In Basque with English subtitles
With Joseba Usabiaga, Eneko Sagardoy, Iñigo Aranburu, Ramón Agirre, Aia Kruse
Having fought in the First Carlist War, Martin returns to his family farm in Gipuzkoa only to find that his younger brother, Joaquín, towers over him in height. Convinced that everyone will want to pay to see the tallest man on Earth, the siblings set out on a long trip all over Europe, during which ambition, money and fame will forever change the family’s fate. A story based on true events.
Press
“An uneasy universe with complexity, subtlety, emotion and truth.” – Carlos Boyero, El País
“A brilliant movie that opposes tradition and modernity, reality and legend.” – Oskar Belategui, El Correo
“An extraordinary road movie (…) A top-notch script (…) A grand moment in cinema.” – Carlos Loureda, Fotogramas
Notes on Film
What would you do if at age 20 you discover that you haven’t stopped growing and that you might never will? How would you and the ones closest to you handle this phenomenon? What if what makes you strange and anguishes you is also the only thing that can help your family financially? How much of yourself would you be willing to sacrifice?
This is the thread that drives this film, how two brothers managed to transform a disease into a business opportunity and a mean to support their family and how much they had to sacrifice on a personal level in order to do so.
Based on true events, Giant tells the story of one of the greatest myths in Basque history: Miguel Joaquin, the Giant of Altzo. This country man was born in 1819 and his personal odyssey coincided with turbulent years that would represent a before and after in the history of the Basque Country.
Giant goes beyond the annals of history, and enters deeply into the introspective aspect of the character. We want to put ourselves in the shoes of a boy who one day found out that his size was going to gradually increase and see how he manages this experience. How, what at first was pleasing news, slowly became frustrating, troublesome and later distressing with the awareness that his growth was not normal. We want to experience this alongside him and feel the tension and astonishment with which Miguel Joaquin and those closest to him manage this situation. Will he ever stop growing?
However, this not just the story of Miguel Joaquin, but also the story of the characters surrounding him, specially his brother Martin. After all, Giant shows the complex relationship of two brothers who will have to face both physical and emotional changes as well as historical and social ones.
Beyond the introspective aspect of the character, Giant also seeks to show the process of creation and dissemination of a legend. Because Miguel Joaquin, despite his lack of charisma, is capable of generating a myth around himself which reaches the present day, simply due to the fact that he’s huge.
