Well, there are a few things in particular that make this film great. The first being the cinematography of Luis Cuadrado, who believe it or not was going blind during production. A lot of it will remind those who are fans of Malick of his films, particularly Days of Heaven, since there are quite a few shots during the "magic hour."
The direction itself is pretty damn perfect, Victor Erice, who has only made three full length features in his career, all of which have been ten or so years apart - another comparison to Malick, directs it from the point of view of Ana, played by Ana Torrent - who is now a rather successful actress in Spain, having roles in Amenábar's Tesis, Julio Medem's Vacas and recently in the U.S. as Katherine of Aragon in The Other Boleyn Girl. She gives what has to be the best child performance of all time, at least that I've seen. How a seven year old girl can not only outshine all the adults, but carry a film in such a way - there's very little dialog, with most feelings being expressed with facial expressions and body language - is beyond me. I'd go as far as to say that it's a definitive masterpiece, and I wish Erice's other films were more readily available.
Those who are a fans of Tarkovsky, Bergman's more dream like films, etc., will love this, though it's definitely more accessible than Bergman and certainly more so than Tarkovsky's filmography.
Absolutely recommended, more people need to see this.
The direction itself is pretty damn perfect, Victor Erice, who has only made three full length features in his career, all of which have been ten or so years apart - another comparison to Malick, directs it from the point of view of Ana, played by Ana Torrent - who is now a rather successful actress in Spain, having roles in Amenábar's Tesis, Julio Medem's Vacas and recently in the U.S. as Katherine of Aragon in The Other Boleyn Girl. She gives what has to be the best child performance of all time, at least that I've seen. How a seven year old girl can not only outshine all the adults, but carry a film in such a way - there's very little dialog, with most feelings being expressed with facial expressions and body language - is beyond me. I'd go as far as to say that it's a definitive masterpiece, and I wish Erice's other films were more readily available.
Those who are a fans of Tarkovsky, Bergman's more dream like films, etc., will love this, though it's definitely more accessible than Bergman and certainly more so than Tarkovsky's filmography.
Absolutely recommended, more people need to see this.
