Sound of the Sea

Colour, 35mm
Spain, 2001, 102 min
Section: Tribute to Bigas Luna

Synopsis

One day in late summer Ulises arrives in a small village on the coast where he is to teach literature at the local school. Under the influence of the sea, the fragrance of oranges and the wonderful pommes frites Martina cooks for him, he discovers the sensuality of the Mediterranean and falls madly in love with the girl. He enchants her with his story-telling and manages to seduce her. Early one morning Ulises goes out fishing for tuna and disappears. Martina, now with a child, decides to marry the local magnate Sierra, who offers her everything a girl could want. Just as Martina is getting accustomed to a life of luxury, Ulises reappears. Having decided to give him a second chance, Martina starts seeing him in secret. Their rendezvous are more passionate by the day but, just like any other love triangle, destiny only gives them a small chance of happiness. Director Bigas Luna on his film: “Whenever I want to write down on paper the phrase Sound of the Sea, I feel like writing simply the word “Sound”, since this is short but evocative, but then I can’t help adding “the Sea” after all. I can’t live without the sea. I feel the same way towards the sea as I do towards passion, I can’t live without it. But all that love turns to panic when I am actually out there, and the same thing happens to me with passion. I don’t like unexpected storms, I prefer the coast, sensuousness and the sun. And when the clouds approach, I’ll watch the storm but only from the safety of my flat. I’ll never forget the storms out at sea, they were so destructive. Sound of the Sea is a story about a storm and passion in the open sea, something we all long for but, as soon as we find it, we need a life preserver”.