Alcarràs (film)

Alcarràs is a 2022 Spanish-Italian[1] drama film directed by Carla Simón. It is set and shot near Alcarràs, Catalonia, in Catalan, featuring a non-professional cast of actors. The plot concerns a family drama about the disappearance of traditional peach-harvesting activities. It won the Golden Bear at the 72nd Berlinale, becoming the first Catalan-language film to do so.[2]

Alcarràs
Directed byCarla Simón
Written by
  • Carla Simón
  • Arnau Vilaró
Produced by
  • María Zamora
  • Stefan Schmitz
  • Tono Folguera
  • Sergi Moreno
Starring
  • Jordi Pujol Dolcet
  • Anna Otin
  • Xènia Roset
  • Albert Bosch
  • Ainet Jounou
CinematographyDaniela Cajías
Edited byAna Pfaff
Music byAndrea Koch
Production
companies
  • Avalon PC
  • Elastica Films
  • Vilaüt Films
  • Kino Produzioni
  • TV3
Distributed byAvalon DA/Elastica (es)
Release dates
  • 15 February 2022 (2022-02-15) (Berlinale)
  • 29 April 2022 (2022-04-29) (Spain)
Countries
  • Spain
  • Italy
LanguageCatalan

Plot

Set in Alcarràs, Catalonia, the plot consists of a family rural drama concerning the disappearance of agricultural activities, revolving around the intention to install solar panels in an agricultural plot hitherto occupied by a peach orchard, bringing the members of the Solé family to a stand off.[3][4][5]

Cast
  • Jordi Pujol Dolcet as Quimet[1]
  • Anna Otin as Dolors[1]
  • Xènia Roset as Mariona[1]
  • Albert Bosch as Roger[1]
  • Ainet Jounou as Iris[1]
  • Josep Abad as Rogelio[1]
  • Montse Oró as Nati[1]
  • Carles Cabós as Cisco[1]
  • Berta Pipó as Glòria[1]

Production

The screenplay was penned by the director Carla Simón alongside Arnau Vilaró.[6] The film was produced by Avalon PC, Elastica Films and Vilaüt Films alongside Kino Produzioni and TV3,[7][5] with the participation of TVE and Movistar+ and the support of ICAA, ICEC, Creative Europe's MEDIA, Eurimages, MIBACT and Diputació de Lleida.[8] Shooting began on 1 June 2021 in the area of Alcarràs, province of Lleida, with the shooting window constrained to Summer due to the seasonal nature of the film's setting pertaining peach harvest cycles.[6][9] The cast is formed by non-professional actors from the province of Lleida.[4] Shot in Catalan, the entire cast used the local Western dialect of the Catalan language pertaining to the area.[10][11] Filming wrapped after 8 weeks of shooting.[5] María Zamora, Stefan Schmitz, Tono Folguera and Sergi Moreno were credited as producers.[7]

Release
Cast members during the presentation of the film at the Berlinale

The film screened in the official competition of the 72nd Berlinale on 15 February 2022.[1][9] The film also screened at the 25th Málaga Festival in March 2022.[12] Initially announced to run as part of the competitive list of the festival's official selection,[12] the festival and the film producers agreed to screen the film out of competition instead.[13] It was thus screened in Málaga on 19 March 2022.[14]

Co-distributed by Avalon DA and Elastica Films in Spain, the film was theatrically released on 29 April 2022.[12][15] Starting with a distribution limited to 169 theatres, the film was the most watched debut film in its opening weekend, and third film overall (first in Catalonia).[16]

Reception

Reviewing for The Telegraph, Tim Robey rated the film with 5 out of 5 stars, considering that the film "manages a light, improvisatory mastery, an immaculate hold on tone, and a grave yet sunlit tableau of an ending, with each one of these faces turned in collective mourning, that I'll never forget".[17]

Fionnuala Halligan of ScreenDaily wrote that Alcarràs constitutes a "profoundly authentic and moving contemplation of the fragility of family, and, again, childhood" considering the film to have "all the hallmarks of a very specific film with emotionally wide appeal, a thoughtful essay which can also rattle and hum".[7]

