Sunlight of the Loquat Tree

This film (drama)Also known asEl sol del membrillo，is aSpainProducerwomen sex，At1992Released in year 。The dialogue language isSpanish，Current Douban rating8.6(For reference only)。

"Sunlight of the Loquat Tree," also known as "Dream of Light," is a subtle work by Spanish director Victor Erice from 1992, which won the Jury Prize at Cannes that year. 　　 　　In "Time Passing in Ten Minutes," Victor Erice contributed one of the most charming short films; he is the kind of director who can make time stand still in his films, which is why I have always had a strong interest in him. 　　 　　Then I watched "Sunlight of the Loquat Tree." The film tells—or rather, re-presents—the process of a painter, Antonio Lopez, creating a new artwork. The subject he paints is a loquat tree laden with fruit. 　　 　　A tree, a person, a work of art—the entire film explores this relationship. They are interdependent but also have their own lives; in this film, they come together. 　　 　　The director employs two basic techniques: fixed shots and superimposition. For example, when the painter enters the room, selects a board, and prepares the easel, this series of actions is mainly filmed from a fixed angle (essentially a standard shot) and then superimposed at the same camera position to condense and compress time. 　　 　　This method runs throughout the film; we later see, for instance, a wide shot of the backyard including the tree and easel, which showcases the passage of autumn, winter, and spring in the same frame. In these scenes, you can see the "time captured on film" by the director. 　　 　　This approach is not difficult to execute, but it requires good patience. 　　 　　In addition, the director preserves time by meticulously observing the painter's creative process with the camera. From picking up the easel and going to the backyard, determining the distance to the loquat tree, marking the position for his feet, to applying paint marks on the fruit tree—this series of detailed, orderly close-ups and extreme close-ups captures every action and glance. 　　 　　This seems easy enough to achieve as long as you are careful and calm. 　　 　　The beginning of the creative process is always full of passion, and the start of the film feels vibrant as well. The painter hums a tune lightly, cheerfully mixes paint, you can hear the brush swishing on the canvas, and the wind rustling the treetops. Workers are renovating the house, news comes from the radio, trains pass over the fields, and the sun peeks through the clouds. All these elements are presented in a remarkably natural manner in Victor Erice's film. It only showcases one thing: life. 　　 　　The subsequent sections of the film depict a long, even somewhat tedious creative process; time passes day by day, and more leaves and fruits slowly appear on the canvas. The painter chats with family and friends, talking for over ten minutes while painting. The camera captures all these idle conversations, with the lighting appearing somewhat "rudimentary," almost as if it were shot with a DV camera. The camera angles remain limited, switching between the same two. Time is stretched and magnified in these fragments, allowing the audience to experience both delicacy and monotony. This is how the director immerses you in the process of an artwork's creation. 　　 　　As I watched, I felt I was truly viewing a documentary; the characters and events appear so natural under the director's patience and detail. Each element grows steadily at its own rhythm, including the artwork on the canvas and the observing camera. 　　 　　In October, Madrid's lighting is unpredictable; the painter can never find his favorite sunlight shining on the loquat tree. Then came cloudy days and heavy rain, and after several days of back-and-forth, the painter decides to abandon the half-completed oil painting. He starts over, sketching, so he is not constrained by the weather. 　　 　　I will no longer recount the film's content; it is like discussing one’s life with someone, filled with trivial fragments. "Sunlight of the Loquat Tree" showcases a creative process—a temporal process that is also spatial. It involves the interaction of an artist and his environment, which includes not only the loquat tree but also his family, visiting friends, natural elements, and the sudden barks of dogs while painting. All these aspects are harmonious; the only dissonant note is the war news from the radio, which jars with the atmosphere in the backyard and feels distant. The painter always aims to capture the sunlight on the loquat leaves and fruits, but in the end, he is also unsuccessful and has to switch to sketching. He says, life is always like this; you have to let go of some things. 　　 　　The painter creates on the canvas facing the tree, while the camera records the painter, creating on film. This meaning becomes even more apparent in the final scene, where the director cannot resist expressing his own viewpoint. 　　 　　The loquat fruits ripen and fall to the ground; it becomes difficult to continue with the painting. The painter moves the easel inside, looking at the tree above; family and workers eat the loquat fruits, discussing them. At the end of the film, the director allows the camera to share the same frame with the loquat tree, quietly focusing on a fallen loquat, marked with white paint by the painter. 　　 　　"Sunlight of the Loquat Tree" has an extremely slow pace, so in a sense, it's a pretty dull movie, perhaps resembling your life in its dullness.