Alcarras follows the story of a family of farmers whose life changes after the landlord of their land decides to sell it, thereby threatening their livelihood. The story here is simple and almost unassuming with the way it unfolds. You will get a feeling that nothing much is taking place but when you do look back, it does have a lot to say in its subtext beneath its layers. The screenplay standing at a shade under 2 hours does make for a breezy watch wherein I was exposed to a rural life in a foreign land for the very first time. This section will contain mild spoilers.

The drama is a slow burn and unfolds at a leisurely pace. The opening shot itself is about a group of children playing in the fields inside an abandoned car which the children believe is their space ship. Suddenly, when the car is taken out by a crane, it did seem to the children that their home has been taken away from them. This very scene is symbolic of the entire drama to follow. We are told that the family, traditionally farmers, farming peaches and eventually selling them, is undergoing a bit of a conflict wherein their landlord has opted to install solar panels while cutting down their peach trees. And so there is bound to be a change in their livelihood wherein the fear of the unknown awaits them.

The interesting part of the drama is that there is no hook in the screenplay. So even the conflict does seem almost like an everyday issue for a family who is reeling under poverty in many ways. The head of the family, Rogelio, had earlier helped the landlords to hide during the world war and in return they had asked him to do farming in their fields. It was more of a verbal communication which did not hold true in the current day setup. The thing to note here was that Rogelio had done farming all his life and this ‘change’ was something which he was unsure on how to cope with.

The family does also comprise of Quimet who is the father, frustrated and angry with this development. He is seen throwing tantrums often on his family and sister which has resulted in the family having a sort of a stand-off. His son Roger does take a keen learning on farming(against his father’s wishes who wants him to focus on his education) and he does grow weed without his father’s knowledge. On being exposed, he does extract revenge by opening a trench to spoil the peach crop before running away. This portion was representative of the prevalent patriarchy which is inflicted on the characters of the wife and her two daughters wherein the men of the house aren’t able to fully handle the situation. In a subtly moving scene, the character of the wife slaps her husband and son(once he returns), an action resulting in a lot of build up of emotions within her.

The proceedings are simple and niche but quite engrossing. I was amazed at how similar the life of a farmer is elsewhere in the world. A social commentary on the prevalent capitalism in the industry can be attributed to the farmer’s protest in the drama which was eerily similar to that which was conducted in India, a while back. The plight of the farmers does need a change wherein they need to be empowered more. I also did like how the drama was representative of different generations, each with their own ideologies. As many as four generations was shown and with it, a distinct demarcation of their thoughts.

The final scene is achingly moving yet it brings with it a lot of hope. On one side, we see the deforestation representing the destruction of the peach trees which is symbolic of the current life of the family. On the other hand, we see the entire family close-knit(despite a couple of sour relationships) and together signifying hope in their next phase of their lives. Overall, the screenplay is beautifully written and representative of the plight of the farmers irrespective of the world wherein it is set in.