¡Ay, Carmela!

This is a film about human beings and how they cope with the nightmare of civil war. We are shown that people's reactions to this kind of ordeal are various. It is an extreme situation and this is conveyed very well by Carlos Saura - we watch people trying to forget where they are and enjoy themselves watching the antics of our variety troupe, only to be reminded of reality, as the sound of aircraft drowns out the performance. This theme of constantly being dragged back to the reality of war continues through the film. The acting is outstanding, Carmen Maura's in particular, and regardless of with whom our personal empathy may lie, Saura does not condemn individuals. Above all, the pain and sadness of a country at war with itself is expressed through the tortuous mental and emotional processes Carmela goes through.

This film brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. It says much about the value of human life,and the bewildering horror and absurdity of civil war.

Saura's superb display of a well-chosen fit between music and the story that is going on "behind the curtains". He is a master on that. Kind of idealistic view of the Spanish Civil War, as a result of the political moment of "institutional silent" when democracy is possible in Spain again. (90')He took the amazing and just genial play by Sinisterra and make it a new piece of art. Makes you laugh and cry..although the vision of Carmela as the representation of "la republic" inserts women in a stereotyped context of the "abstraction" that does not let her be part of the struggle for democracy, hand by hand with human kind..men in this case.. highly recommended, but also should be followed by the reading of the theater play.

OK, first of all, whoever said that "The Pianist" was a precursor to this movie must not have noticed that "Ay Carmela" was released 8 or so years before it. Also, you probably need to come into this one understanding some of the complicated precepts involved in the Spanish Civil War and how it was more complicated than just one enemy, and that the Republican army was not unified either. This film does a decent job of communicating that complexity and speaking to the ambivalence that the Spanish nation felt (and still feels) about this terrible period in their history. Lastly, as the protagonists are artists, it is important to remember that under Franco many of Spain's leading artistic figures were forced into exile and or shot (as in the case of Garcia Lorca). Expecting to get a history lesson from a movie seems like the wrong motivation altogether for me, I mean these are characters placed into a historical context. So therefore if you know absolutely nothing about this period it may be smart to learn a little first and then appreciate the film through the lens of that knowledge.

it is a form of parable. piece of long exorcism of Spain against its past shadows. a film like a puzzle of references. art resistance, moral choices, adventure, burlesque, compromises and truth, love and life and dream. all under the precise art of Carlos Saura tools. part of a chain, it is different. not only for extraordinary performance of Carmen Maura but for courage to not be only a Spanish story. the three flags, the prisoners, the school, theater, maybe the map are clues for define a deep European crisis and confrontation with the past. and that is the essence of this splendid movie - to open doors, to transform a past story in present reflection, to be a testimony and, in same measure, an invitation to discover the best choice in dark periods.

maybe, its basic virtue is the realistic portrait of Spanish Civil War. bitter, ironic, cruel and precise. and not surprising. because it is a film about freedom against totalitarian regime. a film about the way to escape from the cage of history. a film about force of art. and about sacrifice. and about the choice who defines yourself. I saw twice this special film. and each time as discovered it as a kind of gem. for the truths reflected with force. for the music. for the performances. and, sure, for the strange form of hope. so, the war. and the fight to survive.