52 Films by Women Vol 7. 24. ALCARRÀS (Director: Carla Simón)
Alcarr à s , co-writer-director Carla Sim ó n’s 2022 Golden Bear-winning follow-up to her impressive 2017 debut feature, Estiu 1993 , tackles a huge problem – the impact of globalization on small farmers, working constantly but barely eking a living. She does so through the microcosm of the extended peach farming family, the Sol é s, who live in the titular area, situated in the Catalunya province of Lleida. We observe the family as they harvest the last of their crops before the diggers are due to arrive, turning their tall groves into a solar farm. The family’s name is intentionally ironic. In Estiu 1993 , the action was mostly staged from the point of view of a young girl. In Alcarr à s , co-scripted by Arnau Vilar ó , Sim ó n eschews the device of having a single principal viewpoint character. Her camera moves between family members, who variously court and thwart our sympathy – we observe the good and bad in each. There is no extra diegetic music to tell us how to feel, th...