Bienvenue Mr Marshall

Gentle, sometimes very funny political satire, somewhat reminiscent of the UK Ealing Studio films.

The poor, small Spanish town of Villar del Rio is abuzz with the news that American officials are coming to visit, and plan to show off their best face in an effort to get their slice of the Marshall Plan pie. (Spain was actually excluded from the funds).

While sometimes predictable, and sometimes badly post dubbed this is a fun film with just enough edge to look at the darker side of human nature, but with a smile.

Frustratingly this classic of Spanish cinema isn't available on US DVD. I had to order mine from Amazon Spain (although it has US subtitles, and looks pretty good.)

Probably, the best Spanish film ever made. A loyal portrait of Spaniards' personality and way of thinking with the particular sense of humour added by the writer Miguel Mihura. Essential: the Pepe Isbert's balcony scene, be ready to laugh .

I'm putting a lot of stuff in "south europe" but i'm actually thinking this being set in portugal wouldn't be very different. After all there's something fascinating aout the "big people that come from abroad". the town is obliged to become perfect for the american visit and that includes undressing what they are: giving the americans a version they thing it would be the ideal. They react as if they were chosen by a divine entity on being visited.

the best parts of this movie are the humour. it's witty and interesting, plus the dialogues are fast paced and good to follow. most of the characters are archetypes true but there's historical views present here: spain opening up to the world (more or less) and the american friends visiting - a small town no one from outside cares about, heck no one in spain cares about. their naiveness on thinking everything will be solves by one single visit. people wanting to take advantage of that to earn more money.

it's funny because when i stared watching this i aleady knew its way: these characters are also common in portugal. The dynamics of the village are pretty much the same. having a narrator is an interesting portrait because we se this kinda as a tale, and not exactly as a hugely realistic narrative - even though some of the stuff is. i have a favourite gag, at the line of "wishes americans will provided" but i won't spoil it.

also the dream sequences were very interesting. the discussions about morality, because if ones are all interested in "opening up" others fear their power will fade - even if it faded already. the ideia that inferiority reigns in those villages against the very developed (and a bit depraved for some) americans, and some of the actions they took to please the outsiders make a strong point: a huge complex of inferiority towards them, masked by patriotism and alleged pride. in a way is what a lot of repressive regimes are: a mask to please the leader and the others. the truth is when everything goes back to normal, and the political agents don't care about them anyway.

it's a very good movie, for me inbetween a 7 and an 8. but it seems a fun and accurate historical (and real even it it's told as a tale) portrait about small towns in south european countries. i hope more people see this because it definitely deserves.

I have seen this film in its original version and in a French translation, and I must admit that, as far as all cinematic qualities are concerned, it reminds me very much of those glorious British Ealing Studios comedies of the 50s.

This movie is well considered all over the world and it is not difficult to see why. It was made in 1952 but it still remains as one of the truly classic movies of Spanish cinema.

Of course its cinematographic values are impressive. From the very beginning the techniques used in this film are different from those used in American cinema of the same time, a narrator introduces the small town and the characters to the audience, he seems to know everything about them, he is capable of stop the movement and take out the people of the screen. An audacious resource from one of the main directors in Spanish cinema history, Luis García Berlanga. This beginning is modern for the time and it can be linked to the European cinema of the era.

On one hand, we are about to see a description of Spanish traditions and characters depicted with lots of humor and irony. On the other hand, we see a critic of some of these statements and mentalities of Spanish people and institutions. This critics is plenty of melancholy in some cases and plenty of humor in other cases. Just about the end of the film, there are several dream scenes that satirizes some of the American cinema of the era and some American traditions and characters (as those of the Western movies).

The script is superb, the actors are very well chosen for their roles, the cinematography is excellent and so is the photography, direction is extraordinary taking into account that this is one of the first movies by Berlanga.

Finally, I have to say that this is a Spanish classic movie and one of my must sees.