Terra vil

Toxic masculinity and climate change are portrayed in a spellbinding debut about lamprey fishers along the bleak riverbanks of northern Portugal.

João is 12 years old and lives with his quiet, anxiety-ridden, and alcoholic father. With their neighbors — a woman and her two teenage daughters — he finds life, warmth, and a sense of belonging. Together, the five of them form a kind of odd, dysfunctional family, struggling to make a living by catching and selling the delicacy lamprey and, at their best moments, even managing to enjoy a bit of coziness. But when the area is hit by drought and his father’s macho behavior spirals completely out of control, João is forced to choose his own path. Dirty Land tells a big and beautiful story about small people — and about choosing the direction of one’s life.

• Camilla Larsson