La guerra de papá

Based on a novel by one of the greater Spanish writers of the XX century (Miguel Delibes), "La Guerra de Papá" (Dad's War) tells the story of a typical day for a 3-year-old boy in 1964. The little boy, played by Lolo García, spends his day running around playing with his 5-year-old brother and interacting with the adults in the household (mother, servants...). Through his innocent eyes we see a portrait of Spanish society in the 60's (with its many conflicts and contradictions). The film is also a very good character study of the adults and of the boy himself, who feels jealous because he is no longer the youngest child in the house, since he has a 1-year-old sister.

It is set in madrid , Spain, March 1964. The picture is depicted through the eyes of a "unthrowned prince", a 3-year-old boy (Lolo Garcia) , Since Cristina's birth, he feels he has lost the privileged position of "prince" of the house for his eight months old siste r. The boy passes his time committing jokes after jokes , antics and pranks causing the resulting anger of his mum , the nanny (Veronica Forqué) and the old housemaid (Rosario García Ortega) . The movie portraits an outdated family model, the worried mother (Teresa Gimpera) , the angry father Don Pablo (Hector Alterio) who's Franco's war-obsessed and the rest of the family members are two much older brothers who also get in problem .

This is and interesting and some boring film dealing with interesting issues hallenges against the old traditions , tension between all social classes and the twisted imagination of the childness . The film is a song and an allegory to infancy , where curiosity and innocence are the most characteristic attributes having children . Director Antonio Mercero shows these important and universal values through child's mind . It is a notorious picture of educational content , including an enjoyable and attractive message . Wonderful relationship between Lolo Garcia and his mother Teresa Gimpera , with full of love and trouble as well . The picture was a big hit in Spain in spite of its deep ideological content, and made during the Spanish Transition from Dictatorship to Democracy , a whole society in change , it was still a risky time for the period it was made in . Interpretations are acceptable , stars Lolo Garcia who's passable but annoying at times , playing a very naughty child belonging to a wealthy middle-class family , he had an important career as a child , including Computron , Dos y dos son Cinco, Toby , Pan debajo del brazo , Las fantasias de Cuny . Furthermore , Teresa Gimpera as a good , resigned mother and Hector Alterio as a retrograde daddy of authoritarian ideas . And support cast is frankly extraordinary , plenty of familiar faces , such as : the recently deceased Verónica Forqué , Rosario García Ortega, Vicente Parra, Queta Claver, María Isbert , Fernando Valverde , Maria Garralón and Chus Lampreave.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Antonio Mercero , though it has flaws , gaps and being really claustrophobic. It resulted to get a big success at Spanish Box office . Mercero is a author of great hits TV series and several award-winning films . In 1970 Mercero started working for TV. He directed several documentaries and some chapters for the series Crónicas de un pueblo (1971) and, La the international hit : La cabina (1972), which won 10 national and international awards, including the Emmy Award in 1973. Then he made Don Juan (1974) (which won an award at the Festival of Montreux). After that , he realized ¨Los Pajaritos¨ (1974) , La Gioconda está triste or ¨Gioconda is sad¨ (1975) , the series "Ese Señor De Negro" or ¨That man in black¨ (1975), ¨La Noche del Licenciado¨ (1978), and his three biggest hit smashes : ¨Turno Oficio¨ TV series about advocates in law , "Blue summer¨ or ¨Verano Azul" (1978) about a group of teens spending the sunny Summer in Nerja , which became a sociological phenomenon and "Farmacia De Guardia" (1990) about an Apotheke . He went on making films as La hora de los valientes (1998) was defined by himself as a 'realistic tragicomedy, a romantic history , a historic fresco and a sociopolitical fable'. His last works in cinema were Planta 4ª (2003), a film about children with cancer treated with a touch of humor, and ¿Y tú quién eres? (2007), a drama about a grandfather with Alzheimer.

Don't be misled by the low ratings: this is a movie to enjoy. The fantastic novel by Delibes gets turned here into a well-developed script with an especially terrific dialog work. A social allegory from the beginning to the end. Through the eyes of a "unthrowned prince", a 3-year-old boy, the movie portraits the dull pain of a whole society in change: the outdated family model, the new challenges against the old traditions, the nonsense of Franco's war-obsessed Spain, the fear of future changes and the muted discomfort and tension between all social classes. Even the innocence of a child is finally seen in disbelief, letting the viewer share the pain of an uncertain world. Great script, good acting (GREAT in the case of the incredible child actor Lolo García and the very young Verónica Forqué). A movie that portraits an era in Spain's history, a perfect document to any student of our "transition" to democracy.