Morire a madrid

i saw this movie over 30 years ago at the carnegie theatre in new york city. i have never forgotten it and in subsequent years have tried to obtain a dvd or vhs for my collection. unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available and the film is rarely shown any more. whether you agree or disagree with the plot of the film, it is a cinematic experience.

All the comments reflect my own experience and feelings. Frédéric Rossif is a cineast who touches both heart and mind by his documentary work, as well as Ken Loach does in his social-political statements. More than the latter's "Land of Freedom" in color, the black-and-white of Mourir à Madrid reveals as much Spain's tragic sufferings of civil war as it pictures an archaic rural world now almost vanished.

The film score by Jarre, which I taped from the movie once shown on TV, is magnificent: it's Spanish guitar themes are still as beautiful and haunting as the ones of "Jeux Interdits". And yes, it's deplorable indeed that it hasn't already been re-edited and remastered on DVD; it can't be that difficult to bring it out and distribute it, seen the rubbish that does nowadays... An idea for Criterion?

First caught this documentary back in the early seventies at an art-house, and beyond my political beliefs at that particular moment, it filled me with sadness. Sorrow for the opportunities lost, for the needless cruelty, for the unnecessary deaths, for the destruction of the hopes of a nation. Nor victors neither vanquished enjoyed nothing but pain, exile, hard work, and tyranny, some of them or all. And, of course, death everywhere.

I do have the DVD, french language with Spanish subtitles. Last night I foolishly decided to watch it again, only to find myself with my soul filled with grief, and on the brink of crying (and I'm 50).

Having had the opportunity to know well the Spanish people, as well as too many an expatriate since '39, I must praise this chef d'oeuvre beyond all criticism. It's simple, it's linear, it's predictable, it's sometimes a little corny, and it's profoundly TRAGIC, as it retells forever the tragedy a a most beautiful country and its bloody self-sacrifice.

I thought I had watched all the works about the Spanish Civil War. But this suddenly came across me. An incredible documentary from 1963. It puts today's so-called documentaries to shame. I saw images about the civil war that I had never seen before. For example, I had read a lot about the burning of churches, but I saw it here in detail for the first time. I deducted one point. The reason for that was that the images of death were displayed in a somewhat pornographic way. If it were a documentary from today, I would have deducted more points, but a work should be judged according to its period. When we judge this work according to its period, I think that the discussions on ethics were not as advanced at that time. Apart from that, you can find the answer to the question of how a documentary should be in this work...

I saw this film 40 years ago--it was the first I saw that did more than merely entertain. It's a movie for those who ponder larger issues. I recall the contagion to the viewer of the spirit of those fighting for liberty, and the hope for the future, unfortunately only to finish in futility.

As I recall, the opening scene was of a peasant walking a burro along a road--the ending scene was exactly the same, denoting that despite the fervor of many, sometimes nothing much changes in this world. I thought it was genius to depict the futility in this way.

irenerose