Marc Recha leads us into a life of freedom in La vida lliure
- After being shot in autumn 2016, the new film by the director of A Perfect Day to Fly is now in the middle of post-production with a view to taking part in this season’s choicest festivals
Over a period of three weeks in October last year, Marc Recha was on the beautiful beaches of Ciutadella (on the island of Menorca) in order to film his ninth movie, La vida lliure [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marc Recha
film profile], which is set in 1914. During this war-torn period, two children live on the island – which is gripped by a flu epidemic – after their mother leaves and heads to Algiers in search of work. The kids in question are Tina (played by newcomer Mariona Gomila) and Biel (Macià Arguimbau, also a first-time actor), whose imagination is fuelled by Rom, a peculiar fellow who lives life as a free spirit down by the sea. Rom is played by Sergi López, who is working with Recha once again, after he did so in his previous film, A Perfect Day to Fly [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. The cast is rounded off by Miquel Gelabert.
The screenplay has been penned by Recha, who is also serving as executive producer once again – after he did so on A Perfect Day to Fly, Little Indi [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and August Days [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – and his brother Pau will be in charge of creating the soundtrack. According to the filmmaker, “The landscape is one of the main characters and is the real driving force behind the story: the relief shapes the characters, and the wind catalyses the events that unfold. A desire for freedom and the very dreams of childhood itself are what compel Tina and her brother to take the plunge and live a life of freedom. Rom will be the wake-up call that stimulates the siblings’ dreams, whisking them off on a voyage of discovery and hope, because mankind is mystery, laughter, the subject of all those thousands of personal experiences, made-up journeys and impossible adventures.”
La vida lliure, shot digitally (in 5K resolution) and featuring dialogue in Menorcan Catalan, is a production by Barcelona-based Turkana Films and Majorca’s La Perifèrica Produccions, with the involvement of TVC. The post-production is being entrusted to Antaviana Films. “The film draws on The First Man, the posthumous book by Albert Camus; the world of Josep Pla and his work Aigua de mar; the travel writings of Robert Louis Stevenson, and Treasure Island; and the timeless universe found in the books of William Faulkner,” concludes Recha.
(Translated from Spanish)
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