Trees, photos and Basque identity in Asier Altuna’s Amama (When a Tree Falls)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Asier Altuna’s Amama (When a Tree Falls 2015) is a Basque film that represents important aspects of that society: the dichotomies between rural and urban worlds, the past and the present, parents and children, and their concomitant effects on Basque identity. The departure from the farm by the younger generation threatens a millennial way of life. Amaia, in particular, challenges traditional cultural practices, especially regarding her patriarchal father, and the film manifests the tension between matriarchy and patriarchy in Basque society. Amaia’s photographs and films of her grandmother and other family members speak to a continuity of the Basque family, forming a type of family album; in addition, they show the close relationship between people and trees, and both the photos and the trees manifest the interconnectedness between the local and the universal. The urban/rural dichotomy does not follow that of previous films, and Basque identity is shown in its complexity.