The Olive Tree (2016 film)

The Olive Tree
Film poster
Spanish	El olivo
Directed by	Icíar Bollaín
Written by	Paul Laverty
Produced by	Juan Gordon
Starring	Anna Castillo Javier Gutiérrez Pep Ambròs Manuel Cucala Miguel Ángel Aladren
Cinematography	Sergi Gallardo
Edited by	Nacho Ruiz Capillas
Music by	Pascal Gaigne
Production companies	Morena Films The Match Factory
Distributed by	eOne Films Spain
Release dates	6 March 2016 (2016-03-06) (MFF) 6 May 2016 (2016-05-06) (Spain)
Running time	100 minutes
Countries	Spain Germany
Language	Spanish
Box office	$1.9 million[1]

The Olive Tree (Spanish: El olivo) is a 2016 drama film directed by Icíar Bollaín and written by Paul Laverty starring Anna Castillo alongside Javier Gutiérrez and Pep Ambròs. It was shortlisted as one of three films as the Spanish submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, but was not selected.[2][3]

Plot

Alma is a 20-year-old girl and adores her grandfather, a man who has not spoken for years. When the elderly man also refuses to eat, the girl decides to recover the millenary tree that the family sold against his will. In order to succeed, she needs to count on her uncle, a victim of the crisis, her friend Rafa, and her whole town to help her. The problem is to find out where in Europe the olive tree is.

Cast

• Anna Castillo as Alma
• Javier Gutiérrez as Alcachofa
• Pep Ambròs as Rafa
• Manuel Cucala as Ramón
• Miguel Angel Aladren as Luis
• Ana Isabel Mena as Sole
• Carme Pla as Vanessa

Production

The film is a Spanish-German co-production by Morena Films alongside The Match Factory.[4][5]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Miami Festival.[4] Distributed by eOne Films Spain,[5] it was released theatrically in Spain on 6 May 2016.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 26 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10.[6]

Jonathan Holland of The Hollywood Reporter underscored the film to be "a feel-good combination of angry and tender".[7]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2017	4th Feroz Awards	Best Main Actress in a Film	Anna Castillo	Nominated	[8][9]
	31st Goya Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Javier Gutiérrez	Nominated	[10]
		Best New Actress	Anna Castillo	Won
		Best Original Screenplay	Paul Laverty	Nominated
		Best Original Score	Pascal Gaigne	Nominated

References

1. "El Olivo (The Olive Tree)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
2. "El olivo, Julieta y La novia, camino a Hollywood". La Academia. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
3. De Pablos, Emiliano (20 August 2016). "Bollain's 'Olive Tree,' Almodovar's 'Julieta,' Ortiz's 'Bride' On Spain's Oscar Short-List". Variety. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
4. Monjas, Chusa L. (June 2016). "Cada película es una victoria" (PDF). Academia. Revista del Cine Español (219). Madrid: Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España: 72. ISSN 2174-0097.
5. "'El olivo' – estreno en cines 6 de mayo". Audiovisual451. 2 May 2016.
6. "The Olive Tree". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
7. Holland, Jonathan (14 March 2016). "'The Olive Tree' ('El Olivo'): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
8. "'El hombre de las mil caras lidera los Feroz". LosExtras (in Spanish). 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
9. "La lista completa de ganadores de los premios Feroz 2017" (in Spanish). El Huffinton Post. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
10. "Juan Antonio Bayona's 'A Monster Calls' Leads Goya Award Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2017.

External links

• The Olive Tree at IMDb