Carmelo Gómez, Emma Suárez, Karra Elejaide

Angel, an insect fumigator with a mysterious past, travels to a modest Spanish vineyard to eradicate a plague of vermin that are denaturing the flavor of the grapes. Before long, he falls in love with...( read more  read more... ) two women: Angela, the shy, unhappily married daughter of the vineyard's owner, and Mila, the sultry, free-spirited mistress of Angela's husband. Awash in a sea of conflicting emotions, Angel struggles to find peace of mind in this allegorical look at one man, two women, and the universe, from the director of LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.

Flixster Users

84% liked it

1,063 ratings

Unrated, 125 min.

Directed by: Julio Medem

Release Date: May 1, 1996

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: February 29, 2000

Stats: 59 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating

Flixster Reviews (59)


  • July 11, 2009
    Une fois de plus la grandeur de ce cineaste repose sur l'originalite et l'inventivite de son point de vue sur des schemas relationnels et des types humains assez convenus qui, ailleurs, n'auraient produit que des cliches mais, chez lui, s'exposent, se creusent dans une allegorie ...( read more)a la fois etrange et pleine d'humour qui deconcerte ou seduit, et ne laisse jamais indifferent. Son exploration des archetypes sexuels, p. ex., n'a rien a envier a Fellini, ses metaphores cosmiques ou animalieres rappellent parfois Tarkovski.
  • September 11, 2008
    Tierra opens with a hypnotic journey through space, as the camera soars through the ethereal atmosphere, descending towards an agricultural area, then focusing in on a lone traveler who is having a motivational conversation with himself. A remote village has been infested with wo...( read more)odlice, imparting an earthy taste to the locally produced wine. An exterminator, a self-described "complex" man named Angel (Carmelo Gomez), has been hired by the town mayor to fumigate the region. Angel's inner voice, the figurative angel of his subconscious who has died but continues to exist (and interject opinions) within his corporal self, believes that he has been sent down to earth for a divine mission.

    The surreal plot of Tierra may be an allusion to legendary compatriot Luis Bunuel, but the underlying story is uniquely Julio Medem's. In Bunuel's That Obscure Object of Desire, the protagonist, Mathieu (Fernando Rey), is a vain, hypocritical older man relentlessly attempting to win the undivided affection of a beautiful, elusive young woman named Conchita, and it is her ambivalence that is reflected through the physical vacillation between the two actresses playing the role of Conchita, Carole Bouquet (cold and demure) and Angela Molina (sensual and aggressive). In Tierra, Angel is torn between the sweet, melancholic Angela (Emma Suarez), the neglected wife of a local farmer named Patricio (Karra Elejalde) and the sensual, uninhibited Mari (Silke), Patricio's mistress. Unlike Mathieu's obsession, Conchita, whose shifting persona is portrayed by two different actresses, Angel's object of desire is two separate women, and it is the protagonist who suffers from a split personality. As Angel is gradually seduced by the charming, playful Mari, his omnipresent angel is increasingly drawn to Angela's soulfulness and warmth. With such a polarized conflict within his own mind, Angel's decision takes on a greater significance than the simple selection of a lover and becomes a metaphoric struggle for possession of the soul.

    Medem's seamless ability to operate on multiple levels of meaning and intertwine internal and external events elevates Tierra from the stigma of serving as an homage film. Structurally, Medem does not convey the story through circular or elliptical narrative but rather, through fractals, mathematical expressions whose representative cross-section is a reflection of their overall geometric pattern. The film, in essence, literally unfolds onto itself, revealing deeper layers of the same phenomenon. Angela and her daughter bear the same name which, in turn, parallels Angel's symbiotic bond with his own uncontrollable angel. The infestation of woodlice just beneath the surface of the soil is repeated in the rampancy of wild boars above the ground, and the same workers participate in both attempts at extermination. The high electrical activity in the region reflects Angel's overactive imagination and Mari's sexual appetite. The dilemma in choosing between Angela and Mari is a manifestation of the internal struggle within Angel for possession of his soul, and reflects his own split personality. Inevitably, a choice between the two women will irrevocably destroy a part of himself. Tierra is a haunting, visually mesmerizing journey into the strange world of human behavior - attraction and connection, love and jealousy, the spiritual and the corporal - and subterranean woodlice.
  • April 25, 2007
    arid desert life packed with Spanish heat

Critic Reviews


No recent reviews.

Comments


This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "Tierra (Earth)" !

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

More Like This


This list looks lonely.
Add a suggestion!

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Tierra (Earth) : Watch Free on TV


Movie Quizzes


No quizzes for Tierra (Earth). Want to create one?

Video Clips


No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Recent News


No recent headlines. Got one?

Most Popular Skin


No skins yet. Interested in creating one?