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| PATAGONIA |
Year: 2010
UK: Verve Pictures
Cast: Matthew Rhys, Nia Roberts, Matthew Gravelle, Duffy,
Marta Lubos, Nahaul Perez Biscayart
Director: Marc Evans
Country: Argentina, UK
UK: 119 mins
UK Certificate: 15 contains one scene of strong sex
UK Release Date: 4 March 2011
Distributor
UK website
Reviews: Phase9
movie review
Synopsis
PATAGONIA narrates the journeys of two women – one looking for her
past, the other for her future. The film inter-cuts between their
stories, in which one of them travels south to north through the
Welsh springtime and the other east to west through the Argentine
autumn.
Directed by Marc Evans (Snowcake), Patagonia stars Matthew Rhys
(Edge of Love and Brothers and Sisters) and Nia Roberts (Solomon and
Gaenor) alongside Grammy Award winning singer Duffy, in her acting
debut. A road movie for romantics, Patagonia is a film of intimate
moments that play out against the sweeping panoramic landscapes,
complemented by a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack.
A truly original film with dialogue spoken in both Spanish and
Welsh.
Incorporating the culture and countryside of both Wales and
Patagonia, Evans’ impressive film is a lyrical exploration of the
parallel journeys of two women at very different stages of their
lives. Cutting between their stories, in which one travels South to
North through the Welsh springtime and the other East to West
through the Argentine autumn, Patagonia is a film of intimate
moments that play out against the sweeping panoramic landscapes,
complemented by the hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, including songs
from Duffy and exciting new up and coming artist Kirsty Almeida.
In Cardiff, Gwen (Nia Roberts) and her boyfriend Rhys (Matthew
Gravelle) have felt significant strain on their relationship since
discovering they are unable to conceive. When Rhys is sent on a
photographic assignment to Patagonia, Gwen sees a chance to repair
their relationship with a bit of adventurous escapism. Accompanying
the couple as a guide is charismatic and handsome Welsh Patagonian
Mateo (Matthew Rhys). As the trio travel through the welsh
settlements, Rhys submerges himself in his photography and meanwhile
a mild flirtation between Mateo and Gwen starts to grow into
something more.
In Patagonia, elderly Argentinean native Cerys (Marta Lubos) starts
a secret pilgrimage to the Welsh countryside so that she can visit
her ancestral homeland before she dies. Her somewhat nervous and
introverted young neighbour Alejandro (Nahaul Perez Biscayart)
reluctantly comes along as her chaperone. Cerys encourages him to
open his eyes and embrace new challenges and new people, and when he
falls for a seductive Welsh student played by Duffy, he is soon
enjoying the journey of a lifetime. Cerys meanwhile must come to
terms with discovering the truth behind her family’s past and put
her uncertain history to bed.
Both journeys must eventually come to an end both literally and
metaphorically and the film’s poignant climax is as heartbreaking
as it is uplifting. A road movie for romantics, PATAGONIA is at its
heart a love story, an old lady’s love for her roots and a young
couple finding out if they are supposed to be together.
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