In cinemas: El Sur (1983)

Watch the trailer for El Sur (1983), Victor Erice’s stunning tale of memory, longing and loss.

Spain/Italy 1983
Directed by Victor Erice
With Omero Antonutti, Sonsoles Aranguren, Icíar Bollaín
95 min
DCP

Recalling her youth in northern Spain in the 1950s and her relationship with her beloved father, Estrella realises how little she knew about him. Raised in the south, he’d had his secrets… Delicate, nuanced, mysterious, Erice’s film reveals his abiding fascination with memory and missed opportunities, longing and loss, the passing of time and the links between private dreams and political realities.

The performances – like the meticulously lit compositions and the evocative soundtrack – are superb throughout; Omero Antonutti is especially charismatic as Agustín, while Sonsoles Aranguren and Icíar Bollaín shine, respectively, as the young and teenaged Estella. Exquisitely beautiful, profoundly moving.

Geoff Andrew, programmer-at-large