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- 2023
- MUBI
- 2 h
- 2023
- MUBI
- 2 h
Summary In a small Catalonian village, the peach farmers of the Solé family spend every summer together picking fruit from their orchard. But when plans arise to install solar panels and cut down trees, the members of this tight-knit group suddenly face eviction — and the loss of far more than their home.
Directed By: Carla Simón
Written By: Arnau Vilaró, Carla Simón
- 2023
- MUBI
- 2 h
- 2023
- MUBI
- 2 h
Alcarràs
7.6
Where to Watch
Summary In a small Catalonian village, the peach farmers of the Solé family spend every summer together picking fruit from their orchard. But when plans arise to install solar panels and cut down trees, the members of this tight-knit group suddenly face eviction — and the loss of far more than their home.
Directed By: Carla Simón
Written By: Arnau Vilaró, Carla Simón
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
85
100% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
85
100% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Movies about the people who grow our food, who struggle as honest land stewards in a time of heartless industry, are few and far between, making Alcarràs a rare gem. In its unforced, plaintive artistry, it nurtures to a palpable ripeness the beauty and burden in these all-too-hidden lives.
The countryside visuals, emphasis on naturalism, and remarkable ensemble must make Alcarràs the most grounded and humane interpretation of a telling representing an entire culture and living.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 17 User Ratings
7.6
88% Positive
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
6% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
6% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 17 User Ratings
7.6
88% Positive
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
6% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
6% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
Report
Carla Simón's Spanish feature film, “Alcarràs”, which is Spain's submission to the Academy Awards for international feature, starts with the youngest members of the Sole family watching as an abandoned car located in the edge of their orchard is removed by a large crane. The Sole family, proud adherents to a vanishing agricultural tradition of close-knit clans working land as a way of life, soon realize they are the next targets for displacement, due to the fact that their grandfather, Rogelio (Josep Abad), never secured a signed contract from their wealthy benefactors. The Soles must now cope with the possibility of the last time they will be able to keep doing what they have been doing for generations. Simón's film explores the beauty and burden in these all-too-hidden lives, as the family faces adversity and tries to find common ground with the new reality. Through the use of non-professional actors, particularly with the younger performers, Simón creates an atmosphere of authenticity and realism. The true enemy of the Soles is made clear as industrial giants threaten to take away the way of life that the family has known for generations. “Alcarràs” is a rare gem that shines a light on the people who grow our food and struggle to maintain their land in a time of industry.
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El largometraje español de Carla Simón, “Alcarràs”, que es la candidatura española a los Premios de la Academia al largometraje internacional, arranca con los más pequeños de la familia Sole viendo cómo una gran grúa retira un coche abandonado situado en la linde de su huerta. La familia Sole, orgullosos adherentes a una tradición agrícola en extinción de clanes muy unidos que trabajan la tierra como forma de vida, pronto se dan cuenta de que son los próximos objetivos de desplazamiento, debido al hecho de que su abuelo, Rogelio (Josep Abad), nunca aseguró un contrato firmado por sus ricos benefactores. Los Soles ahora deben hacer frente a la posibilidad de que por última vez puedan seguir haciendo lo que han estado haciendo durante generaciones. La película de Simón explora la belleza y la carga de estas vidas demasiado ocultas, mientras la familia se enfrenta a la adversidad y trata de encontrar puntos en común con la nueva realidad. Mediante el uso de actores no profesionales, particularmente con los más jóvenes, Simón crea una atmósfera de autenticidad y realismo. El verdadero enemigo de los Soles queda claro cuando los gigantes industriales amenazan con quitarles la forma de vida que la familia ha conocido durante generaciones. “Alcarràs” es una joya rara que arroja luz sobre las personas que cultivan nuestros alimentos y luchan por mantener su tierra en una época de industria.
Report
The film balances a bristling political conscience against its tenderly observed domestic drama.
It’s a buzzing and vibrant ensemble drama whose unruly cast pulls our focus in a dozen different directions at once, but also one that always returns our attention to the earth shifting under their feet, and in turn to the question of who they will become once they’re forced away from it.
The power of Alcarràs lies in the filmmaker’s care for and understanding of her subject which, as with Summer 1993, is a story taken from her own life and examined on screen with a deceiving charm that gives way to a deeply emotional narrative.
Lovely, unforced Chekhovian notes grace the gently observed snapshot of a summer of unstoppable change and momentous upheaval. Even if there are moments of frustration in which Simón and co-writer Arnau Vilaró pull away just as conflicts are heating up, the film’s immersive, lived-in nature has a transfixing grip.
As a tribute to farmers’ way of life, its effective and at times moving, but as an exposé of the potential losses that a business-centric green revolution is in the process of incurring, it wants for a stiffer punch.
Alcarràs é sobre o embate entre a agricultura familiar e a agricultura extensiva, que vai se expandido pelas necessidades produtivas do capitalismo em desenvolver novas áreas e novas terras de plantio, passando por cima de histórias de vida. E é justamente centrando nas histórias de vida que o roteiro do filme se constrói, e o que é melhor, sem ser piegas.
A banalidade retratada, de forma proposital, do cotidiano daquela família que vive da terra, é a chave mestra para garantir o tipo de conexão necessária para nos importarmos com aqueles corpos que penas vivem. Filmes minimalistas assim precisam de certa dose de disposição do público para encantar, mas tal qual em "Aftersun", aqui há uma grande ajuda da direção, e mais digno ainda é o trabalho com os atores, que passaram a naturalidade necessária para esse tipo de trabalho, ainda mais com crianças.
Assim, levando a família ao coração dos expectadores, o porvir do conflito agrário torna-se mais pulsante, e é justamente aí onde o filme, sem ser estridente, sabe se posicionar sem soar agressivo. O desfecho é lindo, poético, sobre um futuro que está aos nossos olhos mas não nos damos conta. A crise ambiental está aí, juntamente com a fome e com a exclusão, não apenas camponesa, mas de condições de sobrevivência mesmo. O trator não apenas é vizinho daquela família, mas também nós somos vizinhos das máquinas, por arrogância mas também por pura necessidade. O grande acerto do filma é não tornar a realidade maniqueísta. Como tal, vive-se um processo de desigualdades, que ora se estendem, ora se recolhem. A vida é assim. Não há vilões e mocinhos. Mas certamente há pessoas, vivendo da terra, colhendo, plantando, tentando sobreviver. E mesmo se você mora em área urbana, você pode ser o consumidor final de tudo aquilo que o filme mostra (e não mostra), mas que tenta ao menos humanizar as famílias mais diretamente ligadas à agricultura. Lindo.
Report
A little underwhelming, still a very honest and nostalgic tale about family. Ken Loach fans will love this.
Report
Production Company
Avalon,
Kino Produzioni,
Alcarràs Film,
Diputació de Lleida,
Elástica Films,
Generalitat de Catalunya - Departament de Cultura,
Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC),
Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO),
Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA),
MK2 Films,
Movistar+,
Radio Televisión Española (RTVE),
Televisió de Catalunya (TV3),
Vilaüt Films
Release Date Jan 6, 2023
Duration 2 h
Genres
Tagline For every family, there is a season.
Website
https://www.alcarras-film.com/
Awards
Gaudí Awards
• 5 Wins & 15 Nominations
Goya Awards
• 11 Nominations
Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain
• 1 Win & 8 Nominations
