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The buried memories of the Spanish Civil War are unearthed as a woman searches for the remains of her grandfather's father and discovers the story of an idealistic young teacher from Tarragona.
Patricia Font
DIRECTOR
SESSIONS
ACTORS
Enric Auquer • Laia Costa • Luisa Gavasa • Ramón Agirre • Gael Aparicio
Coming Soon
1h 45m • Rated M for mature themes and emotional intensity • Drama, Biography, Historical • Spain • Language: Spanish & Catalan with subtitles
The island setting, the modest production, and the humor that often arises from character rather than contrivance work together to keep the film from ever feeling flat. On the flip side, a few feel the pacing is uneven, or that the secondary characters don’t always land. Still, even these criticisms tend to be soft and in the service of a film that is more heartwarming than perfect.
Overall, the consensus sees The Ballad of Wallis Island as a warm, wistful, and soul-soothing film—modest in scope but rich in feeling. It’s not trying to dazzle, but it digs in where it matters: loss, memory, music, human connection. For many, it’s one of the more emotionally satisfying films of 2025.
The Ballad of Wallis Island is a quietly charming British comedy-drama directed by James Griffiths, written by and starring Tom Basden and Tim Key, alongside Carey Mulligan. The story centers on Charles, a lonely lottery winner living on a remote Welsh island, who invites his favorite folk duo—Herb McGwyer and Nell Mortimer—to reunite for a private performance. His motive isn’t just fandom; there are unresolved heartbreaks, nostalgia, and grief behind his idealistic gesture.
Critics are largely enamored with the film’s balance of humor and melancholy. Tim Key’s performance as Charles is praised for being endearingly awkward, verbose, and heart-on-sleeve, often using verbal wit to stave off silence. Basden as Herb, and Mulligan as Nell, deliver subtle, emotionally resonant performances, especially when the old romantic and artistic tensions surface—and you begin to feel what’s been lost, as well as what hope might remain. The original music is another highlight; the songs feel lived in, and the film uses them not as spectacle, but as emotional anchors.
Some reviewers point out that the premise is familiar—a fan’s devotee, reunited artists, romantic regrets—but argue that the execution elevates it.
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Critics are largely moved by the film’s emotional depth, sincerity, and evocative atmosphere. Enric Auquer’s performance as Benaiges is frequently singled out as tender, charismatic, and deeply humane—he anchors the film with warmth and conviction. The period segments are carefully built: the classroom scenes, the landscapes of rural Spain, the tension under growing political unrest—all have clarity and gravitas. Reviewers praise the visual subtlety and restraint in direction by Patricia Font, which allows the more painful moments (violence, loss, grief) to hit hard without excess.
Some critique is directed at the dual narrative structure. While the past is richly textured and compelling, the present-day thread involving Ariadna’s search is seen by some as less developed, more functional, or less dramatically satisfying. Others feel the film occasionally slips into sentimentality, especially in how the memory of Benaiges is idealised, though few argue that this undermines the film’s power.
Overall, the consensus is warm: The Teacher Who Promised the Sea is viewed as a poignant reflection on education, memory, and justice. It pays tribute to a forgotten hero and reminds viewers of the enduring impact a good teacher can make—even under oppressive conditions. For many, it is both a moving historical drama and a moral meditation, modest in its ambitions but strong in its heart.
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Poignant, heartfelt, humanistic.
The Teacher Who Promised the Sea tells two intertwined stories across time. In 1935, idealistic teacher Antoni Benaiges arrives in a remote village in Burgos, Spain, bringing with him progressive methods of Freinet education—printing presses in classrooms, the end of rote learning, and for many children, the promise of seeing the sea for the first time. Seventy-five years later, Ariadna, granddaughter of one of his pupils, sets out to uncover what happened to her great-grandfather, a disappearance tied to the chaos of the Spanish Civil War.