20,000 Species of Bees

20,000 Species of Bees (20.000 especies de abejas), dir. Estibalitz Urresola Solaguren, 2023, Spain, 129 min., in Spanish, Basque, and French with full English subtitles 👏

Monday, June 19, 8:15 pm, New Parkway in Oakland 

+ streaming encore (California only)

20,000 Species of Bees

Ane and her three children go on a visit to their bee-keeping relatives in the Basque Country, a region that straddles southwestern France and northern Spain. The youngest child, 8 years old, is having a rough summer, trying to navigate gender identity along with all the other vicissitudes of childhood, including obvious strain in the parents’ relationship. They reject their birth name, Aitor, and the nickname Cocó, finally choosing a new name. Ane and her family try to support them, but are themselves navigating unfamiliar terrain.

It’s a beautiful story, but also relentlessly downbeat. There is a lot of bickering, between mother and father, between mother and grandmother, between mother and aunty, and between mother and child. There isn’t a lot of happiness breaking through, except when the child is with their aunty and the bees. Still, the young protagonist puts in a remarkable performance, and the end result is definitely Highly Recommended.

• IMDb page • Official website • trailer •