-to-day struggle to get ahead. It shows open spaces, the sun , summer, children's games, family gatherings, country sounds, rows of fruit trees, peach picking and anything else . This is also a marvelous ode to childhood plenty of innocence , friendship , curiosity and innocence . Director Carla Simón shows these important and universal values through country people's mind . It is an acceptable picture of educational content about countryside life , including an enjoyable and charming message . Being shot on gorgeous locations from Alcarràs, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain, Fraga, Huesca, Aragón, Bellvís, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain, Aitona, Lleida, Maials, Lleida, Catalonia, Lleida, Spain, Seròs, Soses,Lleida, Catalonia, Spain.

The motion picture was slowly directed by Carla Simón in semi-documentary style as well as realistic frames and she previously made in similar style Verano 1993 (2017) and in both of them the rural landscape becomes an essential element. It won several prizes and nominations , such as : Berlin International Film Festival 2022 Winner Golden Berlin Bear Best Film Carla Simón. Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain 2023 Winner CEC Award Best New Actor Albert Bosch , Nominee CEC Award Best Film , Best Director , Carla Simón, Best Supporting Actress Berta Pipó , Best New Actress Anna Otin , Best Original Screenplay Carla Simón Arnau Vilaró, Best Cinematography Daniela Cajías , Best Editing Ana Pfaff . CinEuphoria Awards 2023 Winner CinEuphoria Top Ten of the Year Carla Simón , Best Film - Iberian Competition Tono Folguera, Sergi Moreno , Stefan Schmitz , María Zamora and Carla Simón Best Screenplay.
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