Directed by Pedro González-Rubio. Starring Jorge Machado, Natan Machado Palombini, Nestór Marín Club, IFI, Dublin, 73 min

A GORGEOUS Mexican documentary-drama in which the participants play themselves, Alamar(literally, "to the sea") opens with a broken marriage. Some years earlier, Roberta, a modern Italian woman backpacking around Mexico, fell for Jorge, a traditional Mayan fisherman. Now, the young couple are separating and Roberta is soon to travel home with their five-year-old son, Natan.

The film, a protracted goodbye and an affecting mediation on fathers and sons, sees Jorge take Natan on one last trip to his father’s fishing shack on Banco Chinchorro, a sumptuous coral reef in the Caribbean. A melancholy air hangs over the postcard pastorals as the little family befriend an egret and scale many, many fish.

Those seeking bucolic thrills will likely marvel at the lapping waves, gentle rhythms and Jorge’s proximity to nature. Others, less enamoured with scenery, will wonder about the insubstantial running time and ask how much of this has been orchestrated for our benefit.

Director Pedro González-Rubio certainly isn't telling. Alamarnever allows the joins to show through the lush visuals.