Land and Freedom

It's one of my favorite movies. The director made an outstanding job representing this glorious and terrible part of the Civil War. It's a movie with a low budget, a good historical representation and a great job from the actors. Iciar Bollain is great. They told me (when I saw it back in 1995) the actors, even many extras, played roles according to their political ideas. I'm thankful for the individuals foreigners who came to my country Spain, from all parts of Europe, USA, etc, to fight against the arise of the fascism in Europe. So I'm thankful for this movie. You'll love the guys of the POUM. You'll also understand why the good guys can't win. Please notice that the Spanish Civil War ended in April 1939, and that the Second World War started in July 1939. 4 more months and instead of the history saying that the 2WW started in Poland, it would say that started in Spain. Well, this is the only movie I know about the Spanish Civil War.

Ken Loach proves once again, that he is a director of the very highest calibre. He has crafted a film about the Spanish Civil War (1936-9), which was the prelude to WW2.

Truthfully I could care less about the politics of this tragic episode in world history, BUT the director,by his sheer genius & craftsmanship made me sit at the edge of my seat & pay close attention. Subtitles are used sparingly & it is hard to make some of the dialogue out due thick accent, The acting is so skillfull you needed no dialogue,you are able to understand each actors feelings & emotions. Credit this to Mr.Loach, The only actor I have heard of in this film is the lead IAN HART/ He & all the others do an excellent job. This film was made in 1995, & barely released,another example of distributors not knowing a GREAT film from a hole in the ground. Even this is a war film, there is very little violence, a good history lesson for the younger ones, then a trip to the library to find out more.

My rating is ***1/2 95/100 points 9 on IMDb

Applause for Mr. Loach. As a person who is majorly into history (Spanish and Irish in particular), I loved seeing this film for the first time, and that was hundreds of times ago. This movie is about a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, played brilliantly by Ian Hart (who is also in "Michael Collins", another favorite of mine) who goes to Spain in 1936 to fight in the Spanish Civil War. He is persuaded to join the Partido Obrero de Unificacion Marxista, or POUM. This was a militia dedicated to world revolution, not to socialism in one country. The film very accurately portrays the beginning of the war, when it was clear cut who was on which side. And it keeps with its accuracy in showing how Joseph Stalin manipulated the country of Spain for his own needs, eventually using his influence there to end the life of Leon Trotsky. "Land and Freedom" also shows the May days in Barcelona, when 500 people were killed in a mini civil war within the forces of the anti-fascist Republic. This film is amazing, both in its ability to show how personal the conflict was for many people and how it was not a clear cut good guy bad guy war after 1936. I would like to say that, although when discussing the Spanish Civil War one will always find their bias, Mr. Loach certainly shows his. Very little mention of the mass murder of priests and nuns is included, except in one scene where a priest is shot for informing on the militia. This was not always the case. The militias would go into a town and simply kill clergy because religion to them was fascism. I'm not trying to defend Franco. I am trying to give some wider perspective on what happened. This film is a very good film, but as I said with regards to "Michael Collins", another film Ian Hart is in, one would be better seeing this film, then reading extensively on the subject of the Spanish Civil War to get the full picture.

Anarchists have remained almost invisible in mass media films. Worse, when they have appeared, it is generally some bourgeois stereotype of anarchists as violent or some socialist stereotype of anarchists as infantile. Here they are shown more accurately as organized and committed to the nitty-gritty basics of the revolution of everyday life.

British director Ken Loach made a film that finally attempts an anarchist's view of anarchists in Spain during the civil war against the fascists. The victors write history, so as losers of that war, their history has for too long remained untold. But this 1995 film, "Land & Freedom" shows what they were fighting for and what they were fighting against. One of the best aspects here is that the film also shows how the communists aggressively destroyed the anarchists more than their supposed common enemy. This I take as a lesson for today's left:

The melancholy hopelessness of our own 21st century is a consequence of that tragic defeat by the fascists -- largely because the Left fragmented and was brutally dominated by Leninist dictators. Historical progress is now merely spinning its wheels in futility, recycling every old thing again as a farce. The only solution is land and freedom.

P.S. Another sympathetic film based on these events is "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1943) based on the Hemingway novel, starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman. This one is less politically aware however, so it focuses more on the romance. See info at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035896/combined

The picture begins in recent times when a granddaughter looking for papers aware her grandfather fought in Spanish War Civil (1936-1939) that is the subject matter of the movie. Then happens a long flashback where are developed the facts about David (Ian Hart), a working-class and unemployed young . He's an English communist who leaves Liverpool and comes to join the Republicans troops against the General Franco army . He joined the P.O.U.M. (Partido Obrero Unificacion Marxista) of Trosky ideology, for that reason are called Troskists. There he meets women fighters ( Rosana Pastor, Iciar Bollain) and the International brigades (Tom Gilroy). David befriends the militia people and fights in the trenches of the battles of Teruel and Ebro. David is wounded and while he's in Barcelona occurs confrontation between FAI, CNT anarchists followers of the leader Durruti (who gave name to the Column Durruti), regular troops of the Republican government, Stalinists and Troskists. Then David decides to return to his previous militia.

This interesting historical story is a passionate retelling and a touching warlike drama. The film originated an intense discussion in Spain about its principal theme , the Spanish Civil War . However the intense debate about ownership of lands proceeded in pseudo-documentary style is overlong and dull. Adequate cinematography by Barry Ackroyd , Ken Loach's usual . Perceptible and sensible musical score by George Fenton. ¨Land and freedom ¨ was a Spanish- British co-production and obtained much success in the Spain box-office . The film belongs a splendid trilogy by Ken Loach, developing historical deeds from a thoughtful point of sight , such as ¨Hidden agenda¨ and ¨The wind that shakes the barley¨.

The motion picture is professionally directed by Ken Loach. In the 90s he directed a series of award-winning movies firmly establishing him as one of the best European filmmakers with ¨Riff-Raff¨, ¨Raining stones¨ and ¨My name is Joe¨ winning several prizes in Cannes, and of course ¨Land and freedom¨ which achieved the Ecumenical Prize and the International critics Prize at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. In the 2000s, Loach went on his special landmark about socialist realism with ¨Bread and Roses¨, ¨The Navigators¨, ¨Sweet sixteen¨, ¨Just a kiss¨, and ¨It's free world¨. This rich human drama appeal to Ken Loach enthusiasts and history buffs.