Fe de etarras

Fe de Etarras is a dark humor movie directed by Basque director Borja Cobeaga. The movie was released in 2017 as a Netflix Original and was the second Spanish movie to stream on the platform. It takes place during a hot summer on a small town in Spain which is no mentioned. Four members of the Basque terrorist organization, ETA, plan on leaving their mark while Spain's national soccer team makes its way to the finals of the world cup. However, they must wait for a phone call that will give them permission to carry on with their plan. As they wait for the phone call, they try to stay away from people to hide their identity and face many funny situations that add comedy to the movie. Having a good understanding of Basque history and recognizing the ETA is essential to understanding this movie. It is based on real life history and social acts that go back in time. Basque language and music are used throughout the movie to express the essence of the contemporary culture. Part of the comedy is the classic Basque vs. the rest of Spain social situation. The movie is dark humor and touched topics about racism between countries. If people find this uncomfortable, they should not watch the movie. Being a soccer fan really adds to the experience of the movie because it creates its own version of the 2010 World Cup. In general, the movie is really good and suitable for a mature audience. The characters are well built; however, the director shows very little information about their past which I think could have been done better. If you enjoy dark humor and are familiar with Spanish history, this is a movie that you might enjoy. Enjoying with some friends will definitely enhance the experience.

Low key and dryly comedic snap-shot of the final soldiers standing against a cause that no one but them feels passionately about.

There's a constant tone of quiet desperation in these figures who on paper are domestic terrorists but in practice just feel kind of clownish. I feel for them and Spain is one of the few countries that don't annoy (my support for Catalonia nothwithstanding).

We have the old stalwart who wants to make up for past fumbles, the enthusiast who seems to treat the whole thing as a fetish and then a couple of others who seem to be tempted by just settling down.

The temptation of normal life hangs over them as palpably as the spectre of soccer.

I couldn't explain the ending to you.

Really funny, but I guess you need to br Spanish to truly get the humor. Otherwise you lack a lot of cultural references and you won't enjoy as much.

I was expecting to hate this, not because I condone the atrocities of ETA, but because the de-politization of art has become a dangerous and ever-increasing trend in the last 10 years or so. Post-crisis Europe is slowly creeping towards to a callous hybrid of feudal-capitalist authoritarianism (some would argue, it's already there) and Spain is no exception. Art can awaken or can pacify. "Fe de etarras" definitely belongs to the the latter category. Nobody will be bothered by this film, not even the Basques. But I do believe it has a saving grace. It shows how most people just want to live a normal life, be safe, fall in love and eat good food. Radicals tend to forget the power of wanting to belong and be normal. The film addresses this issue with zero arrogance (something that would have been easy under the present circumstances: the victory of the Spanish State and the disarmament and dissolution of ETA) and at times even reaches moments of subtlety. Yet, the utter lack of political criticism is very alarming in a time of media and cultural homogenisation.