Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle

Shortly after she married, Julita named three wishes: lots of children, a monkey, and a castle of her own. All three came true. Years later her son Gustavo picked up a camera and began filming her. Julita throws nothing away, fills the house to the ceiling with strange objects, and takes the answer to every question somewhere unexpected. Then the economic crisis comes, the family has to sell the castle, and the adult children start clearing out a lifetime's pile. Gustavo Salmerón shot the film over fourteen years and built it from more than four hundred hours of footage. The narrative starts like a comedy, but the recent history of Spain comes out of the piles: the civil war, family stories, and objects that were hidden away. The film won the grand prize for documentary at Karlovy Vary and the Goya Award in Spain. Who it's for: Viewers who like family documentary, narratives about hoarding, and Spanish cinema. Who it's not for: The structure is loose and it jumps around in time. The humour occasionally comes close to making a spectacle of the mother.