The spectacular landscapes of "The Minimum Island"

the minimum island
You may not have seen it yet, but surely you've heard of it. We refer to "The Minimum Island”, A film that has recently been awarded the Goya for Best Film, in addition to having won 9 other statuettes. Set in the late 70s and early 80s, this police thriller by Alberto Rodríguez impresses, among other things, with landscapes. In fact, the locations chosen by the director have played an essential role in the plot.

The importance of landscapes in the development of the film is so great that today we wanted to take a tour of one of the scenarios most recurring in the film: the marshes of the Guadalquivir. Do you want to join us?

The Guadalquivir Marshes

Curiously, the story of “La Isla Minima” was inspired by images taken by the Sevillian photographer Atín Aya in the 90s from the landscape of the Guadalquivir Marshes. It is a place of about 2,000 square kilometers located between the provinces of Huelva, Seville and Cádiz, which has arisen not only by the force of nature, but by the hand of man. The marsh created by the sediments that the Guadalquivir It had dragged towards the sea for centuries, which reached from the Atlantic to Seville and which was penetrated, in addition to the Guadalquivir, by two of its arms, led to the formation of the so-called Isla Mayor, a municipality of about 5,000 inhabitants, and Isla Menor. The latter was divided by the Corta de los Jerónimos to make navigation easier, creating the small island that has been known since then as the Minimum Island.


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Landscapes protagonists of the film

In addition to the spectacular river bed with its countless arms, in the Guadalquivir Marshes you can find other impressive landscapes, such as extensive rice fields or almost deserted areas. Many of the scenes from the film were shot in Isla Mayor, a town that, being surrounded by cultivated fields, looks like a real island when they are flooded. It is precisely the cultivated hectares, the spike fields and the rice paddies that are the places that host most of the intrigue sequences. Another scenario that we want to highlight is the Arm of the Jerónimos, since the protagonists enter here to reach areas where access is not possible by land.

Tourist route

The relevance of the film is so great that the Provincial Deputation of Seville, the Junta de Andalucía and Andalucía Flim Comission have decided to launch a tourist route through its main settings, such as Puebla del Río, Isla Mayor, the Veta la Palma estate, Vetaherrado, Cotemsa Village, Playa de los Morenos, the Arm of the Jerónimos and La Minim. In addition, this tourist proposal includes cycling and hiking routes, horseback riding through the Dehesa de Abajo Concerted Nature Reserve, bird watching and visits to the open-air museum located on the Isla de los Pájaros and the Casitas de los Ingleses. Also, you must not forget that one of the main attractions of this route is the gastronomy of the area.

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Places of interest in the area

If you have the opportunity to visit this beautiful place in Andalusia, we recommend you take advantage of other nearby places. The main one is the Doñana National Park, a paradise for lovers of nature and birds. In addition, very close is also the village of Rocío, where thousands of parishioners come every year.

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  • Cádiz, Huelva, Seville
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