Holy Land. The last pilgrim
Andrés Garrigó, a regular at the pious cinema, producer and/or director of titles such as Fatima, The last mystery, Burning heart, y Povedarepeats tandem with Pablo Moreno (Claret, Red de Libertad, etc.) to bring us a film that combines two genres, fiction and documentary.
In its fiction side, the film tells us the story of a Spanish Christian family, living in a nice residential urbanization on the outskirts of Madrid. In its documentary side, the film shows the testimony of people who tell us about the Holy Land: a Franciscan, a school principal in Bethlehem, a Palestinian Christian from Samaria, a nun of the Incarnate Word from Bethlehem, several friars, a pilgrim guide, a journalist and several converts and missionaries. All of them are introduced through the fiction of this family from Madrid who, at the insistence of the mother, who has just won a lottery, end up reluctantly traveling to the Holy Land. That trip will serve as a starting point to bring them closer together and give a new meaning to their lives.
The film displays an interesting formula, which integrates with more or less success the documentary narrative with that of fiction, although the latter needs a chance to penetrate: the dramatization of the performances contrasts with the veracity of the testimonies, which takes much of the appeal of the work, since its interviewees do not need much more than their words and simplicity to penetrate deep into the soul of those who listen. To this is added the history of the Holy Land, from the time of Jesus, and the testimonies about the legacy and continuity of Christianity, and what it means for Christians to go on pilgrimage to the holy places.
Although at times it has an overly omnipresent use of music, which cloys the film a bit, the script is straightforward and enjoys a disparate range of protagonists that makes it easy to reach a wider audience. Holy Land. The Last Pilgrim, is, in definitiva, an enjoyable film. Shot with simplicity, it takes us through the places we have heard so many times in the sacred scriptures, and invites us to follow the call of the land where it all began, sowing, with the words of those who have already done it, restlessness in the viewer.
