La Terre du vieil homme

“Zé Luis is reaching the end of his life – a well-filled life, lived out in much the same way as his ancestors. In this remote region of north-east Portugal, work has always been the same, and nothing presaged his present state of disarray. His children will not carry on from him, as they have left and, although he tries to convince himself that those who have emigrated have made the right choice, he nonetheless feels lonely and abandoned. This is why he shares some of his memories about his region with us. He compares his way of life, his work, traditions and worries with the modern world that is settling in around him. His children still have cultural ties with the region but they are somehow no longer part of it.” (Guillaume Mazeline)