The South

1983

1h 34m

Drama

List

100%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

91%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

Estrella Arenas (Icíar Bollaín), a rural Spanish teenager with a rich imagination, dreams of her mysterious father Agustín (Omero Antonutti), a man who in recent years has drifted away from her. Estrella struggles to piece together Agustín's secret history and recalls her family's sudden unexplained move from Seville, Spain, to the northern countryside in her youth. Estrella decides to return alone to the South, a place warped by years of her father's hazy and nostalgic recollections.

Read More

Read Less

Prime Video

Rent The South on Prime Video, or buy it on Prime Video.

David Robinson

Times (UK)

Erice confirms his mastery of mood, ambivalence, and the art of evoking the mysteries rather than the sharp lines of character.

May 12, 2023

Full Review

Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

The ingredients have all been seen before in Spanish cinema, but the poetry with which they're remixed makes them seem new.

May 12, 2023

Full Review

Patrick Gibbs

Daily Telegraph (UK)

A film of the highest artistry, to kindle the imagination and linger in the memory.

May 12, 2023

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Erice illustrates it as a sober, lyrical, beautiful drama, which finds its north in a refined aesthetic that subtly, it dialogues about a childhood marked by the chiaroscuros of the post-war period. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 7/10

Nov 30, 2023

Full Review

Tom Milne

Observer (UK)

A lovely little film of amazing delicacy.

May 12, 2023

Full Review

Diego Galán

El Pais (Spain)

A fascinating and emotional dream that is not interrupted for the audience. [Full Review in Spanish]

Aug 29, 2019

Full Review

Read all reviews

dave j

Written and directed by Víctor Erice with a very young daughter Estrella (Icíar Bollaín) having just learned that her dad has not return home leaving nothing to her other than a pendent. She then reflects and evaluate her time she has spent with her dad as well as her mute relationship with him that may or may not have lead to his disappearance.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

raphael g

Although not as astounding as his first film, Erice shows that he is a master of cinema. Great movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A woman reflects on her own story as how she remember how it was like growing up. She is an only child, has a kind mother and has a father she digs. He is of the mysterious kind and even if she is too young to understand, she knows that something is up. The story is told from the childs perspectice. Mostly when Estrella is eight, later on when she is fifteen. This is a very beautiful film. It's shot so wonderfully and there are many warm scenes. It's also a bit mysterious so you don't fall in the grave the film slowly digs - the matter of little happenings and solid entertainment value. I liked it. The acting, the atmosphere and the poetry that stays near the film the entire playtime. I have "El espíritu de la colmena" in my shelf, probably the directors most known film, but I saw this one first. This film was actually never completed. Some disagreements with the producer made it cut short - and I believe we lost at least 30 or 45 minutes to the whole film sadly. So, since it's cut rather short and "brutal" it left me a bit on a wonder - something that's OK, but I still got a feeling that there was even better things to come. So for me, this is a very good film, that could have been better if it ever was med "whole". 7.5 out of 10 actresses.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

andrey k

It's incredible what cinema has yet to offer, it's like an inexhaustible well. The director, Victor Erice, is a master of creating this soul-wrenching atmosphere, nostalgia, rendering on the screen the moments of childhood. Just like his previous masterpiece "The Spirit of the Beehive" this movie features a little girl, through whom we witness our earthly mysteries which we tend to forget or which tend to become less acute as we grow up. This film is a sort of ethereal experience which penetrates deep in our memory and soul and leaves us pensive.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's regrettable that the full vision of the film is never realised. In any case, the half we manage to have reminds me of Pan's Labyrinth and it's not a good sign.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

With a meticulously paced and intimate approach, Erice realizes a poetic study over the complexity of the human mind analyzing our failures and desires. Using again some recurrent themes seen in The Spirit of the Beehive he explores the true artistic values of cinema. Another masterpiece.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Víctor Erice

Director

Omero Antonutti

Agustín Arenas

Sonsoles Aranguren

Estrella(8 años)

Icíar Bollaín

Estrella (15 años)

Lola Cardona

Julia

Rafaela Aparicio

Milagros

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

100%

89%

The Official Story

100%

86%

At First Sight

92%

82%

El Norte

73%

94%

The Color Purple

90%

77%

No End

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Estrella Arenas (Icíar Bollaín), a rural Spanish teenager with a rich imagination, dreams of her mysterious father Agustín (Omero Antonutti), a man who in recent years has drifted away from her. Estrella struggles to piece together Agustín's secret history and recalls her family's sudden unexplained move from Seville, Spain, to the northern countryside in her youth. Estrella decides to return alone to the South, a place warped by years of her father's hazy and nostalgic recollections.

Director: Víctor Erice
Producer: Jean-Pierre Fougea
Screenwriter: Víctor Erice
Production Co: Chloe Productions
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Spanish (Spain)
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 20, 2018
Runtime: 1h 34m

Most Popular at Home Now