Guy Lodge of Variety considered that Alcarràs confirmed "the strength and consistency of Simón's directorial voice" after Summer 1993, also writing that it "balances a bristling political conscience against its tenderly observed domestic drama".[18]

Writing for Little White Lies, Caitlin Quinlan considered that the film "strikes a deft balance between idyllic reminiscence and melancholy for a cherished place", while also "delivering a poignant tale about the impact of industrial development on agriculture".[19]

Sergi Sánchez of Fotogramas considered that Simón gets to "translate into images what many neorealist filmmakers pursued unceasingly": "Truth, this time of a changing space and time, which appeals to the collective without losing the thread of the individual".[20]

Accolades
Simón holding the Golden Bear statuette
Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
202272nd Berlin International Film FestivalGolden BearWon[21]

See also

References
  1. "Alcarràs". Berlinale. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  2. Llumà, Xavi Serra, Núria Juanico (16 February 2022). "Historic triumph for Carla Simón: first Catalan Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival". Ara in English. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  3. Silvestre, Juan (2 June 2021). "Carla Simón arranca el rodaje de 'Alcarràs'". Fotogramas.
  4. "Dos películas participadas por RTVE competirán en la Sección Oficial de la Berlinale: 'Un año, una noche' y 'Alcarràs'". RTVE. 19 January 2022.
  5. "Família i terra a "Alcarràs", segon llargmetratge de Carla Simón". Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals. 6 August 2021.
  6. Boquerini (7 June 2021). "Tras un año de espera Carla Simón rueda ya 'Alcarràs'". El Correo.
  7. Halligan, Fionnuala (15 February 2022). "'Alcarras': Berlin review". ScreenDaily.
  8. "La coproducció de TV3 "Alcarràs" i "Un año, una noche", amb participació, competiran en la secció oficial de la Berlinale". Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals. 19 January 2022.
  9. Belinchón, Gregorio (19 January 2022). "Isaki Lacuesta y Carla Simón concursarán en la Berlinale". El País.
  10. López, María Paz (16 February 2022). "La malenconiosa oda a l'agricultura de la pel·lícula 'Alcarràs' captiva a Berlín". La Vanguardia. Tot això està expressat en un català amb rigorós accent de Ponent. La pronunciació és meravellosament genuïna, ja que tots els actors són de la comarca, escollits en un càsting entre 9.000 persones
  11. Martínez, Beatriz (26 July 2021). "'Alcarràs', el desafío de Carla Simón entre melocotoneros". El Periódico de Catalunya.
  12. "Carla Simón, Daniel Guzmán, Jota Linares, Juan Miguel del Castillo e Imanol Uribe competirán en el 25º Festival de Málaga". Audiovisual451. 17 February 2022.
  13. "'Alcarràs' de Carla Simón participará fuera de concurso en el 25 Festival de Málaga". Festival de Málaga. 17 February 2022.
  14. Martínez, Beatriz (19 March 2022). "Ovación a Carla Simón y su milagrosa 'Alcarràs' en el Festival de Málaga". El Periódico de Catalunya.
  15. Martínez, Beatriz; Casas, Quim (29 April 2022). "Las críticas de cine de la semana: 'Alcarràs', 'Dónde está Anne Frank', 'X' y 'Amor de madre'". El Periódico de España.
  16. Costa, Alexandra (1 May 2022). "'Alcarràs' revienta la taquilla española". El Periódico de Catalunya.
  17. Robey, Tim (15 February 2022). "Alcarràs, review: this must surely win the top prize at Berlin". The Telegraph.
  18. Lodge, Guy (15 February 2022). "'Alcarràs' Review: A Farming Family Faces Change in a Beautifully Observed, Richly Inhabited Ensemble Drama". Variety.
  19. Quinlan, Caitlin (16 February 2022). "Alcarràs – first-look review". Little White Lies.
  20. Sánchez, Sergi (15 February 2022). "Crítica de Alcarràs, de Carla Simón, ganadora del Oso de Oro en Berlín 2022". Fotogramas.
  21. Lodge, Guy (16 February 2022). "Spanish Drama 'Alcarràs' Wins Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival". Variety.
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