Andy-296 Review of L'assedio dell'Alcazar

L'assedio dell'Alcazar (1940)

Politics aside, this is a well made film

[8/10 · 31 May 2015]

A well made Italian-Spanish co production from 1940 that deals with the siege of the Alcazar fortress in Toledo during the Spanish Civil war (an Italian was the director and the film was shot on Italy, the cast is mostly Spanish and the action, of course, takes place in Spain). In the summer of 1936, shortly after the initiation of the conflict, the rebel military (that is, the Nationalist followers of future dictator Franco) holes up in the Alcazar in Toledo, which at the time was the site of one of Spain's main military academies. Surrounded by Republican forces which were much bigger in number, the soldiers nevertheless resisted for several weeks until Franco's forces relieved them. Naturally, the film has a pro Francoist point of view, espousing Catholicism, Tradition, etc. The Franco soldiers are morally uptight, patriotic, responsible, courageous, while the Republicans are seen as a cruel, disheveled Communist rabble. Despite its politics, the movie is well directed, tense, an attention getter. Winner of an award at the Venice Film Festival.