Amama – When a Tree Falls

Amama

MS12

Genre

Drama

Director

Asier Altuna

Run time

1h 43min

Cast

Kandido Uranga, Iraia Elias, Amparo Badiola, Klara Badiola, Ander Lipus

Tomás (the father) lives with his family on a Basque farm, caserío. Caserio means the family, but also a way of life, deep roots and values. Nowadays it is also a place where two worlds, the new and the old, collide. The eldest brother (the one who has to keep the tradition and be the to run the caserio next) decides to leave and break links with the past, while Amaia, the daughter, tries to combine both positions. How to live your own life without turning your back on the caserio, how to choose your path without breaking the chain of ancestral knowledge? Her stubborn father won’t make it any easier, while amama (the grandma) looks from a distance with the wisdom of a bygone world, testimony of legendary tales.

From the beginning, the story is fully explained by powerful imagery. The director takes a world that he deeply knows by heart, turning tradition into intriguing iconography, underlining the symbolic magic related to the deep roots of a lifestyle. Besides the visuals, in this intense generational gag drama dialogues are mostly sorted out by silence and looks. The strange and fascinating beauty of the film is also enhanced by the works of Amaia, a visual artist. The raw landscape, the strong presence of artistic proposition and the striking visual description of ancestral bonds are reminiscent of the enchanting abstraction of the early Julio Medem, setting the Basque forest as a mysterious and oneiric land.

Javier Garcia Puerto / PÖFF

Spain 2015

Genre

Drama

Director

Asier Altuna

Run time

1h 43min

Cast

Kandido Uranga, Iraia Elias, Amparo Badiola, Klara Badiola, Ander Lipus

Tomás (the father) lives with his family on a Basque farm, caserío. Caserio means the family, but also a way of life, deep roots and values. Nowadays it is also a place where two worlds, the new and the old, collide. The eldest brother (the one who has to keep the tradition and be the to run the caserio next) decides to leave and break links with the past, while Amaia, the daughter, tries to combine both positions. How to live your own life without turning your back on the caserio, how to choose your path without breaking the chain of ancestral knowledge? Her stubborn father won’t make it any easier, while amama (the grandma) looks from a distance with the wisdom of a bygone world, testimony of legendary tales.

From the beginning, the story is fully explained by powerful imagery. The director takes a world that he deeply knows by heart, turning tradition into intriguing iconography, underlining the symbolic magic related to the deep roots of a lifestyle. Besides the visuals, in this intense generational gag drama dialogues are mostly sorted out by silence and looks. The strange and fascinating beauty of the film is also enhanced by the works of Amaia, a visual artist. The raw landscape, the strong presence of artistic proposition and the striking visual description of ancestral bonds are reminiscent of the enchanting abstraction of the early Julio Medem, setting the Basque forest as a mysterious and oneiric land.

Javier Garcia Puerto / PÖFF

Spain 2015

Info

Rating

Under 12 Not Recommended

Production year

2015

Global distributor

-

Local distributor

Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival MTÜ

In cinema

11/6/2015