‘Sundays’, an authentic film turned into art in capital letters

“I have not come to bring peace but swords… everyone’s enemies will be those of their own household.” with that so hard phrase Jesus announced himself as a sign of contradiction. The irruption of the Christian Fact in a family could break its apparent peace because each member would be forced to radically position themselves before Jesus’ claim to be the center and truth of life. This is exactly what happens in the movie Sundaysof Alauda Ruiz of Azúa.

Ainara (Blanca Field) is a teenager who lives with her father (Miguel Garces) and her sisters in Bilbao. His mother died, and his aunt Maite (Patricia Lopez Arnaiz) has assumed a bit of the maternal role. Ainara goes to a nuns’ school and is in her last year of high school. When everyone expects her to say which university she wants to study at, she blurts out that she is doing a discernment process because she believes she has contemplative vocation. In his family, far from the faith, everyone will have to define their position in the face of this unexpected event. The positions will become more extreme as Ainara takes steps in its verification process. The skill, delicacy and acuity with which Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (five little wolves) faces the dramatic challenge of this story places the film well above average. It is not surprising that he has won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastian Festivalas well as with the Catholic Signis Prize and the Feroz Prize in said contest.

The film has an enormously intelligent script, in which all the characters are sewn from within with the greatest honesty and authenticity, which causes believing and atheist viewers to feel identified with some of the protagonists without ever feeling caricatured. In that sense, The film also offers two opposite interpretations. One would understand the film as the triumph of faith and vocation; another, like failure of reason and success of fear and superstition. But is the film really that ambiguous? Does Alauda Ruiz de Azúa opt for total equidistance?

The film is so subtle and delicate that it is not easy to answer these questions, but there are certain elements that seem to support the first hypothesis. One of these elements is freedom. Just as Maite, Ainara’s aunt, with all her good will, pulls all the strings she can to dissuade her niece from her vocational path, the nuns and the school chaplain never pressure her, censure her or rush her. On the other hand, Maite’s heart is filled with resentment, rage and tension, while Ainara always responds to her with peace and affection. But… it’s debatable. Maite believes that her niece makes decisions motivated by the trauma of her mother’s death, because she is looking for a refugio protector…And is it true? I’m afraid that will have to be answered by the viewer. That is the greatness of the film. Which is so rich in its simplicity that it is inexhaustible. Like the facts of life itself. Polyhedral, complex and interpretable.

The virtue of an impeccable script is accompanied by perfect casting and a superb acting direction. The three things together make the viewer believe that they have entered a real house and are witnessing real conversations. Added to this verisimilitude is something usually non-existent in cinema -especially in Spanish- and that is the excellent documentation on everything that has to do with the Church. The nuns, the liturgy, the priest… everything is so realistic and believable that it seems made by someone who knows that world very well from the inside.

This is not a thesis film, nor one of great script twists, surprises or happy end Hollywood. Nothing to see. The film tells us a simple and “normal” story, but told with such authenticity that it becomes art in capital letters. There is no hint of prejudice or ideological tolls. What great joy.