Carol’s Journey
Based on a novel by Angel Garcia Roldan, Carol’s Journey is a bright spot in the independent film industry. Directed by Imanol Uribe, this film is brimming with emotion, superb acting and just the right combination of humor and irony to satisfy just about any audience.
The setting is 1938 at the end of the Spanish Civil War, in a country divided by loyalties and politics. Aurora, played by Maria Barranco, is the mother of a 12 year old daughter named Carol. While Carol was born in the United States, her mother takes her back to Spain for reasons not yet known. Thus begins the turbulent journey of Carol.
Carol is played by Clara Lago an absolutely exquisite girl with eyes as big as saucers and talent bursting at the seams. She is a tomboy at heart, stubborn, and rebellious. Yet what she is ultimately, is a survivor. The events of her life, at such a young age, could challenge even the most mature of us, yet she continues to perservere and does so successfully.
She is immediately the apple of her grandfather’s eyes, superbly portrayed by Alvaro de Luna. Grandpa, a retired professor, takes in his granddaughter with kindness and gentleness and an enormous amount of patience. He is called Don Amalio, respected in the community although his political beliefs are ultimately axed by the reign of Franco.
One of the early encounters Carol experiences is with a group of three boys, all of them set on giving her grief. Little did they know who they had encountered. She can hold her own with them and before long, she has caught the eye of Tomiche, played by Juan Jose Ballesta. Theirs in a relationship of innocence, two youngster coming together from opposite sides of the monetary world. Tomiche kills birds to help feed his family while Carol needs for nothing. Their innocence is both touching and sincere.
Rosa Maria Sarda is Maruja, the beloved member of the community. She helps to educate the youngsters and has an impact on both Tomiche and Carol. Her love for the children is evident in her method of teaching as well as her sense of humor.
Slowly the path of Carol’s journey unfolds as one incident after another strikes her previously normal life. Her mother’s reason for returning to Spain is that she is dying. When her mother dies, she is carted off to live with her aunt and uncle which is not much to Carol’s liking. Her tenacity brings her back to her grandfather and her life is once again better.
The true love of Carol’s life is her father, a pilot. Robert makes a memorable contribution to the delightful part of the film when he flies his plane over Carol’s party and drops off a gift.
The films tragic and bittersweet ending is a testament to the power of hope, the strength to not only to survive, but to live. I have seen many, many films and have been touched by them, but this particular film has stayed in my mind since the night I watched it. In my mind, there was no acting in this film, the characters were real. Emotions and actions were all true to life as we all know life to be. I saw no performance weaknesses but rather a cast who were actually living the story.
It doesn’t even come close to sappy although I didn’t have a dry eye by the conclusion. While it would be easy to throw this film into the coming of age category, I believe that would be a mistake. It is a raw representation of what life deals to us and how we all face the events and the consequences. I highly recommend this film.