Alamar | Film by Pedro González-Rubio (writer and director)

Alamar is the story of a boy visiting his father at the Banco Chinchorro, the largest coral reef in Mexico.

The boy, soon to move to Rome with his mother, is seeing his father for the last time before he leaves. He spends the summer living in his father’s stilt house, constantly in contact with nature.

The film, which is structured like a documentary, is beautiful — encounters with fish, birds and crocodiles with the reef as a background. Little is explained directly about any of the characters or their relationships — rather than being spoon-fed, you’re left to piece things together or fill in the gaps.