Single-location examinations into tragedy and drama among family and friends seem a dime a dozen in festival cinema. There are few that really distinguish themselves however. Some which come to mind are Cristian Petzold’s recent Miroirs No. 3 and Carla Simón’s Alcarràs. Most seem to follow a similar archetype of slowly decaying revealed tensions between generations much of which is spelled out in a sequence where they all gather to eat lunch or dinner together.
It feels I’m being flippant but I’ve seen enough of these movies to just become bored by what most of them offer. In some ways Lucía Aleñar Iglesias’s Forastera presents some interest new ingredients to this tired type of film but in other ways feels like it falls back into the fold in cliché’s.
A Loss That Shakes Generations
At their grandparents Tomeu (Lluís Homar) and Catalina’s (Marta Angelat) home, two young women Cata (Zoe Stein) and Eva (Martina García) spend their times helping out in the kitchen, going to the beach, and flirting with boys. Cata in particular strikes a friendship with a Swedish boy on vacation but is shy and distanced when it comes to his romantic advancements. One night while coming home Martha notices her grandmother unconscious on the floor and soon realizes she has died. The devastation of loss catalyzes the rest of the film’s happenings. Each family member deals with the situation in their own manor with Martha beginning to wear her grandmother’s dresses more often much to the chagrin of Martha’s distant and demanding mother Pepa (Tomeu’s daughter, played by Núria Prims) who comes to visit.
Long Shadows and Restless Ghosts
Iglesias keeps the camera affixed to Cata much of the time as she witnesses the disintegrating relationship between her mother and grandfather. Our point of view has to be through her to understand both the confusion and the weight of what is happening. We get to understand through hushed conversations that Tomeu’s mental state is teetering as it becomes unclear whether he actually thinks his wife is still alive or he is simply speaking metaphorically. Cata’s newfound fascination with wearing her grandmother’s clothes around the house create a Hitchockian scenario where Tomeu sees his granddaughter as both Cata and his own wife further pushing him into the hallucination.
Conclusion
There are several moments that peak in drama and interest including the patented “gatherin’ round the table” scene that movies like this all have where the tension between Tomeu and Pepa is laid bare. Iglesias manages these emotion quite well in giving us a varied personality of all her characters, understanding that from one moment to the next we may side with Cata, or Tomeu, or Pepa, or Eva and may vehemently disagree with all of them but in the end this messiness is a symptom of loss and grief. Forastera manages to ask deep questions while keeping to the general formula of the grief drama.
Forastera releases theatrically in the United States on May 29th, 2026.
Does content like this matter to you?
Become a Member and support film journalism. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more.