Antoine (Denis Ménochet) and Olga (Marina Foϊs) move from their native France to a remote mountain village in Spain’s Galicia district. They farm organic vegetables and Antoine renovates homes.
Fellow farmers are not accepting of Frenchie as they call him. One senses it is the surly and spiteful farmer Xan (Luis Zahera) that generates the hate as a bully ringleader. They mock his organic farming and the crux of the hatred is the fact that as a farmer Antoine voted against a Dutch company buyout of the area to build a turbine farm.
Bullying by Xan and his mentally challenged brother Lorenzo (Diego Anido) augments in intensity and violence. It escalates to the point of an attempted murder. Antoine and Olga’s tomato crop is poisoned. Matters spiral out of control and the local Guardia Civil are of no great assistance.
I can’t reveal the result of this animosity snowballing into white hot hatred.
A film about bullying, low self esteem, the decline of rural life in Spain, hatred, determination, resentment and stamina. Xan may hate Antoine but equally he hates himself and the agricultural life he feels trapped by. Bullies are unhappy people. He feels if he sells out to the Dutch Company he and Lorenzo will buy a taxi and start a taxi business in the city.
Apart from the mounting tension between Antoine and Xan a grand battle royale is brewing between Olga and her daughter Marie (Marie Colomb). Resentment explodes all over the screen in a mess. Amazing that in times of trauma a family can grow closer or rip each other part or perhaps a bit of both depending on which camp you are in.
Oh yes the men in the beginning of the film a wonderful dabbling in Euro film symbolism. Hmm….some humans are no better than beasts? Is the right genre a thriller?
An excellent film with impeccable casting as the acting is superb. Zahera is pure hatred and evil. Immediately you sense he and his misery are dangerous bedfellows. At the 37th Goya Awards he won Best Supporting Actor and Ménochet Best Actor.
This 2022 Spanish French film is directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen who by the way won Best Director at the 37th Goya Awards. The film was the Best Film at the 37th Goya Awards.
You can watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC5TF9rSrjA
RKS 2023 Film Rating 93/100.
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 