QUICK AND DIRTY: LIVE FROM INDIELISBOA

Filmmaker Iván Castiñeiras Gallego filmed his home town for more than 15 years in order to capture its vastly changing landscape, as well as those struggling to hold on to its history.

Gods of Stone chronicles a small region on the border of Portugal and Spain which, in ancient legends, saw three kings honour the peace between their lands. In modern times, it’s home to smugglers, farmers, and families trying to made ends meet. As decisions made hundreds of miles away threaten their way of life, Gallego observes the migration of younger generations that puts the future of the area in question.

The beginning half of the film embraces the mythology and traditions of rural communities. Filmed in black and white, we see smiling faces in close up, music performed, and skills practiced that have been passed down from one generation to another. While it is a sedate beginning, it is vital in establishing the joyous spirit of the people who have made a life for themselves among the hills and farm life. It’s comforting to observe, even from the point-of-view of the outsider, and just as you wonder whether this is a wandering “slice of life” observational work, the viewer is presented with the other side of the story. It’s one that means this rural idyll is tinged with sadness.

Colour comes in as a stark dose of modern reality. A village school once humming with life closes due to a lack of students, with classrooms left abandoned and silent. Families that have made their home here face the difficult decision to leave, either for work opportunities or the allure of a big city. Citizens debate a mining company wanting to buy land that could see them forced to move on. Throughout, the idea of ‘home’ is questioned and vulnerable. Can you cling to a place that is fast being deserted? Is it even home if the people who made it so are gone?

Perhaps the most powerful subject is Maria, shown throughout the timeline of filming growing from a young girl to a teenager. The innocence of those earlier years gives way to something heavier, as personal bonds are stretched to phone and video calls. One conversation, where her brother tells her that he is leaving for Valencia, is heart-breaking to watch. The camera observes as she nods with the sense that this conversation was always coming, but wipes away tears at the knowledge that today is the day.

This international co-production of Spain, Portugal and France is a beautiful testament to a different way of life, one that may increasingly disappear as the worship of the old gods gives way to the need to survive. Both a celebration and contemplation, Gallego’s decade and a half endeavour is shown to be worth the effort.

Gods of Stone just showed at IndieLisboa.