The Olive Tree (2016)

Why so much hype?

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Check about this film on the internet, it is definitely an under- noticed film. But decently rated, which deserve even better than that. Once you watched it, you would be surprised to know how such a beautiful tale went unnoticed. If I had a chance, I would have selected it for the Oscars to represent Spain, instead of 'Julieta'. Written by an Irish writer in English, but made into a Spanish film. A simple storyline, though an inspiring film. This is why one should watch non-Hollywood films as well very often.First of all, it was not the first film to deal on such thematic. But nicely created an atmosphere where the characters flourished under. Particularly the character Alma, the backbone of the narration. Proves why the actress who played the role deserved the Goya Award. The remaining cast too was good. It was not a pure drama, though a bit of adventure, fun and a tiny bit of suspense like what might happen next make you get glued to it.The story of the granddaughter-grandfather relationship through their family tree that's two millennia old. But the rest of the family members are not happy as they are financially struggling to work on the farm. To them the tree is the answer which could replace a restaurant they are planning for. Now the grownup granddaughter, unable to console her grandpa who has been heartbroken for years, is set to retrieve the tree at any cost. She teams up with her uncle and a friend, and their cross-border adventure begins.It was not exactly a pre-planned road trip. But somewhat everything comes along for them. You would expect so many things to happen, but the writer has a different opinion. Especially with that Statue of Liberty, I really expected what most of the viewers would do in a situation. Even the conclusion was not something twisty as it should have been. Only if it was a regular film, but it was not. Still, I liked it being realistic than having a cinematic or a fairy-tale ending. Though most of the people think the message was not right. ❝Sometimes you just have to dive in. Head first.❞I have heard a small beautiful story somewhere. I think in Quora. It was about Giant Sequoia, centuries ago when the forest was destroyed due to wildfire, someone asked that how long does it take to grow a new tree this big! The answer was thousands of years. So his reply was: then we should not waste a minute, let's start seeding. This film clearly depicts with quite similar moral. A kind of mindset we all need the most right now.I loved the concept about saving a tree. Because that's similar to my believe. Once I had a FB profile picture with a quote, saying 'save plants, eat meat'. I have a soft corner to plants than animals (but still I love animals equally). At least animals could have a chance, but plants does not. They can't move, they're fixed. Hence, I eat only fruits and vegetables (which are plant's excreta as they love animals in exchange as that's how the cycle works in the nature), not leaves and branches like cows and sheep. This is one of the reasons why I loved this film very much.The film did not focus on the farmer's struggle. Or the corporate's evil deeds. While the lifestyle in the world becoming so rich and modern, the farmers still remaining the same. On the other hand, the corporations becoming very fancy every day. So that's where this story comes in. Because money buys anything in the world. Striking emotions at the right time, the tale took a small twist, but course changing for the narration. Reminds us that the film has reached its other endIf you are not interested in all those things, but just an entertainment, then fine it has that too. The film was made with criteria to meet the expectation from all the quarters. The farmers, corporate, tourism, corrupt politician, all these were the platform. Most of them were not deep enough that you could notice. Everything's understandable. But wherever it goes, comes back to the tree. The tree remains the centre throughout the narration.This is not like those films to say worth a watch. It should be watched in my opinion. Because what we teach our kids and what we do in reality, all has consequences. In this era where global warming is a thing, trees are precious, even one. Because everything starts from one. So just don't expect like a fight to save Amazonia.8/10

Alma is a teenager who benefited from the pure love that a grandparent can give to a favoured grandchild. As such she loves her grandfather, but her own father and uncle are not so sweetly disposed to their old man. He, meanwhile, has started to slip from the World. His decline goes back to when his sons sold his beloved olive tree that was two thousand years old to fund a restaurant business before the banking crisis.We get to a point where Alma realises he will die if he is not reunited with the tree and so sets out on a mission to find it and bring it home. Only problem is she hasn't got a clue or any money and no way of achieving her aims but she decides not to let the glaringly obvious stop her.Now this is a lovingly written story by the brilliant Paul Laverty ('I Daniel Blake' etc) and is acted by players who all inhabit their perspective roles with a simple believability. It can be funny and it can be painful but at its heart it is just a very touching and human story and shows how a thing can be as important to a person and another person – we can not help what we love in life. It is in Spanish with a bit of German and some English – well translated in the sub titles. If you like Ken Loach film you will want to see this - completely recommended.

Wasn't sure what to expect with this one, but I was immediately convinced by the solid acting performances of all the main leads in what turned out to be an interesting examination of the bonds that hold family together. Sold for the purposes of short term economic gain, a 2000 year old heirloom olive tree, the love of grandfather Ramon and granddaughter Alma, is sold to a German multinational. The resulting grief of grandfather and granddaughter on experiencing this loss results in the prior losing the will to speak and the latter suffering what can only be described as post traumatic stress. What results is an engaging drama come road trip across Europe shared Alma, her uncle and friend, to return the tree to the now ailing Ramon. A journey which is sufficiently long enough to allow this small group to get to know each other, talk about the reasons that brought the them to that point and to come to terms with past and present family decisions and relationships. Indeed, there is enough time for some additional distraction, humour and small drama which adds to an otherwise straightforward plot. What the film lacks in complexity and any satisfactory feeling of stakes is compensated for by the excellent acting of the main characters which convinces us of Alma and her personal journey to right a perceived wrong. So good is the central performance that doubts about Alma's quest solely being about her attempt to help her 'yayo' are raised, leaving the lector to wonder whether her quest is as much about her own need to find peace than she would openly admit to. The cinematography on show is not particularly inspiring, especially in the second half of the film, but occasionally panoramic views of the beautiful olive groves of Castellon burst out allowing the movie to breath a little. Otherwise, claustrophobic settings of farm houses, flats, cafes and a truck dominate the majority of the film. The unfortunate result is a rather TV rather then cinematic feel to the movie. Better is the music, which captures the moods of loss, some sprinkling of hope and ultimately helps the script capture the themes of traditional values of Spanish family, tradition and the responsibility each generation has to protect the heritage passed down to it from the prior. Overall, an above average melodrama, which leaves the viewer with more to think about than you might have thought likely coming into the cinema. Best watched in Spanish with subtitles.

The film opens with a telephone prank, reminding me as an American that it's to the Spanish we largely owe the art of pulling someone's leg and of amusing exaggeration. But the prank introduces an important theme, also Spanish, of who's getting the upper hand at whose expense. And the additional theme of how hard it is to retain a traditional sense of honor under 21st-century economic pressures. The plot is of the very simplest-- save the ancient olive tree!-- but the characters have side concerns of their own which, while not indispensable to plot, serve to humanize the movie and inspire empathy. The man beside me in the theater remarked two or three times, "Excellent acting." Nice music, too, and flashes of humor. My wife, who knows a little Spanish, let me know how colorless the English subtitles (here in Israel, anyway) were in comparison.