Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

mdkooter This movie is one of these rare gems that you encounter, exactly when you're not looking for it. Besides that Alamar reminds me warmly of my own quite similar youth (albeit in the Mediterranean) it also provided a lot of depth on other levels. I'm surprised to see that other reviews are critical - sometimes say it has no plot, no development, nothing to keep the viewer occupied. This is far from the truth - even just for its wonderful aesthetics it should be worth watching. The unobtrusive editing further puts the attention of the viewer on the visual ; interesting & uniquely composed shots pass by regularly. As a documentary/art photographer I can only say it inspired me in countless events to rethink my own choices in composition, timing and storytelling. The story is not so much a narrative in the traditional sense. It is an experience, more than a document. You feel like you are in someone's memory, or a dream..somewhere between observing and remembering. Fragments of daytime events pass by leaving you wonder about many things - and it is in the raising of these small questions about the mundane, the tickling of your curiosity and imagination that Alamar excels as well. An other aspect that I greatly appreciated is the Utopian life portrayed. Not just the setting (gray mangrove forests aren't all that exciting really) but the delicate and heart-warming relationship between the father and his son. With a patience and kindness the boy is being guided into life, rather than forced. A simple life is something we should desire, rather than avoid seems to be the message.The only aspect that leaves the movie somewhat to be desired is that the contrast with the city/Italian life could have been improved, perhaps. Then again, it's total absence in most of the movie acts like a catalyst in a way ; you cannot help but constantly see the boy struggle with life back in Italy, miss the things he experienced, be changed for ever. It is also in his absolute naivety (the crocodile/beach scene) that the urban life is never far away. One of the more profound and metaphorical scenes is that of the glass bottle that is bound to be stranded in the mangrove trees not a few hundred yards away, yet quite ceremoniously dropped in the water by the boy. Or, the mini-story where the white pet-bird gets lost, almost to be found again responding to the boys call...but never quite encountered again. It is in these scenes that the director of Alamar shows his conceptual muscle. He manages to tell of the impeding change of the current boy's life, the inevitability of the world to seem to always separate you from what you desire. Yes, this movie left me wanting, dreaming, appreciative of what I've experienced myself and unsatisfied of the life I'm forced to live right now. Not to mention inspired photographically.

Martin Teller A young boy's parents separate and before his mother whisks him off to Rome, he spends a few weeks with his father, fishing off the Banco Chinchorro reef in the Mexican Caribbean. That's all the "plot" there is, it's covered in the first 5 or 6 minutes. But sometimes all a movie needs to do is transport you to another place and mood, and this one does that wonderfully. The details of their sea-going life are presented slowly but gently, not laboriously. The relationships between father and son, grandfather and father, man and nature are beautiful. It's a serene, inviting existence. A recurring "character" is a small white egret who, in a series of captivating scenes, is harmoniously assimilated into their routine. They care for it together. By the end, without any grand revelations, we feel that Natan has learned something valuable about the gifts life has to give, and will carry that -- and peaceful memories of his father -- with him for the rest of his days. Lovely stuff.

Baron Ronan Doyle Named as the film of 2010 by a site in which I invest some credence, Alamar was something I was keen to seek out and take in, its status as an is-it-isn't-it-documentary an added factor to its appeal.Leaving the urban residence of his mother to spend time with his father and grandfather off the Mexican coast, Natan experiences the wonders of unadulterated nature in this tiny fishing community.There has been some degree of questioning as to whether Alamar ought to be classed as a documentary, owing perhaps to its lack of a distinct narrative as such. Certainly the lifestyle it portrays and documents is a real one, lived by real people in the real world. The names of the performers seem to suggest that this is a real family, Natan the actual son of these parents rather than simply playing the role. Maybe it is a documentary. Maybe there is fictionalisation; maybe this sets it apart and classifies it as a narrative film. The one thing I can say for sure is that whether it is documentary or not is irrelevant. It matters not in the slightest whether this story is a reality, whether these people really relate to each other, whether they are paid actors, for so engrossing, engaging, endearing, and enthralling is the film that we are made to feel almost as though we are right there with them every step of the way as they travel from city to sea, from urbanity to rurality of the most secluded sort imaginable. To call the film's cinematography majestic would be to call the ocean which plays such a huge part in its beauty wet: a gross understatement. Each frame lovingly captures the dazzlingly effulgent seascapes, every second of audio the enrapturing calm, the comforting hush. The phrase "words can't describe" is tossed about all too often, almost stripped of the true significance of its meaning, but it can be put to use here without even the slightest suggestion of hyperbole. Words cannot describe the encompassing wonder of the images and sounds captured; indeed, it seems only film can do so. One gets a sense that it is exactly this kind of task for which the medium was envisaged: to present that which can be expressed, be conveyed, be imagined in no other way. There is a complex simplicity to the way of life Alamar depicts, a system of frugality and self-sustenance which is deeply humbling, even moving, to witness. Sitting there, watching this astounding film portray this astounding life on my fancy television and DVD player in my suburban home, all but indistinguishable from the hundreds of clones around it, tears of joyous appreciation graced my cheeks; tears of recognition, of understanding that there remains such vast and astounding beauty in the world. For some 73 minutes I was transported into another life, a life wherein I could appreciate something completely different. Many would describe it as a basic existence, but it is so much more than that. So much more. To see the young Natan revel in the regal splendour of the bird he declares "Blanquita" is to be transported mentally, emotionally, philosophically, to an entirely different plane. Words may not be able to describe the feelings which this emotional experience engenders, but one word can sum up precisely the experience itself: cinema. Purely and simply, this is cinema; this is its power, its potential realised.Writing about Alamar, thinking about it and picturing once more its perspective-altering images makes me immediately want to turn my back on everything I know and live life as these people do, out in the great wild open. Thankfully, I can do just that with the film, for so powerful is its effect, if only for 73 minutes...

asc85 It's true that not really very much is going on in this movie, so if that's what you're looking for, this is definitely not a movie for you. I usually prefer that something is going on, but I found the movie to be very interesting and very sweet. The relationship between the father and his young son seemed so real, genuine, and loving. Things were always shown in a very understated way, which also contributed to its realism. Movies like this can never be made in Hollywood, for the mass audience would be running out of the theater asking for their money back after the first 10 minutes. But because the critical reviews were primarily positive, and it was only 73 minutes long, I wanted to give it a chance. I'm glad I did. It's definitely worth a look.