As Clarence is going through her uncle's things, she finds a fragment of a letter written by someone close to her late father. She discovers things about her family's past that lead her back to Equatorial Guinea where it all began. Based on the novel by Luz Gabás, Fernando González Molina's Palm Trees in the Snow (2015) invites viewers to reflect on colonial slavery through a story of unconditional love.
The setting at the beginning of this historical drama is Pasolobino, Spain in 2003. With the discovery of the letter, the clock turns back time to 1954 and the audience sees her family's history playing out with younger versions of her father, uncle, and Guinean natives. At this point in history, Spain had colonies in what is now Equatorial Guinea. Kilian, Clarence's uncle, has just started working in the family cocoa plantation in what used to be Fernando Pó, Spanish Guinea. Kilian falls in love with Bisila, a native of Fernando Pó and one of the family's many slaves. When the political situation changes several years later, Kilian is forced to decide between his chosen family in Guinea and his home in Spain.
Through Kilian loving Bisila, the audience sees the cruelty of slavery. Typical punishments like beatings are shown on screen, as well as the harsher reality of rape and fractured relationships. The actors' performances in these scenes effectively convey the pain of this trauma, both physical and emotional, especially since Kilian intended to be friends with the natives. This is particularly true of Simon who vowed to never speak another word in Spanish after the colonists left.
Where the movie has its downfalls are in the Spanish characters. The majority of them are very set in their way of "I'm Spanish, therefore, I am above you". This mindset is solidified in characters like Clarence's uncle, whose dementia prevents him from acknowledging the ignorance in it. It is a downfall for this film because he is never able to come to terms with his past.
The merits outweigh the downfalls making this movie well worth watching. The acting and message both are powerful. While it's true that slavery and the related concepts of friendship and identity are at the forefront of the movie, a secondary theme worth noting is that love will prevail through time, distance, and injustice.
Review of Palm Trees in the Snow
