It took someone of the stature of Luis Garcia Berlanga, who just recently died, to come out with a satire about a subject that is usually presented in a different way. The Spanish Civil War of the 1930s is something that most filmmakers of that country think they must deal with in different fashion. Most of the movies on the subject are usually of the heavy handed type, so this sunny comedy, written by Rafael Azcona and the director, sets a different pace to tell a different account of what they imagined went on, even during the worst days of that conflict.
We are taken to a place where the troops loyal to Franco have control of a small town. Their enemy, the Republicans, were holding positions in the fields nearby. The Republican army had almost no provisions left to feed the troops, so knowing their foes were about to celebrate a feast which involved a bullfight, they decide to infiltrate the town and steal the bull for themselves.
The absurdity of war is explored by Mr. Garcia Berlanga in a funny way. It is a different take on a conflict that pitted Spaniards against one another in one of the cruelest war in recent memory. The cast of this film is splendid. Jose Sacristan and Alfredo Landa are seen as part of the Republican invaders. The film offers a comic version of how things might have been, had the director, and creator of this film had anything to do with the fighting.
We are taken to a place where the troops loyal to Franco have control of a small town. Their enemy, the Republicans, were holding positions in the fields nearby. The Republican army had almost no provisions left to feed the troops, so knowing their foes were about to celebrate a feast which involved a bullfight, they decide to infiltrate the town and steal the bull for themselves.
The absurdity of war is explored by Mr. Garcia Berlanga in a funny way. It is a different take on a conflict that pitted Spaniards against one another in one of the cruelest war in recent memory. The cast of this film is splendid. Jose Sacristan and Alfredo Landa are seen as part of the Republican invaders. The film offers a comic version of how things might have been, had the director, and creator of this film had anything to do with the fighting.
