¡Ay, Carmela!

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.

During the Spanish Civil War a spirited vaudeville team on a morale boosting tour of the republican front lines is captured by fascist troops and made an offer they can't refuse: face imprisonment and possible execution or perform a degrading propaganda skit for the amusement of local officers. The stakes are clear: collaborate and live, or refuse and die, and from that simple dilemma director Carlos Saura conveys the escalating tension before the show with a healthy measure of wartime drama and ironic backstage humor. Saura understands that genuine tragedy requires at least a touch of comedy, provided here by an energetic cast led by the reliable Carmen Maura, who even does her own singing and dancing. So it's too bad that after building such momentum the film has to end on a lurid climax better suited to an Oliver Stone potboiler, complete with strobe light effects and mass audience hysteria. But it's a small price to pay for an otherwise elegant and entertaining reminder of how, even in a war where the issues are obvious, some decisions can be mortally dangerous to make.

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.

I only wanted to say that it was not until the second time that I watched it that I began to really appreciate the complexity of the story, is web of ironies, and the extent of the moral dilemmas with which the different characters really had to confront and deal with...and how in the end, it was really the lack of the husband's moral backbone that nearly bankrupted Carmela's (i.e, Spain's) morality and dignity...a dignity that was redeemed in the very end of the movie, but only through Carmela's very own blood - a very clear Christ-figure reference; one consistent with western literature, and also very consistent with much of the film's Communist/Republican/Atheist vs. Franco-Fascist/Vatican-Backed/Fervent Catholic sub plot.

Carmen Maura was brilliant in the complex role of Carmela, as were the two male supporting actors in their respective roles. I only wish that the subtitles would have done the rich Spanish dialogue more justice. So many nuances had to be left out, but those I suppose are the limitations inherent in subtitles, no matter how competently they may be done.

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.