ALCARRAS + A BUNCH OF AMATEURS - CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL
What are the fruits of working on the land? If the Catalan film Alcarras is anything to go by, the answer is a ripe raspberry. Carla Simon’s Golden Bear winner takes us deep into the orchards of Catalonia to present an uncompromising family drama of earthy beauty. Using a cast of non-professional actors, we seem to be a fly on the wall in a real documentary. An extended family work their fruit trees as their ancestors have done for years. But blight has set in: an avaricious neighbour has legal claims on the land and our family is about to be evicted. The stresses and strains of a hard yet fulfilling life coming to an end provides the modus vivendi for this two-hour drama. The players are totally natural: a hard-working dad frustrated by his son’s apparent indolence, a sullen teenage daughter, a charming but cheeky little one, a world-worn wife and a gaggle of siblings, grandparents and unpleasant neighbours. The landscape is harsh yet beautiful, the work unforgiving. We are eye-witnesses to a society in flux; the little farmer bullied into submission by the forces of big farma. Though a touch too long, the Simon’s restless direction and handheld camera shots give the whole movie a strong taste of Cinéma vérité. Like families everywhere, there is fun, there is pride, there is anger and frustration. Above all there is summer in Catalonia and the music of the country. It is a transformative 120 minutes. See it, it is a fruitful experience.
A Bunch of Amateurs is pure delight. Never has 90 minutes flickered by so quickly and in such good company. The documentary charts the lives of the dwindling Bradford Movie Makers club. One of the oldest in the country, some of its members are themselves in their ninth decade. The amateur film makers meet in a crumbling old hall (perhaps a former chapel?) that barely pays its way, suffers from constant fly tipping and vandalistic graffiti. Yet inside that old building, the group of men and women have one thing in common: they love making films. Some have been doing it for 60 years. Without feeling intrusive, Kim Hopkins, the director, takes us into the homes of these lovely people. Harry cares for his dying wife whilst intent on making a movie in which he rides a white horse and sings the opening song from ‘Oklahoma’. Phil, a younger man with a disabled brother to care for, makes zombie movies. And Colin, in his late eighties, former president of the club, makes his painful way up the stairs of the building each week. With a wife suffering from advanced dementia, it is a lifeline.
If some of this sounds maudlin, then think again. There is life, determination and grit in these Yorkshire folk, even in the face of Covid which threatens to sink them all. There are many moments of pure joy and the camera never allows to laugh at, only with, the elderly film makers.
At a recent showing of the film in which the stars turned up in person, the audience gave them a prolonged standing ovation. If ever there was a film about the little guys beating off tribulation to come up trumps, then this is it. It is life affirming and utterly watchable. Look out for any future showings.
