Lucía Aleñar Iglesias’ Forastera made its debut at the Glasgow Film Festival last Tuesday with an unexpected approach to loss. Over a summer in Mallorca at her grandparents’ house, Cata (Zoe Stein) witnesses the sudden death of her grandmother, Catalina (Marta Angelat). As she deals with her grief, she begins dressing up in her grandmother’s clothes and even adopting her grandmother’s role in the family.
The strongest element of the film is Agnès Piqué’s cinematography. Visually, the film is stunning, with the Mediterranean setting captured through lingering shots which emphasise the stillness of the atmosphere. This visual style compliments the film’s themes of grief as the long takes create a quiet mood that shows how loss can suspend time.
Where the film falls short is in its subtlety. At times it feels as though too much is left to be said in the ‘unsaid.’ Although there are moments in the film where the brooding silence and discreet emotional cues are effective, the narrative is too reliant on these moments to tell the story. As a result, the protagonist, Cata, feels distant and one audience member at the festival even said that they felt “confused and indifferent” leaving the film.
Iglesias’ approach to grief is unconventional, but it is certainly an effective representation of the mourning process and its impact on family dynamics. The film doesn’t shy away from the unsettling nature of grief but in avoiding more overt storytelling techniques the film risks feeling emotionally detached.
Despite leaving the film feeling a little puzzled, that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the film. The cinematography, acting, and exploration of loss and its effect on the family hierarchy was very interesting. Forastera was a film that I continued to think about for days after. It’s unique, fascinating and it was a great addition to the Glasgow Film Festival lineup!
Photo by Iga Suszyńska for The Student