International press acclaim Catalan 'Alcarràs' movie after Berlinale award

The most sought-after award at Berlin International Film Festival, the Golden Bear, is now part of Catalan film history. Director Carla Simón won the prize on Wednesday for her movie 'Alcarràs' after the international press praised the movie in their reviews.

The emotional impact of the movie is "undeniable", as published American magazine 'The Hollywood Reporter' on Thursday. The specialized publication considered that the plot could be structured "much better," despite applauding the film.

Hailing from Germany, where the Berlin Film Festival is held, newspaper 'Frankfurter Allgemeine' notes that Simón narrates the story of a Catalan farmers' family "with seriousness and plenty of colors." Public German broadcaster 'Deutsche Welle' highlights the "naturality" of acting despite being amateur actors.

'The New York Times' describes 'Alcarràs' in a similar way. In France, newspaper 'Le Monde' celebrates Carla Simón’s accolade, as she "has been crowned under the female sign" and considers the Catalan director an "ode" to small landowners.

The American magazine 'Variety' praised the film as a "bristling political conscience [balanced] against its tenderly observed domestic drama," its film critic wrote.

Back in Europe, the British magazine 'The Screen Daily' says that 'Alcarràs' has made "a very specific film with emotionally wide appeal, a thoughtful essay which can also rattle and hum."

Simón's Alcarràs, named after the town and a tribute to farm life in the area, became the first Catalan-language film to ever be awarded the Golden Bear for Best Film. It tells the story of a family during their last peach harvest on a farm before the owners install solar panels.

"I want to thank my family because they grew peaches in Alcarràs, and because, without them and this closeness to this world, I would not have been able to tell this story," the director said on the stage in Berlin.

Like Simón's (b. Barcelona, 1986) first feature film (Summer 1993), the story is based on personal experience, in this case, the death of her grandfather, as she explained to the Catalan News Agency (ACN) in an interview in Berlin.

"The loss of my godfather, who had always worked in the fields, made me appreciate his legacy and I wondered if those trees would really be there forever. And the answer, probably, is no," Simón said to ACN, “godfather” being a colloquialism meaning “grandfather” in the town of Lleida, where Simón’s family is from.

Her film, with a cast made up of non-professional actors, also delves into the loss of an entire way of life – small-scale family farms.