The Olive Tree

"Never lose touch with your roots."

2016 1h 36m ES

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 145

DramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Alma’s family has been producing quality olive oil in the Baix Maestrat area of Spain’s Castellón for generations. Yet changing pressures in the industry have made their traditional practices economically untenable, and the family is now in the mass-production poultry business. Alma’s grandfather has not spoken in years. Sadness envelopes him, and he no longer wants to eat. His sons—Alma’s father and uncle—are impatient with him, but Alma understands her grandfather. She realizes he has been grieving for a thousand-year-old olive tree that the family has uprooted and sold to pay some debts. (A sadly common reality in Castellón at present.) Unable to bear the idea that her grandfather could die without seeing this terrible wrong corrected, Alma undertakes a quixotic mission to locate the tree and return it to the family orchard, so that her grandfather may have peace in his final days.

“Never lose touch with your roots.”

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Cast

Anna Castillo
Alma
Javier Gutiérrez
Alcachofa
Pep Ambròs
Rafa
Manuel Cucala
Ramón
Miguel Ángel Aladrén
Luis
Carme Pla
Vanessa
Ana Isabel Mena
Sole
María Romero
Wiki

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Icíar Bollaín
Writers: Paul Laverty
Languages: German, Spanish
Countries: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 5 countries: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Spain.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Icíar Bollaín, shot by Sergi Gallardo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Pascal Gaigne. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nacho Ruiz Capillas shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Anna Castillo and Javier Gutiérrez and Pep Ambròs carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Never lose touch with your roots.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Icíar Bollaín directs. Sergi Gallardo behind the camera. Pascal Gaigne scores. Nacho Ruiz Capillas cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Spain. Dialogue in German, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 10 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, Spanish.
3International production across 5 countries: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Spain.
4Directed by Icíar Bollaín, shot by Sergi Gallardo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Pascal Gaigne. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Nacho Ruiz Capillas shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Anna Castillo and Javier Gutiérrez and Pep Ambròs carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Never lose touch with your roots.".
9IMDB entry: tt3655972 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sergi Gallardo
Original score: Pascal Gaigne
Editing: Nacho Ruiz Capillas
Costume design: Susa Sasserath
Makeup / hair: Marcela Barreto
Sound: Sergio Testón
Runtime: 96 min · 1h 36m
Status: Released
Original language: ES
IMDB: The Olive Tree (2016)

Also by

Icíar Bollaín

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2017-10-22
★ 8/10
Trees, the pen the earth's holding to write its fate. 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 end If 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

Production companies