Movie Review Palm Trees in the Snow (Palmeras en la Nieve) 2016 Film

A reminder that Spanish cinema can still paint on a large canvas, Palm Trees in the Snow is Spain’s best stab yet at an Out of Africa-style colonial/imperial romance. But the pleasures of this rangy drama are largely those of pastiche, residing in its often spectacular visuals and well-crafted set-pieces rather than in its generation-spanning storyline, which has obviously been calculated to manipulate the emotions, but rarely does so in any meaningful way. Given that Spain’s colonial history has barely been tackled on film, this represents something of a missed opportunity. None of which will matter very much to Tree’s planters, who have seen more than a two million admissions and counting since its late December bow.

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