HANDIA (Giant) managed to attract the biggest budget ever for a production from the Basque country and has been worth the expense. A flagship of new Basque cinema, it was made by the same creative team (Moriarti Produkzioak) that had previously made the successful LOREAK (Flowers) 2014, the first ever film in the Basque language to represent Spain at the Oscars.  Given the acclaim of LOREAK, they decided to follow it up with another film in the Basque language.  HANDIA (Giant) 2017 is a complex period drama set in the early 19th century and is based on the true story of a young Basque farm lad, Mikel Jokin Eleizegi Arteaga, who grew to be 2,42m tall. 

The drama unfolds in 1836 when Traditionalist Carlist forces were constantly at war with liberal elements who wanted change and progress.  A Carlist platoon arrives at the isolated farm in Altza and forcibly enlists one of the two brothers Martin, (Joseba Usabiaga). When Martin returns many years later, having lost the use of his right arm, he finds that his brother Mikel Jokin (Eneko Sagardoy) has grown exponentially in size and is still growing.  Neither of them is able to help on the farm due to their physical disabilities. When penury threatens and they risk losing their farm altogether, they decide to take up the offer of an entrepreneur to parade the gentle giant, Mikel Jokin, and charge people to see him. Enlisted into this freak show and aware that his family’s survival depends upon it, Mikel Jokin reluctantly agrees.

HANDIA is the moving tale of the difficult bond between two brothers, both in love with the same woman, María (Aia Kruse), and the rivalry between them as they try to deal with their tumultuous change in circumstances, largely due to the unfortunate Mikel Jokin suffering from gigantism. Martin believes in progress and takes to his new life with some zest, learning Spanish. French and even English, seeing these as a way to get ahead. Meanwhile, Mikel Jokin refuses to speak anything other than Basque and yearns for his quiet life on the farm. Due to their financial commitments, these two brothers are tied together in life. Mikel Jokin, who so desperately never wants any form of change, is constantly growing and changing his shape and Martin, who welcomes change, sees his dreams of a life in America fading fast as they struggle to survive.

HANDIA was directed by a team of two directors, Jon Garaño and Aitor Arregi. They wanted to avoid a typical historic biopic and they soon realized that a tale mired in myth gave them the freedom to develop the story on a more human level, concentrating on the relationship of the brothers, a relationship that was full of conflict, but was nevertheless intense and close.

As Aitor Arregi explains: -

                “We wanted to flee from the cliché of the 19th century’s bad treatment of a freak. This had already been done so well in, for example, in ‘Elephant Man’, that we were not going to get even close to that, so we concentrated on examining the duality. These are two brothers but we see them as a sort of unity, a sort of ying & yang, or a coin with two faces.”

                The sibling rivalry is also reflected in the outlying tension that envelopes the film, especially given the wars that surround them, creating an atmosphere of constant instability. There is the shock of the new world pushing against the old in a way that cannot be stopped, just like Mikel Jokin’s growth.  The film throws up the confusion between old traditions and superstitions, like beliefs in mythological characters and spirits, and the new industrialized elements that are penetrating the old society like a sword, not least the trains. This was a time when travel out of your local area was almost unknown, yet they managed to go all around Europe showing off the giant’s huge size, while building up false stories to attract bigger audiences.

                The director of photography, Javier Agirre captures the beauty of the Basque landscape, with sweeping takes over snow-covered valleys. The period feel is strong and the lighting in all the interior shots, is particularly sensitive and atmospheric.   This all adds to the quality of this production that had a massive budget for a Spanish film.

                This is a moving story, and there is a profound sadness as you watch this gentle giant who complains that he cannot not sleep because he can hear his own bones growing, who, nevertheless, has to tolerate being paraded as a freak, unable to develop close relationships of his own.

                HANDIA(Giant) 2017 is currently looking for a UK distributor, given its success at the GOYA Awards it is likely to be soon.

Director:                              Jon Garaño and Aitor Arregi

Screenplay                          Jon Garaño , Aitor Arregi, Jose Mari Goenaga and Andoni de Carlos

Cinematogapher                 Javier Agirre

Music                                  Pascal Gaigne

Cast:

                Maria                                    Aia Kruse

                Mikel Jokin Eleizegi          Eneko Sagardoy

                Martín Eleizegi                  Joseba Usabiaga

                Antonio Eleizegi                Ramón Agirre