Caudillo

This is a documentary on Francisco Franco and the Spanish Civil War. It's not like a typical documentary in which the documentary shows scenes and footages as well as people commenting but rather a sort of a film with poor editing with waves of boastaring of the "great and glorious leader who saved Spain". It's unique in the sense that it shows lots of great footage of the war and the movements surrounding the war. Although there is a constant glorification of the dictator Francisco Franco, it does a good job of showing the side of the opposition without demonizing them. The film shows amazing footage with songs of the day as the sound track as well as speeches of the old leaders. Think "Triumph of the Will" with a little less quality and a lot less propaganda.

Don't misunderstand this good documentary about Franco's ("The Caudillo")figure.The film shows the Franco's propaganda, from documentaries to comics showing the dictator as a super-hero, and contrasts it all along the picture with images and commentaries (including songs and poems, especially one read by Neruda himself)which ridicules Franco's figure.But Basilio Martin Patino does not "speak" himself, he lets the images, the songs and the voices of some protagonists (of both sides)illustrate us about the Spanish Civil War and Franco.If someone may consider this as a "pro-Franco" picture, he's misunderstanding the whole aim of the film, and not considering the obvious ironic treatment of the official image of the dictator.Imagine a film about Nazism where you see the glorifying documentaries about Hitler, put into contrast with the images of Nazi's massacres and crimes.This is the same case.Nothing to do, of course, with "Triumph of the will".It is possible that what is obvious for any Spanish, after many and many years of Franco's propaganda, may not be so clear for a foreigner, but be sure that this is an honest film,where the author lets you to judge, but giving you enough evidences of what lied behind the fascist "liberation" and the ridiculous personality of the dictator, the only fascist European leader who survived the II World War and ruled until he died, after killing and terrifying many of the best of Spanish people.

Caudillo by Basilio Martin Patino is a critic (but respectful) documentary about the life and times of Francisco Franco, people who says that it's all about fascism and propaganda do so because they haven't seen it.

Martin Patino is not a fascist, he's not very interested in politics either, and this film is part of a trilogy about Spain after the Civil war. The other two films are "Canciones para despues de una guerra" (Songs for after a war - devastating documentary against war and totalitarianism's) and "Queridisimos Verdugos" (Beloved executioners - a brutal documentary about death penalty in times of Francisco Franco) he doesn't take part, he only shows images and play music from the age...that's all, and Caudillo works in the same way, gives you images and sounds (as off voices) and you have to create the image of the world known dictator in your head.

An uneasy job, but its worth the effort.