Life Without Sara Amat (Catalan: La vida sense la Sara Amat) is a 2019 coming-of-age drama film directed by Laura Jou from a screenplay by Coral Cruz based on the novel of the same name by Pep Puig [es] which stars Biel Rosell and Maria Morera. It is shot in Catalan.
Plot
The plot is set in a village in the 1980s.[1] Sara Amat, the crush of 13-year-old Pep, is missing. Pep just happens to find her in his room, with Sara asking to stay for a while and subjecting Pep to tests that force him to mature quickly before the end of the summer.[2][3]
The film was produced by La Xarxa de Comunicació Local alongside Massa d'Or Produccions.[3] Shooting locations in Catalonia included Tàrrega and Granyanella (both in the province of Lleida) and Cerdanyola del Vallès and Santa Eulàlia de Ronçana (both in the province of Barcelona).[4]
Release
The film was presented at the BCN Film Festival on 28 April 2019.[5] Distributed by Alfa Pictures,[3] it was released theatrically in Spain on 12 July 2019.
Reception
Federico Marín Bellón of ABC assessed that the kids' performances are fantastic and that the mise-en-scène displays no superfluous dialogues.[6]
Mirito Torreiro of Fotogramas rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing that "its storytelling is thoughtful, its youthful actors work suitably well and, overall, it is enjoyable to watch".[7]
Toni Vall of Cinemanía rated the film 3 out of 5 stars writing that the story "improves as the film goes on" and "the ending is open, inspiring, fantastic".[2]