hyped garbage

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

...who has many chances to be yours. because the subject is more than familiar. the script - wise reflection about contemporary society and its clash against tradition, about a sort of love who only the grandparents and grandchildren knows it, a trip who has as purpose a form of justice who escapes to definitions. a confession - film. because, it is so easy to discover yourself as Alma. so, a tale. a simple one. but useful. for remind . an old man, his olive tree and a gesture changing everything. that is all.

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

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.

Alma is what you call a wild girl. She has partly shaved her hair in a decorative pattern, sleeps with boys she hardly knows and throws eggs at the cars of people she doesn't like. But she has one weak spot: her grandpa. Not only is she extremely fond of him, she also sympathizes with his silent protest against the sale of the oldest tree in the family's olive grove. Since the tree was sold, he refuses to speak and marks the spot where the tree stood with little stones.Alma, sensing that her grandfather's death is coming near, starts a search for the sold tree. Through the company who organized the sale she discovers that the tree is now standing in the lobby of a big energy company in Germany. In a whim, she convinces her uncle and a friend to retrieve the tree, in order to let her grandpa die in peace.The film has a nice plot, but is also a clear warning against the excesses of capitalism. The central theme is that there are things that cannot be expressed in monetary value. When Alma's grandfather is told that the tree is useless because nobody buys expensive olive oil anymore, he answers that the tree doesn't belong to him, 'it belongs to history'.On a second level, the film shows Spain after the financial crisis. Alma's uncle is a ruined man, who has used the proceeds of the tree to bribe the local mayor, in order to get a permit for a seafront restaurant that has since gone bankrupt. The film starts with a practical joke: Alma calls her uncle, pretending to be a bank employee collecting the outstanding debt. That's a nice joke, but with a clear message.The screenplay for the film was written by Paul Laverty, a writer with a keen sense for social justice who has written several social dramas for Ken Loach. In some of these, the emphasis was too much on the social aspect, but in El Olivo the mix between the character interaction, the social comment and the human emotion is just right. Talking about human emotion: anyone who is not touched by the last scenes, has a heart of stone.