“Giant” (original title “Handya”, which means big) is a historical drama, directed by Jean Garanho and Ayuror Araghi. Made in Spain in 2017, the film is based on the story of Miguel Juliaquin Alzagoi Arteaga, known as the Alzheimer Giant. Miguel suffers from what was known as the Gigant’s disease in the 19th century. The film was first featured at the San Sebastian Festival in Spain in 2017 and won the jury special prize. The film also won 10 prizes at the Spanish Guya Film Festival in 2018.
After the end of the First Carlystone War in Spain, Martin, Miguel’s older brother, returns from war to the family farm with an injury. Martin, who has been away from home for a long time, notices that his younger brother has grown too tall for his age. Martin believes that people would want to see what could be the tallest man in the world. Subsequently, they travel around Europe, finding wealth and quite a reputation.
The directors, Jean Garanho and Araghi Ayuror build, on the one hand, the historic atmosphere of mid-19th century, and restore the emotional feeling between the two brothers, on the other. Naturalistic acting, good sound editing, and superb cinematography await the audience. The use of different languages, such as the Basque language, is another interesting feature of the film
