The Quince Tree Sun (1992)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Quince Cycle

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Spanish director Victor Erice, who has only completed three films in his 60 years, made this semi-documentary look at painter Antonio López García as he slowly, painstakingly attempts to capture a quince tree on canvas. He makes marks on the fruit and marks the ground where his feet are so that he can keep catching the same perspective. His goal is to get the sunlight on the tree just right, but he only has a limited time before the weather turns and the fruit begins to rot. Erice documents this deliberately slow process with love and delicacy, and every little moment becomes mesmerizing. (I've never tasted a quince before; a few characters in the movie say it tastes like unripe pear.) The Quince Tree Sun is also known as Dream of Light and Quince Tree of the Sun. Facets released this in 2000, but only on a VHS tape, which is now out of print.