Das Novembermanifest

This is a movie about the lost if innocence in cinema, in theatre... in art. Alfredo, the main character, is just a boy who loves theatre, he doesn't want to become a big movie star, nor a stage star. He doesn't want even to make money by acting. So he decides to create an independent street theatre company with some of his partners from the Art School. The movie isn't based on a true story, but it certainly looks like it was (We can see all the characters 30 years after the company was created, talking about it. Just like if it was a documentary). It does not matter that much if the performances of Alfredo and his crew aren't too brilliant because that's not what this film is about. You don't have to live in Spain to comprehend the point of this movie (as the previous commentator suggests). Just take a look around and see how everything in art's been prostituted. That's what this film is about. About not giving in, about fighting the establishment. Although the final sequence clearly shows us that the establishment cannot be beaten. Sad but true.

Noviembre is one of the more brilliant Spanish films that I've recently seen. I highly recommend you to watch it. Nevermind if you're Spanish, north-American, or German...

they wanted to change the world.did they? by this film i clearly understand that believing something or to have a hope is more vital than to accomplish it.to believe is the first and last thing in any of the story.since everyone exists in this story no matter who is actor who is watching.maybe meaning of the life is to understand that believing and challenging for any idea or a belief.death is the only perfect stage for Alfredo and actually for all of us. And no matter when it comes.Alfroda i saw,you change the world.sleep in peace. yes,finally all of us will die?will we? i believe in you i believe in we i believe in la ilahe illallah.

I adored this movie.I saw it in Annecy,France in April 2004.It was a Spanish movie festival.Of course,i had already taken 6 or 7 years of Spanish at the time so I had a pretty broad comprehension of what the movie was about and what the actors were saying...We are now in 2006 and I still to this day have not seen a better movie than this one. "Noviembre" has caused many things to change in my brain and my way of thinking about art. Art should be something that people express freely and in any kind of form or way they want.I thought the scenes in the streets, when they were acting were incredible. The end of the movie is very rough and harsh. If you ever see it,be prepared to cry in the end or at least be very touched by the meaning of it. If you have not lived in European countries it is more difficult to understand it. In fact,all the bad comments that I have read about this movie were made by non Hispanic and/or non European people.So please all of you,just open your mind to new and different things.

Make sure that you think twice about the true meaning of this movie before you say plenty of bad things about it.To me, everything was great,realistic for the way Spain was at the time and entertaining.

Just caught this on HBO-Latino. My Spanish is very limited so I couldn't understand that much either. But I don't think it's helpful to say it's "definitely an artsy masturbation job". I would urge readers to pay more attention to the fact that 150 people gave it a vote of 8 out of 10. Even the 1st reviewer gave it an 8. SEE THIS FILM! I thought it was very provocative -- an indie that deserves the name in the best of the tradition. Even if it is pretentious or self-important, or whatever 'artsy masturbation' means, this film goes well outside the dull, predictable, mainstream -- at least in its ambition if not farther. But not in a Warhol kind of way. It had something to say. Perhaps the message was, as Ben Harper sings, "You have to fight, Fight, FIGHT.......for your mind", i.e., fight conformism, fight indoctrination, fight regimentation, fight bourgeois control of the mind space. And enjoy the freedom you obtain thereby.

Just my $0.02

I walked into this film 10 minutes late, saw it without subtitles, and only realized afterward that the commentators were the actors thirty years later. Even so I enjoyed the film immensely and it left me thinking about how much is too much. Because of the language problem (I live in Mexico but have enough hearing loss that movie sound doesn't come through well to me), most of the effect of the movie came through the outstanding cinematography and pacing. Spain is a country that has a recent history of atentados (political murders) so I wonder what Spaniards think of Noviembre. As an outsider, besides the plot and texture of the movie, I welcomed the shots of Madrid but what I liked most was the portrayal of the young energy of the street theater company. After seeing the film I felt older, wiser, and wish I could see it again.