Raúl Capdevila Murillo's debut documentary, Los Saldos (Remainders), opens like a retro western: bold yellow titles against a dusty horizon, a rousing score, and the return of a prodigal son from the big city. But instead of a gunfight, the film explores the struggle of the director's own farming family in Binéfar, north-eastern Spain, as they face industrial changes threatening their way of life.
Shot in widescreen, the film lends a majestic quality to ordinary rural life. We observe José Ramón, the director's father, on his daily rounds in his pickup truck, tending crops and animals. The rhythm is slow and languid; even a discussion about a new water tank becomes a protracted affair among neighbours who, like him, are remnants of a vanishing profession. Meanwhile, a major meat company plans a macro abattoir in the area, its news lingering like a bad smell in radio and TV reports.
More than a portrait of an endangered lifestyle, Los Saldos charts an emotional journey of reconnecting with heritage. Capdevila Murillo relearns his family's farming history through physical labour on the land and re-encounters traditional storytelling as his grandmother passes down tales of ancestral healing rituals. One anecdote involves a local witch who can remove warts; the planned abattoir, yet to be built, might resemble such an unsightly growth on Binéfar's lush landscape. But as capitalism marches on, there is no magical cure for these modern maladies.
