It’s not every film you come out of thinking about how the art design stole the show. La Marrana (The Sow) is a picaresque journey through Spain in 1492. The film opens with a voiceover setting the historical context: Colombus, the banishment of Jews and Muslims from Spain, etcetera. It then picks one ordinary man, Bartolome, whose story it will follow. Bartolome is hungry, and he has his eyes on the pig which another vagabond on the road, Rey, says he’s taking to Portugal. The film proceeds to follow them over the course of a few days as they wander round the countryside, hoping to enlist as sailors on Colombus´ voyage. Not a lot of any great significance happens. In essence this is a buddy movie, which to my mind promised rather more than it delivered. There’s something of Lazarillo de Tormes about this rustic yarn, and one can see how it would have appealed to a local audience. Having said this, the beauty of the art design deserves highlighting. When we enter a 15th century tavern, it really feels as though we’re there. Down to the tone of the soft Spanish light. The production design on imdb is listed as being by Rafael Palmero, set direction by Gonzalo Thovar, costume by Javier Artiñano. Even if nothing of great note is occurring in the film, you can always luxuriate in the images, and at cinema’s capacity to bring a past era to vibrant life.
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