Flames burn in patches, sending golden flecks into the sweltering air. The voice of a firefighter, layered with gusts of air and the crackling of wood, reports to a colleague over the phone, detailing their efforts in putting out the flames. He says they battled the blaze well into the morning, facing the vast fire perimeter. And they were stunned by the countless wild animals emerging from the inferno, only to retreat into it upon seeing the firefighters. «Wild boars, lynx, roe deer, and others. They’d rather go back into the fire than come anywhere near humans,» he tells his pal over the phone.
Wildfire prone
Directed by Robin Petré and stunningly photographed by María Goya Barquet, Only on Earth opens with an eerie scene in southern #Galicia, one of Europe’s most wildfire-prone areas. Unfolding during a summer of relentless heat, the film follows the lives of a disparate group as wildfires draw near. Among them are a seasoned firefighter, a 10-year-old aspiring cowboy, a dedicated equine vet, a shepherdess, and a herd of wild horses. Echoing Petré’s earlier works—such as the Berlinale-debuted From the Wild Sea—Only on Earth continues to lens human-animal relationships, this time capturing their perpetual proximity and interdependence against the backdrop of looming wildfires. This ongoing connection is evident as the two consistently share the screen: from the vet tending to ailing animals to the young cowboy grooming his horse, his small feet planted on an upturned bucket.
Through the imagery of unrelenting flames sweeping across the hills, it confronts us with the stark reality of what is at stake.
Galicia’s hardy wild horses, known locally as las bestas, also emerge as protagonists in the film and are portrayed alongside the locals whose lives are shaped by both tradition and modern pressures. The film depicts their complex relationship through the striking scenes of ‘Rapa das Bestas’ or ‘The Shearing of the Beasts,’ an annual roundup of the region’s free-roaming horses, during which they are deloused and their manes are cut before they are released back into the mountains. The ritual has drawn criticism in the past over concerns of horse mistreatment, though some locals have viewed it as animal care and a means of maintaining their well-being. Beyond tradition, this relationship has also held vital environmental importance, as the horses help preserve Galicia’s fragile ecosystems and reduce #wildfire risks by consuming combustible vegetation, including undergrowth and shrubs such as gorse. With rising temperatures and an increasingly volatile atmosphere, their role in curbing potential wildfire fuel becomes even more critical. As Cristina Huete duly noted in her 2021 article, citing a study by the University of A Coruña, Galicia’s wild horses could be «part of the solution» to the problems brought on by the #climate crisis#. However, their population has halved, from an estimated 22,000 roaming the region’s «mountains, forests, and heathlands» in the 1970s to just 10,000 today. This decline is partly due to habitat loss and human encroachment on their grazing areas, as Petré’s film subtly suggests.
The stakes
«How can we better prepare for future [wild]fires?» «We must first understand them,» says the firefighter in the film. Marked by sparse storytelling and deliberate pacing, the documentary ultimately explores this necessity, foregrounding nature’s forces and elements. Through the imagery of unrelenting flames sweeping across the hills, it confronts us with the stark reality of what is at stake. Yet, once wildfires fade from view, we are left with a poignant question: Can humanity truly coexist with nature? The answer seems doubtful, especially when even seemingly well-intentioned endeavours, like the shift to sustainable energy, bring new environmental strains and pressures on the natural world. This tension is captured in haunting tableaux: wild horses grazing across Galicia’s landscape, now dotted with wind turbines.
