Benvenuto Mr. Marshall!

I'm putting a lot of stuff in "south europe" but i'm actually thinking this being set in portugal wouldn't be very different. After all there's something fascinating aout the "big people that come from abroad". the town is obliged to become perfect for the american visit and that includes undressing what they are: giving the americans a version they thing it would be the ideal. They react as if they were chosen by a divine entity on being visited.

the best parts of this movie are the humour. it's witty and interesting, plus the dialogues are fast paced and good to follow. most of the characters are archetypes true but there's historical views present here: spain opening up to the world (more or less) and the american friends visiting - a small town no one from outside cares about, heck no one in spain cares about. their naiveness on thinking everything will be solves by one single visit. people wanting to take advantage of that to earn more money.

it's funny because when i stared watching this i aleady knew its way: these characters are also common in portugal. The dynamics of the village are pretty much the same. having a narrator is an interesting portrait because we se this kinda as a tale, and not exactly as a hugely realistic narrative - even though some of the stuff is. i have a favourite gag, at the line of "wishes americans will provided" but i won't spoil it.

also the dream sequences were very interesting. the discussions about morality, because if ones are all interested in "opening up" others fear their power will fade - even if it faded already. the ideia that inferiority reigns in those villages against the very developed (and a bit depraved for some) americans, and some of the actions they took to please the outsiders make a strong point: a huge complex of inferiority towards them, masked by patriotism and alleged pride. in a way is what a lot of repressive regimes are: a mask to please the leader and the others. the truth is when everything goes back to normal, and the political agents don't care about them anyway.

it's a very good movie, for me inbetween a 7 and an 8. but it seems a fun and accurate historical (and real even it it's told as a tale) portrait about small towns in south european countries. i hope more people see this because it definitely deserves.

Definitely among the top ten best Spanish movies of all time. Unknown in many parts of the world (it is not in the IMDb 250 best film group, which by the way gives us hope, among other things, as to the fact that there will always be cinematographic jewels to discover), it is not only a well structured comedy but a refined criticism to American Imperialism (many people from Latin America, for example, will feel identified with the characters and story of the small Spanish village. I once saw it with a Colombian girlfriend of mine and I noticed that that was the feeling). Someone said that had Spain not been a dictatorship, under the rule of Franco (an isolated ruler who in 1953 happily publicized a treaty with the U.S. as a sign of the new times in the history of Spanish foreign relations: something that would seemingly have a splendid beneficial effect on the life of the population of a country out of pace with western European history), the movie would have won the Oscar for the Best Foreign film back in the mid fifties.

Gentle, sometimes very funny political satire, somewhat reminiscent of the UK Ealing Studio films.

The poor, small Spanish town of Villar del Rio is abuzz with the news that American officials are coming to visit, and plan to show off their best face in an effort to get their slice of the Marshall Plan pie. (Spain was actually excluded from the funds).

While sometimes predictable, and sometimes badly post dubbed this is a fun film with just enough edge to look at the darker side of human nature, but with a smile.

Frustratingly this classic of Spanish cinema isn't available on US DVD. I had to order mine from Amazon Spain (although it has US subtitles, and looks pretty good.)

Bienvenido Mr Marshall is the most modern thing in the whole of Spanish cinema, because it was modern even before anyone knew what modernity was cinema wise, at least not in Spain, less so in England or I'd say even France... This was done in 1952, released next year!

If Billy Wilder had filmed this, it would have fitted in with the rest of his films, but, bad luck, Berlanga did it first!

I didn't give this film 10 stars because of the musical numbers, which I think are a bit too many and long. Although they've got their place in the story and there's a reason why they're there, this film isn't a music film, and I think them excessive.

I have seen this film in its original version and in a French translation, and I must admit that, as far as all cinematic qualities are concerned, it reminds me very much of those glorious British Ealing Studios comedies of the 50s.