Handia

XIX century Spain, Basque country, endless wars need endless fodder, and who else would serve that purpose better than poor and destitute. Age old story repeating cyclically to these days. Surviving the war was hard enough but coming home in one piece was even more important. Crippled peasant was no good to anybody, just one more hungry mouth to feed. This heartbreaking movie filmed in harsh, almost unreal terrain tells this saga almost like a fairytale with a giant and a cripple in its center. Two brothers dealt the worst cards in the game of life plod through faraway lands as a part of a cruel freak show. Even having a choice makes one privileged, our heroes have none, just bare-knuckle fight for survival, till the bones break and all mercifully ends.

One of films with salt taste. beautiful. but without the roots. you define it as a family story. or a portrait. or definition of loneliness. but , at the end, each definition seems not convincing. a Basque film. and that is all. the landscapes, the cinematography, the language are more significant than the story itself.

It seems some viewers didn't have patience for this film. Really a shame because I think anyone who gives themselves over to it will be taken by this giant. Beautiful cinematography, understated performances, interesting historical and socio-politico context that resonates today. As with the character of the giant himself, the film depends as much on what is unsaid as that which is spoken. It is a film rich in metaphor and poetic resonance. Most of all, it's a universally human story about the misfit in all of us, and the love and recognition we crave for our true selves. If that's not enough to satisfy any sensitive viewer, then there's no point looking beyond Megalodon.

I generally don't like spanish dramas. Just because they are often about the same themes and actors are not that convincing (in native language).

But this time, I loved these actors. I watched it dubbed into spanish, though. But the cinematography is AWESOME. The theme is really interesting, different.

The problem with the movie is not that it is slow paced or it has no feelings. It has a lot of feelings, the vfx / proesthetics works is amazing also, but it is that not much happens along the story... I wish there was more than just the "person who is treated like an object to get money and that ends up being a sad and terrible for everyone". It's ok for a premise but I wish more stuff happened than just gazes and people with sad faces.

Anyhow, GREAT movie. I'd love to see more of these kind of movies that are more local and more culturally similar to the real spain than others that only want to imitate what Hollywood does.

All in all the movie was average movie. This film could have use some more human emotions, and then the audience could feel a strong connection with giant.

The script was also average. With some little more emotional connections with different characters could made the script a whole lot better. Throughout the film it seemed that the characters are slightly detached from each other, which made the film a bit less enjoyable. Performance of the characters was a bit of stale; there was no extraordinary performance.

As far as the story goes, one can try the film in a slow evening when there is nothing to do.