PATAGONIA
Year: 2010
UK: Verve Pictures
Cast: Matthew Rhys, Nia Roberts, Matthew Gravelle, Duffy, Marta Lubos, Nahaul Perez Biscayart
Director: Marc Evans
Country: Argentina, UK
UK: 119 mins
UK Certificate: 15 contains one scene of strong sex
UK Release Date: 4 March 2011
Reviews:
Synopsis
PATAGONIA narrates the journeys of two women â€" one looking for her past, the other for her future. The film inter-cuts between their stories, in which one of them travels south to north through the Welsh springtime and the other east to west through the Argentine autumn.
Directed by Marc Evans (Snowcake), Patagonia stars Matthew Rhys (Edge of Love and Brothers and Sisters) and Nia Roberts (Solomon and Gaenor) alongside Grammy Award winning singer Duffy, in her acting debut. A road movie for romantics, Patagonia is a film of intimate moments that play out against the sweeping panoramic landscapes, complemented by a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack.
A truly original film with dialogue spoken in both Spanish and Welsh.
Incorporating the culture and countryside of both Wales and Patagonia, Evans’ impressive film is a lyrical exploration of the parallel journeys of two women at very different stages of their lives. Cutting between their stories, in which one travels South to North through the Welsh springtime and the other East to West through the Argentine autumn, Patagonia is a film of intimate moments that play out against the sweeping panoramic landscapes, complemented by the hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, including songs from Duffy and exciting new up and coming artist Kirsty Almeida.
In Cardiff, Gwen (Nia Roberts) and her boyfriend Rhys (Matthew Gravelle) have felt significant strain on their relationship since discovering they are unable to conceive. When Rhys is sent on a photographic assignment to Patagonia, Gwen sees a chance to repair their relationship with a bit of adventurous escapism. Accompanying the couple as a guide is charismatic and handsome Welsh Patagonian Mateo (Matthew Rhys). As the trio travel through the welsh settlements, Rhys submerges himself in his photography and meanwhile a mild flirtation between Mateo and Gwen starts to grow into something more.
In Patagonia, elderly Argentinean native Cerys (Marta Lubos) starts a secret pilgrimage to the Welsh countryside so that she can visit her ancestral homeland before she dies. Her somewhat nervous and introverted young neighbour Alejandro (Nahaul Perez Biscayart) reluctantly comes along as her chaperone. Cerys encourages him to open his eyes and embrace new challenges and new people, and when he falls for a seductive Welsh student played by Duffy, he is soon enjoying the journey of a lifetime. Cerys meanwhile must come to terms with discovering the truth behind her family’s past and put her uncertain history to bed.
Both journeys must eventually come to an end both literally and metaphorically and the film’s poignant climax is as heartbreaking as it is uplifting. A road movie for romantics, PATAGONIA is at its heart a love story, an old lady’s love for her roots and a young couple finding out if they are supposed to be together.
