A wholly reflective piece, where disempowerment meets cultural nostalgia
Over the last decade Carla Simón has written and directed several films, culminating in multi-award-winning film Alcarràs.
The story is centered on the peach farming Solé family, whose traditional use of the farm is being challenged as the owner wants to repurpose the land and instal solar panels. What happens when the people that live and work the land do not officially own it, and their contractual arrangements were built on word alone back in the war?
With the threat of eviction looming, head of the family Rogelio (Josep Abad) looks on and can see his family’s way of life is threatened. Many would see the installation of solar panels as a more sustainable, more reliable and better use of the land, less work and more money. Why not move with the times if the owner is offering to pay you?
Rogelio is from the war era where traditional farming practices, families working together, connectedness and strong relationships with others were an integral part of the landscape. Rogelio is quietly spoken and although he can see this contractual way of life unfolding before him, throughout the film he continues to work in customary ways.
Set in a village near Lleida, the film uses nonprofessional actors like Abad as Rogelio that were selected from almost nine thousand hopefuls. Simón and the production team took this approach for a few reasons.
Firstly, peach farming is close to home for Simón, whose uncles cultivate the land for this purpose. Secondly, it is about the language, and the particular dialect of Catalan that is unique to this area. Finally, authenticity. As Simón comes from a rural upbringing she wanted people truly bonded to the land to be the cast, as they convey to the audience in the way they speak, move and behave.
By producing the film in this manner, it gives the film an almost documentary feel and engaged me as an audience member emotionally to a real issue that agricultural communities are facing today. Living in a metropolitan suburb in Australia, our sense of place is so different, as our work is not often connected to our way of being.
Quimet (Jordi Pujol Dolcet) is Rogelio’s son, and head of his own family. Him and his family live on the land, and he is trying desperately to hold onto their livelihood. Paradoxically, he pushes his eldest son Roger (Albert Bosch) to move out of farming and get educated, even though it is clear that like him, Roger is a farmer. Their relationship is tense as although they both share a love of the land, Roger is close to his uncle Cisco (Carles Cabós), who is open to the change.
As the adults bicker, Quimet’s teenage daughter Mariona (Xènia Roset) watches on and sees all. Roset is old enough to feel conflicted and sees the complexity of the situation yet remains unaffiliated with either. Her and her brother act out as youth do however hers is more out of loyalty to her father and family rather than a firm desire to maintain tradition.
Using the three different generations, we can see how each one is affected. However, Simón also brings in a fourth generation, the children. Ainet Jounou as Iris is often seen as the delightful leader of play with her cousins, twins Pere (Joel Rovira) and Pau (Isaac Rovira). The children are contrastive as they are free of responsibility, and their scenes in the film disrupt the intensity. They serve to give the constant feeling of absence of a former way of life. Saudade. Their landscape-based play take the audience back to a life where technology was not pervasive, where you created your own games and mischief.
It is little wonder that Alcarràs is such a powerful film and one worth watching.
ALCARRÀS opens on 27 July, with advance screenings this weekend, 21-23 July
More News
