A mid-aged Catalan woman wishes to feel alive in this obviously – titled character study.

The directorial debut from actor-turned-filmmaker Aina Clotet, Alive, centres on Nora (played by Clotet) who faces major health scare during a drought that’s related to a broader (rather vague) global climate crisis.

Working at a research facility of cellular aging, Nora is engaged in a relationship with her long-term partner Tom (Naby Dakhli). Her job, about how people can live longer, contrasts bluntly with her fear of death, which stems from a recent mastectomy.

In the opening image of a breast being compressed for mammogram, Clotet makes clear that she wants to tackle the subject head-on, removing the taboos of how to depict visually a diseased breast. The situation gets worse: At a recent check-up, her doctor reveals that her scans show small growth in the other, healthy breast.

She refuses a biopsy and does everything she can to avoid dealing with what might be a grimmer, fatally lethal condition.  Indeed, unable to cope with this devastating news, Nora plunges into life as though her time is running out.

For example, she succumbs to the advances of Max (Marc Soler), an insistent younger admirer.

Clotet co-wrote with Catalan screenwriter Valentina Viso (Mexico 86) a narrative that’s too controlled, lacking surprises.

Acting since she was 11, Clotet offers an authentic portrayal of a woman in freefall in a particular yet recognizable reality.

By pairing climate anxiety with Nora’s own personal ordeal, the film highlights the impulsive behavior of its presumably ordinary heroine.

But the set-up and its premises are too schematic and the characterization too predictable to be genuinely engaging.

Spain

Running time: 113 minutes