Between Earth and Water (Entre el Agua y la Tierra)

Spanish feature Between Earth and Water (Entre el Agua y la Tierra) is an airy and atmospheric journey of two friends through a desert of discovery. An emotional bond between protagonists creates a powerful connection with its audience, though an interpretive story is likely to be lost on some viewers.

Friends Lur (Irantzu Zugarrondo) and Ura (Izar Alguero) awaken the night after a party organised by a group of artists on a trek in the middle of a desert – with only their intuition as a guide on how to get home. As they start to navigate their way back, they come across groups of strangers with new outlooks on life, as their voyage of discovery begins to reveal truths about themselves to each other.

Between Earth and Water is embedded with spirituality, and demands contemplation from its viewers. It is not an easy film to immerse in, and tells a character and emotion-driven story that succeeds or fails dependant on audience buy-in to Lur and Ura (and their relationship), and how one can relate to their experiences from their own. Thankfully their story contains enough beats to appeal, such as yearning, unreturned affection, jealousy, and a sense of fate and finality that many will have faced at some point in their youth.

There are a few scenes in which the film becomes a little too navel-gazey, spending an overlong stretch of the early party scenes with a singing performance that overstays its welcome. The narrative also becomes muddled at points, and it can become difficult to keep track of the story in the desert as well as the political machinations taking place concurrently in the story revolving around Fernando Ustarroz’ Rafael. The unconventional storytelling helps the film stand out, but it does work to its detriment at times like this and risk leaving viewers out of step with the events they see. This is largely rectified when the girls begin their desert journey, and the second half of the film is where the story is allowed to breath more – even when it becomes abstract.

Irantzu Zugarrondo’s performance as Lur is standout, brilliantly navigating the whirlwind of emotions she experiences through the story. Effortlessly vulnerable and engagingly unpredictable at the same time, it is genuinely fascinating throughout the film to try and guess where she will end up. The chameleon dynamic between her and Izar Alguero’s is the real drama that pulls the story forward and is essential to the film’s success.

Where Between Earth and Water connects with viewers, it really connects. The film won’t appeal to everyone and viewers who do not persevere with its unconventional story can be forgiven. But under a tougher exterior is story of depth, deep emotion and passion that will leave one thinking about the questions it raises for a long time.