Irati

778. The Frankish army marches into the Pyrenees. The lord of the valley calls on the old gods; as Christianity spreads their power fades and the help asks a price. He wins the battle by a blood oath and gives his own life. Years later his son Eneko goes into the forest to look for his father's body. He sees a girl at a stream. Irati comes from there and knows the forest. She guides him. Everything that has a name is in that forest: the goddess beneath the earth, giants, creatures that turn to stone. Eneko is both a Christian and his father's son and has to decide which side he is on. Paul Urkijo Alijo writes and directs. Eneko Sagardoy plays Eneko and Edurne Azkarate plays Irati; Itziar Ituño and Ramon Agirre are in the cast. It is a Spanish and French co-production, shot in Basque. The source is the graphic novel El ciclo de Irati. The narrative rests on Basque mythology and the figures come straight from those accounts. It became the most watched film ever made in the Basque language. It won the audience award and the best special effects award at the Sitges festival, and was nominated at the Goyas for adapted screenplay and original song. The matter it treats is one belief replacing another; the film presents neither as absolute. Make-up and puppetry were used alongside computer effects for the creatures. The forest scenes were shot in real woodland and the place works inside the narrative. Its limit is budget; the effects are uneven and some scenes stay weak. Who it is for: viewers who like fantasy cinema and mythological narrative. Who it is not for: the budget shows, the narrative is slow, and the ending bitter.