A 27-year-old woman called Juana Garcia (Marisol) travels from Málaga to Santander , she arrives in a Cantabrian village , Barcena Mayor , to work as a children teacher . But she actually arrives in the little town to find her old lover , her intimate and old flame , Antonio (Antonio Gades). It is the time of the 'maquis', the anti-Franco guerrilla (formed by : Fernando Sánchez Polack as commander , Mario Pardo , José Yepes , Antonio Iranzo) that fights with little hope in some regions of Spain just after the end of the civil war . She had a love affair with one of the guerrillas , Antonio Ayala , and she returns to meet him . Antonio is a soldier who fought in the Spanish Civil war , WWII , and Algeria war . But Ayala is nowadays tired for his loneliness , hardness and coldness . As their relationship will have an impossible future because of the past and the dangerous present .
Thought-provoking and sensitive film with attractive screenplay by Manolo Matji , Antonio José Betancor and Camus , including good performances and acceptable direction . This is a thoughtful but slow-moving drama concerning on a few roles who suffer the consequences of their dark pasts . Concerning a strong ¨Amour Fou¨ , a deep love story that is hindered by the extreme fright , isolation , chasing and war . The movie title turns out to be from ¨Eclesiastés¨ quotient . At time this movie was premiered it resulted to be unnoticed , that's why during ¨Spanish Transition¨ were exhibited several prohibited films previously censored along the Franco dictatorship . The script takes us into the human reality on these characters , victims of their own inner ghosts and distresses with which they must pay for their past and the risked present . This is the way in which Camus brings to life the return of a dark past to a tragic present ; being well paced the appearance of the mysterious lover , the threatening pursuit carried out by the strongly armed Guardia Civil against the guerrilla and the sudden encounter with the old flame . The past returns as if it were a nightmare , forcing the starring to return to be one person who thought she had given up . And in any case , this movie flees the explicit denounce , especially for the hope of those individualistic beings who live in the shadow of violent fanaticism which always entail political battles . And with that appealing plot , I welcome the sublime simplicity with which the story is treated and in which stands out the misty atmosphere that provides the stunning photography . The main strength of the film resides on the colorful ambient with splendid production design by Rafael Palmero , besides the adequate interpretations . Here highlights Marisol at her best , she won an award in the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (1978) , as she gives the greatest acting of her peculiar career . Her debut in cinema was in 1960 with ¨Un Rayo De luz¨ , following a long string of hits such as : ¨La Historia de Bienvenido¨ , ¨Marisol Rumbo Río¨ , ¨Tómbola¨, ¨Cabriola¨, ¨Ha LLegado Un Angel¨ , among others . She complemented her activity in cinema with records , recitals and TV-shows . She has three daughters from her marriage to early deceased Antonio Gades . In 1985, when she was still high in her career , she left everything , returned to her homeland , Malaga , and has lived as a housewife since then for her own choice . Marisol has received many invitations to return , but has declined all of them . Her husband , Antonio Gades , gives a brief but surprising good interpretation , barely speaking . And a nice quartet of secondaries as Manuel Alexandre , Mario Pardo , Antonio Iranzo , Saturno Cerra and Fernando Sánchez Polack as Guerrilla leader . Furthermore , the kiddies belong to schools from Los Tojos , Correpoco and Saja .
Atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Hans Burmann . Being shot on location in Barcena Mayor , Valle Cábuerniga , Ucieda , Fresneda , Correpozo , Ubiarco , Comillas (Cantabria) , and Maro (Málaga) . Appropriate musical score by Antón Garcia Abril , including the soundtrack background from famous Spanish Civil War theme : Ay Carmela . The motion picture titled "The Days of the Past" was compellingly directed by Mario Camus following his particular style . Camus was born in Santander , Cantabria , location in which often shoots his films . He worked with Carlos Saura in several screenplays during the early 60s Los Golfos (1960), Llanto Por Un Bandido (1964)), and also directed some shorts . His first feature films were Los Farsantes (1963) and Young Sánchez (1964), a movie about boxing which won the Best Film Award at the Buenos Aires Festival . Mario has an important career with film and television adaptations quite remarkable , as he efficiently directed yarns based on notorious writers such as Perez Galdos, García Lorca, Cela Camilo José Miguel Delibes . During various decades he touched styles varying from romantic comedies and musicals to splendid adaptations from famous novels, as is the case of the prestigious TV series "Fortunata y Jacinta" (1979) . In 1983 he was given the 'Medalla Oro De Las Bellas Artes' (Arts Gold Medal), and one year later he prepared his most successful work both with public and critic : Los Santos Inocentes (1984), an adaptation from the novel by Miguel Delibes. Mario is an expert on interesting dramas as proved in ¨ The house of Bernarda Alba¨ , ¨La Colmena¨ which won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival , ¨The days of the past ¨ and many others . Rating : 7.5/10 , Above average ; it's a decent film though sometimes slow-moving .
