In a small village of Alcarras in Spain, the Catalonian Sole family spend every summer farming peaches together from their family orchard. The family drama unfolds as industrialization invades the village as new plans of installing solar panels threaten the agricultural traditions of the family. As the doom of the orchard becomes glaringly evident, the members of this intergenerational family suffer strife with each other and find separate ways of coping with change. While the oldest generation indulges in guilt of signing the contracts and the nostalgia of the past, the next generation tries to rebel against the plans and by attempting to maintain a sense of normalcy. The children, on the other hand, are oblivious to the politics of these changes and try to reconcile with their transforming childhood. The rural family interacts with each other and the land of their ancestors as they try to find a way to keep their traditions alive, whether in reality or in memory. With a cast of mostly non-professional actors, Carla Simon’s sophomore film is the first ever Catalan language film to win the Golden Bear at the Berlinale. A heart rending meditation on intergenerational familial relationships and the picturesque beauty of the Catalan landscape, Alcarras is a stirring portrayal of a family’s unbreakable bonds.
