This movie is one of these rare gems that you encounter, exactly when you're not looking for it.
Besides that Alamar reminds me warmly of my own quite similar youth (albeit in the Mediterranean) it also provided a lot of depth on other levels.
I'm surprised to see that other reviews are critical - sometimes say it has no plot, no development, nothing to keep the viewer occupied. This is far from the truth - even just for its wonderful aesthetics it should be worth watching. The unobtrusive editing further puts the attention of the viewer on the visual ; interesting & uniquely composed shots pass by regularly. As a documentary/art photographer I can only say it inspired me in countless events to rethink my own choices in composition, timing and storytelling.
The story is not so much a narrative in the traditional sense. It is an experience, more than a document. You feel like you are in someone's memory, or a dream..somewhere between observing and remembering. Fragments of daytime events pass by leaving you wonder about many things - and it is in the raising of these small questions about the mundane, the tickling of your curiosity and imagination that Alamar excels as well.
An other aspect that I greatly appreciated is the Utopian life portrayed. Not just the setting (gray mangrove forests aren't all that exciting really) but the delicate and heart-warming relationship between the father and his son. With a patience and kindness the boy is being guided into life, rather than forced. A simple life is something we should desire, rather than avoid seems to be the message.
The only aspect that leaves the movie somewhat to be desired is that the contrast with the city/Italian life could have been improved, perhaps. Then again, it's total absence in most of the movie acts like a catalyst in a way ; you cannot help but constantly see the boy struggle with life back in Italy, miss the things he experienced, be changed for ever. It is also in his absolute naivety (the crocodile/beach scene) that the urban life is never far away.
One of the more profound and metaphorical scenes is that of the glass bottle that is bound to be stranded in the mangrove trees not a few hundred yards away, yet quite ceremoniously dropped in the water by the boy. Or, the mini-story where the white pet-bird gets lost, almost to be found again responding to the boys call...but never quite encountered again. It is in these scenes that the director of Alamar shows his conceptual muscle. He manages to tell of the impeding change of the current boy's life, the inevitability of the world to seem to always separate you from what you desire.
Yes, this movie left me wanting, dreaming, appreciative of what I've experienced myself and unsatisfied of the life I'm forced to live right now. Not to mention inspired photographically.
Besides that Alamar reminds me warmly of my own quite similar youth (albeit in the Mediterranean) it also provided a lot of depth on other levels.
I'm surprised to see that other reviews are critical - sometimes say it has no plot, no development, nothing to keep the viewer occupied. This is far from the truth - even just for its wonderful aesthetics it should be worth watching. The unobtrusive editing further puts the attention of the viewer on the visual ; interesting & uniquely composed shots pass by regularly. As a documentary/art photographer I can only say it inspired me in countless events to rethink my own choices in composition, timing and storytelling.
The story is not so much a narrative in the traditional sense. It is an experience, more than a document. You feel like you are in someone's memory, or a dream..somewhere between observing and remembering. Fragments of daytime events pass by leaving you wonder about many things - and it is in the raising of these small questions about the mundane, the tickling of your curiosity and imagination that Alamar excels as well.
An other aspect that I greatly appreciated is the Utopian life portrayed. Not just the setting (gray mangrove forests aren't all that exciting really) but the delicate and heart-warming relationship between the father and his son. With a patience and kindness the boy is being guided into life, rather than forced. A simple life is something we should desire, rather than avoid seems to be the message.
The only aspect that leaves the movie somewhat to be desired is that the contrast with the city/Italian life could have been improved, perhaps. Then again, it's total absence in most of the movie acts like a catalyst in a way ; you cannot help but constantly see the boy struggle with life back in Italy, miss the things he experienced, be changed for ever. It is also in his absolute naivety (the crocodile/beach scene) that the urban life is never far away.
One of the more profound and metaphorical scenes is that of the glass bottle that is bound to be stranded in the mangrove trees not a few hundred yards away, yet quite ceremoniously dropped in the water by the boy. Or, the mini-story where the white pet-bird gets lost, almost to be found again responding to the boys call...but never quite encountered again. It is in these scenes that the director of Alamar shows his conceptual muscle. He manages to tell of the impeding change of the current boy's life, the inevitability of the world to seem to always separate you from what you desire.
Yes, this movie left me wanting, dreaming, appreciative of what I've experienced myself and unsatisfied of the life I'm forced to live right now. Not to mention inspired photographically.