In her second feature, ‘Alcarràs,’ (awarded the Golden Bear at the 2022 Berlinale), Carla Simón explores how the traditional way of life of a family of peach farmers is under threat, when the owner of the estate dies and his heir decides to take the land back from under their feet, to install solar panels.
The Solé family have worked this land for generations, caring for their wonderful peach-tree orchard in a small village in Alcarràs on the borders of Catalonia and Aragon in Spain. A spit and a handshake are no longer considered legal tender, let alone by the new heir, and the family struggles to find a way of preventing this year’s harvest from being their last. Different members of the family, as they gather for the harvest, are at odds as to how to face this challenge.
Jordi Pujol Dolcet, Xènia Roset, Anna Otín, Ainet Jounou, Josep Abad, Albert Bosch, Josel & Isaac Rovira.
The kernel for this story was a long time coming, Carla Simón: -
“The story is totally fictitious, but at the same time, my uncle’s family actually cultivate peaches in Alcarràs. It is my mother’s family and of course, forever... for many generations they’ve dedicated themselves to this business. When I was writing the script for ‘Summer 1993’, my grandfather died and that was when I first thought of what might happen if those trees, that we take so much for granted, would someday disappear? Then I realize that it was already happening in that area, as it’s becoming increasingly difficult to live off this business when you are running a small family farm. In a way, it's the oldest profession, it’s been there since pre-history. Now, agricultural methods are changing and there are large companies that are taking this land and exploiting it in a different way. That’s where my idea came from.”
Carla Simón was born in 1986 and brought up in the countryside, so, as with this family, there was always a great deal that needed to be done, with very little time for other activities: -
“Being in the countryside, we hardly ever saw films. We were too busy. I wanted to be a journalist, specifically for the ‘National Geographic’, so I would get to travel a lot! Later when I was doing my baccalaureate, one of the subjects was titled ‘Image’. It included viewing many films and then debating about them. I think that through those debates, I began to see how many things could be communicated through those stories: you live them, you are moved by them, and later you can reflect upon them … and think… well, on the philosophical themes and that's when my passion for watching and making films began.”
Summer 1993 ( 2017)
Simón is famed for her extraordinary ability to work with children to great effect. This was first seen in ‘Summer 1993’ which was a largely autobiographical tale. Having lost both her parents at an early age to the then still unnamed and unknown disease, AIDS, she was sent to live with her relatives to begin a new life with them. There is an undercurrent of a nostalgia for a lost world: -
“In ‘Alcarràs’, more so that in ‘Summer 1993’... because in ‘Summer’ it's really a new beginning, the first summer with that new family… but in Alcarràs, it’s the last summer, the last harvest. Every day, there are fewer families who can permit themselves the luxury of working the land. In fact, initially I had a happy ending, as with my own family who continue to cultivate their farm and I wanted to show their resilience and resistance, but later, I realized, through my research, that it wasn’t likely this would be the case for much longer. So, I changed the ending to something more pessimistic, to show how that world is definitely dying and with it, not only a particular [traditional] way to care for the land, but also the way of life of those very families, with three generations living under one roof, sharing their lives.” 
Roger (Albert Bosch) and Iris (Ainet Jounou)
‘Alcarràs’ , like ‘Summer 1993’ has been extremely well received by audiences and critics, with some giving it a 5-star rating, like Tim Robey of The Telegraph, who states that Simón “… manages a light, improvisatory mastery an immaculate hold on tone and a grave, yet sunlit tableau of an ending”, also Sergi Sánchez, of Fotogramas who feels that she can “… translate into images what many neo-realist filmmakers pursued incessantly”. ‘Summer 1993’ was selected to represent Spain at the 90th Academy Awards, so it’s no surprise that ‘Alcarràs’ has now been selected to represent Spain at the 95th Academy Awards, being another delightful film from this talented filmmaker.
Carla Simón with her Golden Bear at the 2022 Berlinale
Other than one character, Gloria, played by Simón’s sister, Berta Pipó, the cast is entirely made up of non-professional people from the local area. The fresh and natural air of the film is, according to Simón, largely due to this non-professional cast and the particular way that she chose to work with them: -
“I rented a house in the area and they would come whenever they could, be it in the afternoons or at weekends. There, we would spent time together, improvising scenes that might have taken place before the story of ‘Alcarràs’ takes off. We created the backstories, especially in relation to the theme of the land and the events that inspired this story… like the death of the old landowner, who was a close friend of the grandfather, or the friend who acts as the lawyer, advising the family to find the papers that prove their rights. In this way, we created those crucial moments and the shared memories of those characters, even at the level of relationships… The children also spent a lot of time together… the granddaughter with her [new] ‘grandfather’, the father and his son…and in this way, we gradually shaped the [crucial] relationships that could reflect the [natural] intimacy of a family. For children, this is absolutely essential, as you can’t say to a child: ‘Look this is your father, come on now. Act!’ They have to have experienced it for a while.”
Simón explains that one of the more notable aspects of using non-professional actors, was that they never repeat a scene or dialogue in exactly the same way, thus creating fortuitous accidents that emphasize the spontaneity and natural feel of the film spoken in the local western Catalan dialect: -
“Non-professional actors offer the possibility of happy accidents, non-planned things that can emerge spontaneously, because they’re not that conscious of what they are doing. This keeps the scene alive. Although the script was very carefully constructed, because we worked on it for a long time and it was very precise, with so many characters forming a choir, it became very important that all the pieces should fit, as we were creating an emotional journey for a whole family, not just one individual. I needed them to express certain concrete things, but I was not at all fussy about how they said it, they could choose to say it in their own way.”
Ainet Jounou as Iris.
‘Alcarràs’ was shot in 2020 but Covid got in between and they had to delay the post-production by a year. However, after having lots of time on her hands, Simón now finds she has none. Not only is she working hard to promote ‘Alcarràs’, but she is also a new mother.
During the Covid break, however Simón started work on a new script that will complete a trilogy on subjects that touch on family and memory. It is expected to be set in Vigo, where Simón’s own parents came from, bringing in a very personal touch. As with all her work, it will touch subjects familiar to Simón, of loss and belonging: -
“… like a journey to a family’s roots with a reflection on family memories and the importance of having those roots and shared history.”
ALCARRÀS (2022) is now available on MUBI, which is offering a free 30 day trial to LatinoLife readers here
Cast & Crew:
Director: Carla Simón Pipó /Script: Carla Simón and Arnau Vilaró / Cinematographer: Daniela Cajías/ Editor: Ana Pfaff/ Music: Andrea Koch/ Producers: Sergi Moreno, Tono Folguera, Carla Simón, Maria Zamora
Cast: Quimet: Jordi Pujol Dolcet / Dolors: Anna Otín/ Mariona: Xènia Roset / Roger: Albert Bosch / Rogelio: Josep Abad / Gloria: Berta Pipó/ Iris: Ainet Jounou/ Pere: Joel Rovira / Pau: Isaac Rovira/ Cisco: Carles Cabós/ Nati: Montse Oró
