Directed by Patricia Font
Starring Laia Costa, Enric Auquer, Alba Guilera, Milo Toboada, Luisa Gavasa, Gael Aparicio, Alba Hermoso, Nicolás Calvo, and Ramón Agirre

The Teacher Who Promised the Sea delivers upon its early promise to competently accomplish something that in my view not a lot of movies manage to do as successfully as this.

This Spanish and Catalan-language drama based on a true story opens with its present-day plot set in 2010 while frequently taking us back to the mid 1930s, covering a separate yet connected story.

Buried memories of the Spanish Civil War are unearthed after the discovery of a mass grave in Barcelona, which acts as the catalyst that sets Ariadna (played by Laia Costa) off in search of a teacher whom she has a generational connection with that worked at a school in a small village more than 70 years ago. Assisting her with the search is a helpful local she meets at the site named Emilio (Ramón Agirre), who was a pupil at the school Antoni (played via extended flashback sequences by Enric Auquer) taught at.

Antoni is an innovative and passionate teacher who firmly believes in children having a childhood and is determined to inspire his students to learn and have an open mind to all things, despite starting off with a class of just 3 pupils. His progressive teaching methods get heavily scrutinised though and are instantly disapproved of by the town’s ultra-conservative Priest (Milo Toboada), who will do everything within his power to ensure Antoni’s placement is a short-lived one.

Many movies tell their story adopting the same format used here. Yet in many, even most of these, one of the two or more separate timelines or parts of the plot simply function better than the rest. One of the main problems I often find with films that simultaneously develop their present-day set plot and a separate timeline is that one slows, even halts, the progression and anticipation of the other. Just as I would start to be engaged by the characters and story in one part of the plot, the film would relocate its focus to another, and that often results in a rather incomplete experience.

But that is absolutely not the case in The Teacher Who Promised the Sea.

Somehow, this utterly involving human drama absolutely nails what it needs to for both timelines to seamlessly and simultaneously develop, become absorbing, bring in anticipation, and grow both a sense of urgency and in significance. One of the definite secrets to this beautifully realised story’s success is its consistency in pacing. Full credit must be given to director Patricia Font for her all-round sound judgement. Perhaps an example of the seamless yet subtly powerful way in which communication between the two timelines speaks volumes comes from a scene that made an immediate impression upon me and has stayed with me since. In the present-day timeline, we are taken inside the building where Antoni taught at from 1935. In the background, viewers have clear visibility of an image of Jesus Christ hanging against the same wall Antoni removed a crucifix from all those years ago.

Despite the heavy content underpinning this picture and its undeniable capability to derive emotion, The Teacher Who Promised the Sea is also heartwarming to watch throughout. Witnessing the adoration Antoni’s pupils form towards him and how they thrive under his tutorship is just beautiful to be a part of.  At the same time, the tragic fate that is soon to come for Spain is never forgotten and The Teacher Who Promised the Sea remains firmly dedicated to paying homage to its ramifications.

The Teacher Who Promised the Sea is showing in selected cinemas as part of the HSBC Spanish Film Festival across Australia from June 14th – July 10th.

Moviedoc thanks Palace, the HSBC Spanish Film Festival, and Miranda Brown Publicity for the invitation to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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