Les bicyclettes sont pour l'été

A very moving and excellent portrayal of the Spanish Civil War. A young boy and his family represent the wealthy class during this time. Tragically his sister's fiancée leaves to fight for his beliefs. She later becomes pregnant the family comes together to help raise the new member of their family. The boy begins to grow up during this period and has a brief romance with the nanny/maid who is relatively close in age to him. He does not realize the consequences of their relationship. The family takes in less fortunate neighbors as conditions in the country worsen. You truly feel for the boy and his family as the war transitions. Filmed wonderfully, it provides a very accurate testimony to the life of many families during this war. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the history of Spain. For those who are not familiar with the Spanish language, subtitles are essential to grasp what is going on and what has caused the war.

¨Las Bicicletas Son Para El Verano¨ is a play written by playwright/actor/director Fernando Fernán Gómez that in 1977 achieved Prize Lope De Vega Del Ayuntamiento de Madrid ; its cinematic adaptation was this good and largely considered film . En 1984 Lola Salvador Maldonado signs the script of this enjoyable cinematographic version with producer Alfredo Matas and filmmaker Jaime Chávarri . Summer 1936 , the Spanish Civil War outbursts , Madrid is besieged and there stands out the following slogan : ¨They will not pass , Madrid to be the tomb of fascism¨. In Madrid, the family formed by Don Luis (Agustin Gonzalez) , his wife Dolores (Amparo Soler Leal married to producer Alfredo Matas) and their children , Luisito and Manolita share the risked and troublesome lives along with the maid (Patricia Adriani) and neighbours (Alicia Hermida , Guillermo Marin) , among others . Luisito, in spite of failing exam , he wishes yearning a cycle , but his daddy wants to buy it when the war situation gets better . However , the violent happenings force him to delay the purchase and the delay is too long , like the war itself . As the cruel war is lasting too much , as it is to last much longer than expected . Meanwhile , Luisito (Gabino Diego) aspires , not unlike his father , to be a writer . However , the war dashes these hopes and dreams and leaves him as the head of his family , having to abandon his education and childhood . In addition , the outspoken , aspiring-actress Manolita (Victoria Abril) , like her brother , at the outset of the story her life seems full of promise . There also appears the neighbour Doña Antonia (Alicia Hermida) , at the beginning of the play she seems jealous of the other family's wealth , however , this soon changes and the two families come to rely on each other for food and support , she is very conservative and disapproves of Julio's love for Manolita . As Julio (Carlos Tristancho) is one of the sons of Don Luis's neighbour , Doña Antonia . Yet despite Julio's very traditional background he falls in love with Manolita . Although she does not return his affections , he asks to marry Manolita saying that he will love her and provide for her as he has a stable job .

The movie , and the play it was drawn from , show how daily life of the middle and lower classes and how to be conducted during the war , including their strategies for survival , as well as citizens doomed to a life of subservience at the hands of the Franco regime . Unexpected things happen , but townsfolk find ways to survive . Above all , it is a story of survival and adaptation . ¨Bicycles Are for the Summer¨ is a Spanish play written by Fernando Fernán Gómez in 1982 that deals with the effects of Spanish Civil War on citizens of Madrid . It was released as a theatrical exhibition in the same year , and a popular film directed by Jaime Chávarri . The play was premiered with big hit in Teatro Español Madrid in 1982 , with Agustín González , Berta Riaza , María Luisa Ponte , Enriqueta Carballeira and this cinematographic rendition exhibited in 1984 with screenplay by Lola Maldonado , being efficiently produced by Alfredo Matas and compellingly directed by Jaime Chávarri who maintains only Agustín González from the original theatrical , and adding Amparo Soler Leal , Victoria Abril and Gabino Diego, among others . The agreeable cast is pretty good . Although mediocre acting by Gabino Diego , in his film debut , as Luisito who wants his father to buy him a bicycle , despite having failed his exams . Magnificent interpretation by Agustín González as Don Luis who provides most of the comic relief in what would otherwise be a solely tragic story , he provides encouragement and optimism to his family and neighbours throughout the tale , despite the suffering they undergo . Ampáro Soler Leal gives an excellent performance as Doña Dolores who is even more conservative than her liberal husband , whilst she is easily persuaded by her hubby , she often disapproves of the direction her daughter's career is taking at the beginning of the yarn and enjoys her traditional way of life . Alicia Hermida is very well as the really traditional and conservative neighbour as well as Don Simón finely played by veteran Guillermo Marín . Other actors who give brief but fine interpretations are the followings : Aurora Redondo , Emilio Gutiérrez Caba , Patricia Adriani , Laura del Sol , Miguel Rellán and Marina Saura.

This motion picture was decently directed Jaime Chavarri . His first professional movie was ¨Los Viajes Escolares¨ (1974) , with an autobiographical touch but it was misunderstood by most critics . Later he worked with the notorious producer 'Elías Querejeta' in prestigious documentary titled ¨El Desencanto¨ (1976)) and Alfredo Matas in a successful costumer titled ¨Bearn¨ (1983) , adapted from the novel by Llorenç Vilallonga . With the last mentioned film he also had success in terms of the numbers who saw the film . He also directed intense dramas such as ¨Dedicatoria¨ and ¨A un Dios Desconocido¨ . To change the genre he also filmed the musical , ¨Las Cosas del Querer¨ (1989) , being followed by ¨Cosas Del Querer 2¨ (1995) , along with a Tango film as ¨Tangos Are for Two¨ . And adapted from the theatre play by Fernando Fernán Gómez in his most popular film titled ¨Bicicletas Son Para Verano¨ . His last picture was a biography about ¨Camarón¨ (2005) .

Nice portrait of the Spanish Civil War, based on a play from the renowned actor-director-writer Fernando Fernán Gómez, "Las bicicletas son para el verano" is the story about a family and their neighbors and how their lives are completely transformed by civil war. Although most of the characters have only slight political preferences, they will be affected one way or another by the ups and downs of the conflict. Unlike some other films dealing with the Spanish Civil War, this movie is not about the opposing forces in conflict, but about the middle class citizens and their strategies for survival. Moral, sexual and family issues continue to occur during the war, but the approaches to deal with them have changed considerably. Great acting by Agustín Gonzalez as Don Luis. A very young Victoria Abril.