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Reviews
Santa liberdade (2004)
Recovering the memory of the fight against Iberian Dictatorships
"Santa Liberdade" tells the kidnapping of the Portuguese transatlantic ship "Santa Maria" at the beginning of the 60's.This was a political act aiming to call the world's attention on the dictatorships of Salazar and Franco, since also several Galician Franco's opponents took part in it.It was an audacious and almost non violent blow (one Portuguese official was shot and died), and although it did not have a real incidence on both dictatorial regimes, it was a remarkable step in the fight for freedom in the Iberian Peninsula during those dark years.Galician director Margarita Ledo,in a correct documentary tone though disposing of few filmed documents, remembers the event through photos, cuts of press and interviews with protagonists or their descendants,with special attention to those of Galician origin, the nationality of the director.An interesting document on an historical episode, hidden or disguised for years as a simple non-political criminal fact by the two dictatorial Iberian regimes.
CCCV (Cineclube Carlos Varela) (2005)
Documentary on Carlos Varela, an amateur galician film-maker
This is a documentary dealing with the not very known figure of Carlos Varela, a member of Galician nationalist party "Union do Pobo Galego" who filmed with his super-8 camera many of the activity of his party, as well as demonstrations and social fights against Franco's policemen during the 70's.The documentary is composed mainly of the original (and often technically very poor) footage, with no comments but some subtitles, which makes the film somewhat boring at times.In spite of that, the recovering of this hardly seen footage shows a hidden part of Galician history, just the years before and after the dictator's death in 1975, and that is it's main value.It also gives a deserved homage to one of those rather anonymous and enthusiastic film-makers who contributed with his work to fill a gap (that of the leftist nationalism activities) in the visual memory of his country.
Caudillo (1977)
A good documentary clearly against Franco
Don't misunderstand this good documentary about Franco's ("The Caudillo")figure.The film shows the Franco's propaganda, from documentaries to comics showing the dictator as a super-hero, and contrasts it all along the picture with images and commentaries (including songs and poems, especially one read by Neruda himself)which ridicules Franco's figure.But Basilio Martin Patino does not "speak" himself, he lets the images, the songs and the voices of some protagonists (of both sides)illustrate us about the Spanish Civil War and Franco.If someone may consider this as a "pro-Franco" picture, he's misunderstanding the whole aim of the film, and not considering the obvious ironic treatment of the official image of the dictator.Imagine a film about Nazism where you see the glorifying documentaries about Hitler, put into contrast with the images of Nazi's massacres and crimes.This is the same case.Nothing to do, of course, with "Triumph of the will".It is possible that what is obvious for any Spanish, after many and many years of Franco's propaganda, may not be so clear for a foreigner, but be sure that this is an honest film,where the author lets you to judge, but giving you enough evidences of what lied behind the fascist "liberation" and the ridiculous personality of the dictator, the only fascist European leader who survived the II World War and ruled until he died, after killing and terrifying many of the best of Spanish people.