Terra

"Tierra" is an interesting metaphysical Spanish fantasy with an unusual central character called Angel who by his own admission is half man, half angel, and he also admits to a turn in hospital to cure his hyperactive imagination. What's more , he's a first class fumigator who with the help of casual gypsy labour rids the soil of woodlice. The story opens in vineyard country, red dry undulating fields of gnarled vines, swirling red dust before an approaching storm, a lightning strike that splits a tree in half and kills a shepherd and some of his lambs. A great dramatic introduction that sets the scene for what is to follow. The film does not explain how the presence of woodlice gives the wine an earthy flavour which is said to be most desirable. The camera work is great, especially in the fumigation scene where the recruited workers dressed in white protective clothing move methodically through the red vineyards with their probing tubes, the white fumes swirling around them. They look like extra-terrestrial beings. There are numerous references to the dimensions of the universe, to the spaciousness of creation. The film starts with a panoramic vision of the stars and ends with a flight of birds wheeling in the sky. Yes, producer Medem works on a broad canvasa with incredible artistry. The love interest in the film is provided by Angela, a farmer's wife in love with the newly-arrived Angel, and Mari a sexy little thing in tight Spanish leather who frequents the bars and is quite a deft hand at billiards too. Her snake-like movements are very seductive and Angel begins to admire them, too,but being half angel has its own special problems. I like particularly the hospital scene where Angel's uncle says there is a charming girl waiting to see him. Is it Angela or Mari? We are teased for quite some time before her identity is revealed. I liked too the stark white hospital room- such a contrast to the red sweep of the Spanish countryside. Most of all I liked Gomez as Angel. What a charmer!

After seeing "Sex and Lucia" by writer-director Julio Medem, I decided to rent this film and was gratified with one of the best works of international cinema. From the beginning we are fascinated by the world introduced through the main character, an agricultural technician supposedly recently out of a mental hospital. Along the way we get to doubt most everything. We experience a different world that opens up with unexpected violence and repressed longing. The cinematography, production design and performances are extraordinary until the very end, which as with most Julio Medem films happen to be a commercial cop-out of sorts. In the last two minutes, when it all goes in one direction, the writer-director insists in imposing his (overly sentimental) views on his tormented characters and previously constructed world. Rather than let things go towards their ultimate logical consequences and grand finale, it makes for a silly little ending. Still, a must video rent if you want a thought piece with humor and thriller elements.

Spanish production with fine acting , colorful cinematography and rousing score by Alberto Iglesias . Julio Medem directed the film for Sogetel and Lolafilms and it was released in 1995 . Set in the Aragon region, this interesting and thought-provoking film dealing with a story of a solitary man named Angel , a strange young who comes to rid a small Spanish town of pests in the lands . The local wine-making industry has found these bugs responsible for giving their product an "earthy" taste that has worried local opinion . Meantime in the little town , Angel becomes involved with two gorgeous and very diverse females , the simple and shy Angela (Emma Suarez) , and the sex-hungry Mari (Silke) , both of whom impact deeply on his life . Furthermore , other rare characters such as Patricio (Karra Elejalde) and a Pub's owner named Alberto (Nancho Novo) appear in his life .

This is a slow-paced , deliberate though magnetic rural drama .It contains marvelous cinematography , breathtaking musical score and enjoyable production design . It is a riveting film though sometimes a little boring and overlong . Anyway, the film is interesting , thematically intriguing and strange ; Medem has his own style of telling a story . It is excellently played by a magnificent plethora of main actors such as Carmelo Gomez , Emma Suarez , Silke and Karra Elejalde , Julio Medem's ordinary . Very good acting by Carmelo Gomez as Angel, unsettling with a "ghost" of himself , he is a tiny grubs exterminator recently released from a mental hospital ; however , Antonio Banderas was supposed to play Ángel in the film, but due to schedule problems, director Julio Medem replaced him with Carmelo . Excellent performance by two beautiful women -Emma Suarez , Silke- who impact on a great scale about Angel/Carmelo Gomez life . Good support cast gives right performance and full of prestigious players such as Nancho Novo as Alberto , Txema Blasco as Tomás , Miguel Palenzuela as Tío Ángel and Pepe Viyuela as Ulloa . Intriguing as well as evocative musical score mirroring well the scenery, its people and the story line, it was superbly composed by several times Oscar nominated Alberto Iglesias , Julio Medem's usual . In addition , a spotless pictorial cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe and a willingness , almost perfect of the elements of each shot , every sequence , every space ; being rightly filmed in Calatayud, Cariñena, Cosuenda , Paniza , Zaragoza, Aragón . Aguirresarobe subsequently would make a prestigious career in Hollywood such as ¨Fright night , ¨The twilight saga: eclipse¨, ¨The road¨ , ¨The others¨ and many others .

The motion picture was well produced by Manuel Lombardero and originally directed by Julio Medem , this his third movie, "Tierra," released in 1996, was selected for the Cannes Film Festival . Medem had been making short movies with a super-8 camera owned by his father until he received a call from a new production company called Sogetel and executive producers Fernando de Garcillán , José Luis Olaizola , Enrique López Lavigne . They were interested in his script titled "Vacas" . It won the Goya Award from the Spanish academy for best new director, and won prizes in the festivals of Tokyo, Torino and Alexandria. In 1993 Medem made his second movie, "The red squirrel¨. It confirmed Medem's talents and won prizes in Fort Lauderdale, Bogota and Bucarest. In 1998 Medem released " The lovers of the Polar Circle ," considered his best movie by most of his fans . It also became a box-office hit with more than one million spectators in Spain and was also released worldwide. In 2001 his fourth movie, "Lucia and sex ," became a huge hit and began the career of actress Paz Vega who won the Goya for best new actress . Although in 2003 failed with the release , "The Basque ball" , a documentary that portrays the phenomenon of nationalism and terrorism in the Basque Country of northern Spain , it was very polemical and partial . In 2007 directed the flop ¨Caotica Ana¨ and in 2010 , ¨Room in Rome¨, a successful though with not sense film , plenty of nudism and only starred by two gorgeous naked girls . Julio Medem is for sure one of the the most important and original Spanish filmmaker. Well worth watching if you get the chance .

Julio Medem's 'Tierra' has that same feel of surrealism, poetry and magic that his other works, namely 'Vacas', 'Los Amantes del Circulo Polar', 'La Ardilla Roja'. His films are a genre of their own. Medem has penned a solid screenplay and done a fine job of showing it on screen. He often works on a broad campus.

The visuals are very simple yet the way Medem and his cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe capture them makes them look extraordinary. The film is set in a remote Spanish countryside surrounded by simple earthy brown landscape. Yet the moving images beautifully capture the richness of texture, mood, emotion, sound, symbolism and dialogue. Alberto Iglesias's score is equally spellbinding. Carmelo Gómez, Emma Suárez, Karra Elejalde, Silke and Nancho Novo are in top form. Gómez does one of his best works here.

I'll refrain from mentioning anything about the story because, like most of Medem's films, this one is more worthy experiencing rather than just hearing.

A man with psychical problems comes to a little town to solve farmer's grape and wine troubles. He falls in love at a time with a married woman and a young girl, and he gets in troubles with Angela's husband. Julio Medem show us how complicated can be our lives, even if you are in a little and quite place, and how a choice can change your whole life.