Santoalla

Santoalla is a gripping documentary that blends human drama with the intrigue of a murder mystery, set in the remote and desolate beauty of Galicia, Spain. This nearly abandoned village, shrouded in wild landscapes, becomes the backdrop for a haunting and perplexing story.

The film follows Martin and Margo Verfondern, an idealistic Dutch couple who left Amsterdam in the 1990s to pursue a self-sufficient life in the rural isolation of Santoalla. However, their dream quickly turns into a bitter confrontation with the village's only other residents, the Rodríguez family. This relationship, fraught with mistrust and resentment, reaches its breaking point when Martin sues the Rodríguez family over a financial dispute. Just weeks after winning the case, Martin mysteriously disappears in January 2010.

The documentary pieces together the events with courtroom footage, interviews, and visuals of Santoalla's stark yet stunning landscapes, reflecting both its beauty and isolation. The police investigation, marred by incompetence, barely scratches the surface, focusing on the Rodríguez family: patriarch Manolo, his wife Jovita, and their two sons, Julio and Carlos, the latter struggling with mental health issues.

The tension between the two families, their irreconcilable differences, and the underlying conflict form a chilling narrative that extends beyond the mystery itself. Santoalla delves into Martin's disappearance while also exploring the dynamics of a place where isolation and hostility can have devastating consequences.

With a measured but engrossing pace, this documentary is a profound reflection on cultural clashes, the fragility of human relationships, and the impact of rural abandonment. It's a fascinating work that captures both the enigma of a crime and the complexity of those involved.

It s a decent documentary. The use of he music track is extremally heavy-handed and jarring but otherwise not bad.

I do feel the filmmakers, being urban New Yorkers, came down to much on one side of the conflict. They clearly sympathize more with the Dutch couple who while not rich have more resources and are able to bully their way in several interactions.

I suggest considering this crime as an allegory for colonialism. The rural family is essentially indigenous peoples at sustenance level and they are faced with newcomers who begin apparently wanting to not change the land, but eventually begin plans to completely change it with a plan to bringing in tourism and additional settlers. As well as questionable exploitation of resources (timber cutting the local forest in an unsustainable way).

The mystery presented by the filmmaker is not so much a mystery -- it is fairly clear what happened in the "disappearance." I think the other aspects are much more compelling and unfortunately inadequately explored.

I couldnt believe how good this was... and I watch ALOT of documentarys but this one was just fascinating from the start..

Has ALL the working parts that can draw a person in and it does it soo well.

A nice documentary in which we are facing a tense flick , hard , tough and brilliant in many moments , showing the difficult rural relationships . Progressive Dutch couple , Martin Verfondern and Margo Pool , had only one dream - to live off the land, far from the constraints and complications of the city. But, when they arrive in the crumbling , Spanish village of Santoalla, the foreigners challenge the traditions of the town's sole remaining family , igniting a decade-long conflict that culminates in Martin's mysterious disappearance. As this once forgotten landscape is thrust into the center of controversy, Margo finds herself searching not only for answers, but for the strength to persevere .¨Santoalla¨ is the true story on which ¨As Bestas¨ was based . Stars a Netherland couple who loving the rural life settled some time ago in a village in the interior of Galicia . We will meet a Dutch couple who find a small town in Orense practically abandoned , the ideal place to set up your school farm. They lead a quiet life there , seeking closeness with nature , although their coexistence with the locals is not as idyllic as they would like. But his utopia turns into a nightmare when they discovers some threatening neighbors. A judicial conflict over the profits from the cutting of trees with their neighbors will cause tension to grow in the village until it reaches a point of no return.

A controversial rural-themed picture concerning a known plot about neighborhood confrontation , as a middle-aged Dutch marriage moves to a local village where their presence inflames two villagers , facing increasingly vicious harassment to the point of outright hostility and surprising outbursts of violence and isolation . Stars Martin Verforden and Margo Pool only had one dream : to live far from the noise and complications of the big city . In Santoalla, a small semi-ruined village in Orense, they find paradise . But his neighbors, a family of locals who are not willing to lose any of the benefits that the passage of time has brought them, become his worst enemies. Three years of fighting , Martin begins to use a camera to record everything that happens , but one day mysteriously disappears and all the alarms go off . It is a very interesting exercise in documentary style , human degradation an envy , a perfect example of the conflict between town and country , and between civilization and barbarism , showing primitive lives against modern civilization .

This US/Spanish documentary was professionally directed by Andrew Becker and Daniel Mehrer . This documentary ¨Santoalla (2016)¨ results to be an adequate company to the excellent film ¨As Bestas¨ (2022) by Rodrigo Sorogoyen starred by Denis Ménochet , Marina Foïs , Luis Zahera , Diego Anido , it was selected to be screened in the Cannes Premiere section of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival . In fact , the latter movie is inspired by the murder of Martin Verfordern , and dedicated to his partner Margo . Being essential and essential to see both films together in order to understand the sad happenings . Rating : 6.5/10. Wortwhile seeing.

Dutch couple, Martin and Margo, give up their urban lives, sell their homes, buy a camper van and travel Europe in search of a place to live a simpler life. They eventually discover their goal in the tiny and remote village of Santoalla in rural Galicia, a place which is in an advanced state of ruination. Only one family remains, the Rodríguez clan. The newcomers buy a ruin and repair it into a liveable home and then begin with wider plans to attract rural tourism. The Rodríguez family strongly oppose to any form of change and a conflict is soon underway. This results in Martin mysteriously disappearing one month after winning a land rights case against the Rodríguez family.

This documentary is unusual in that it also operates as a mystery. The disappearance of Martin poses many questions and leads to many stones being uncovered. It really is difficult saying too much about this one as it's really best to approach it with as little knowledge as possible and to watch the story unfold. Two Brooklyn film-makers Andrew Becker and Daniel Mehrer stumbled on the story by chance and decided to make a film on it. They were helped considerably by the fortunate scenario where Martin had previously shot lots of homemade video footage of his neighbours and environs as he became more paranoid about their behaviours towards him. This first hand material adds invaluably to building up a layered account of the story. There are interviews with both groups of people, with the main focus being on Margo, who comes across as a very measured and determined lady.

It's a fascinating and sinister true account of cultures clashing badly. It seems the fault lies in both directions, not only the intolerance of the Rodríguez but also, the heavy-handed approach of Martin probably made things worse. Yet, it's obvious where the primary blame lies in this story and it remains a tragic one. Additionally, this is an interesting film simply as a look at a very unusual place. Santoalla is effectively a ruin with people living in it. It exists in a place seemingly shut off from the world, with heavy hardships for those who remain. It's a crumbling place which has a haunting quality to it. A place with stories to tell, this is one of them.