Far From the Trees

Director - Jacinto Esteva (Metamorfosis, Le Fils de Marie)

Starring - Manuel Cano (Law of Desire, Cake of Blood), Marta Mejias (Centro Medico, Sexperiencias), and Antonio Gades (Blood Wedding, Bewitched Love)

Release Date - 1972

Genre - Documentary

Format - UHD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     It's wild how many documentaries I've been able to review recently and most of them have been thanks to Severin Films.  Near the end of last year they sent me The Ghost of Peter Sellers and The Mancunian Man: The Legendary Life of Cliff Twemlow.  Then I was sent over the documentary The Last Sacrifice from Shudder before I was sent the box set Exorcismo from Severin.  This set features several genre titles along with a couple documentaries.  I decided to start the set with Exorcismo from 2024 before moving on to the 1972 doc. Far from the Trees from Spanish filmmaker Jacinto Esteva.  Like always, I want to thank Severin for sending this one over!

     The film explores the rituals and folklore surrounding death in Spain in often secluded areas that has not developed like the more populated areas.  

     I went into this one completely blind and was confused by what I was watching.  I didn't realize it was supposed to be a documentary until I was well into the film and I have no been able to find much on the making of this one.  From what I can find is that this was made by piecing together old black and white footage from various recordings to create what some would consider to be an insightful yet disturbing look into folk customs and long forgotten superstitions.  While it was wild to see some of this stuff, years of reviewing horror and true crime documentaries has left me somewhat desensitized to the topics of death.  This documentary is not a documentary in a traditional sense.  We do not have interviews from experts that studied these customs nor do we have interviews from those that participated.  Instead, we have footage crudely pieced together to create a a look into something that most of the world is unaware of.  Overall, Far From the Trees is not going to be for everyone.  Hell, I didn't enjoy it myself but those that dig darker documentaries may enjoy it.  It is rough around the edges and dull through most of it but it does have it's moments.