Los días del pasado

I saw this movie back in the late 70s in Cuba at the time marisol was a very big movie star a major singer an a beauty, in this movie Marisol play a teacher in a rural town of Spain the movie is very slow and political oriented by this time sadly she was married to the flamenco dancer Antonio Gades a communist and he has brain watched her and begin to destroy her fame to become famous himself , and in the movie he is her costar, she was award the best actress prize in Moscow film festival i guest it was a reward for her support of the comunist cause and the movie premiere in Havana Cuba , i love Marisol she retired back in 1986 she was still very young in her 30s since then she divorced Antonio and he die sometime ago, sadly she don't want to work again we need her even now she is a legend

A 27-year-old woman called Juana Garcia (Marisol) travels from Málaga to Santander , she arrives in a Cantabrian village , Barcena Mayor , to work as a children teacher . But she actually arrives in the little town to find her old lover , her intimate and old flame , Antonio (Antonio Gades). It is the time of the 'maquis', the anti-Franco guerrilla (formed by : Fernando Sánchez Polack as commander , Mario Pardo , José Yepes , Antonio Iranzo) that fights with little hope in some regions of Spain just after the end of the civil war . She had a love affair with one of the guerrillas , Antonio Ayala , and she returns to meet him . Antonio is a soldier who fought in the Spanish Civil war , WWII , and Algeria war . But Ayala is nowadays tired for his loneliness , hardness and coldness . As their relationship will have an impossible future because of the past and the dangerous present .

Thought-provoking and sensitive film with attractive screenplay by Manolo Matji , Antonio José Betancor and Camus , including good performances and acceptable direction . This is a thoughtful but slow-moving drama concerning on a few roles who suffer the consequences of their dark pasts . Concerning a strong ¨Amour Fou¨ , a deep love story that is hindered by the extreme fright , isolation , chasing and war . The movie title turns out to be from ¨Eclesiastés¨ quotient . At time this movie was premiered it resulted to be unnoticed , that's why during ¨Spanish Transition¨ were exhibited several prohibited films previously censored along the Franco dictatorship . The script takes us into the human reality on these characters , victims of their own inner ghosts and distresses with which they must pay for their past and the risked present . This is the way in which Camus brings to life the return of a dark past to a tragic present ; being well paced the appearance of the mysterious lover , the threatening pursuit carried out by the strongly armed Guardia Civil against the guerrilla and the sudden encounter with the old flame . The past returns as if it were a nightmare , forcing the starring to return to be one person who thought she had given up . And in any case , this movie flees the explicit denounce , especially for the hope of those individualistic beings who live in the shadow of violent fanaticism which always entail political battles . And with that appealing plot , I welcome the sublime simplicity with which the story is treated and in which stands out the misty atmosphere that provides the stunning photography . The main strength of the film resides on the colorful ambient with splendid production design by Rafael Palmero , besides the adequate interpretations . Here highlights Marisol at her best , she won an award in the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (1978) , as she gives the greatest acting of her peculiar career . Her debut in cinema was in 1960 with ¨Un Rayo De luz¨ , following a long string of hits such as : ¨La Historia de Bienvenido¨ , ¨Marisol Rumbo Río¨ , ¨Tómbola¨, ¨Cabriola¨, ¨Ha LLegado Un Angel¨ , among others . She complemented her activity in cinema with records , recitals and TV-shows . She has three daughters from her marriage to early deceased Antonio Gades . In 1985, when she was still high in her career , she left everything , returned to her homeland , Malaga , and has lived as a housewife since then for her own choice . Marisol has received many invitations to return , but has declined all of them . Her husband , Antonio Gades , gives a brief but surprising good interpretation , barely speaking . And a nice quartet of secondaries as Manuel Alexandre , Mario Pardo , Antonio Iranzo , Saturno Cerra and Fernando Sánchez Polack as Guerrilla leader . Furthermore , the kiddies belong to schools from Los Tojos , Correpoco and Saja .

Atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Hans Burmann . Being shot on location in Barcena Mayor , Valle Cábuerniga , Ucieda , Fresneda , Correpozo , Ubiarco , Comillas (Cantabria) , and Maro (Málaga) . Appropriate musical score by Antón Garcia Abril , including the soundtrack background from famous Spanish Civil War theme : Ay Carmela . The motion picture titled "The Days of the Past" was compellingly directed by Mario Camus following his particular style . Camus was born in Santander , Cantabria , location in which often shoots his films . He worked with Carlos Saura in several screenplays during the early 60s Los Golfos (1960), Llanto Por Un Bandido (1964)), and also directed some shorts . His first feature films were Los Farsantes (1963) and Young Sánchez (1964), a movie about boxing which won the Best Film Award at the Buenos Aires Festival . Mario has an important career with film and television adaptations quite remarkable , as he efficiently directed yarns based on notorious writers such as Perez Galdos, García Lorca, Cela Camilo José Miguel Delibes . During various decades he touched styles varying from romantic comedies and musicals to splendid adaptations from famous novels, as is the case of the prestigious TV series "Fortunata y Jacinta" (1979) . In 1983 he was given the 'Medalla Oro De Las Bellas Artes' (Arts Gold Medal), and one year later he prepared his most successful work both with public and critic : Los Santos Inocentes (1984), an adaptation from the novel by Miguel Delibes. Mario is an expert on interesting dramas as proved in ¨ The house of Bernarda Alba¨ , ¨La Colmena¨ which won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival , ¨The days of the past ¨ and many others . Rating : 7.5/10 , Above average ; it's a decent film though sometimes slow-moving .

Marisol excels in this underplayed slow moving drama about a school teacher who takes a job in a small border town school during the Spanish civil war.

She keeps in touch with her revolutionary lover who is hiding in the nearby mountains by sending a student as a messenger. The lover also underplayed beautifully by her then real life husband, flamenco prodigy Antonio Gades.

A film of passion and pain, so rare in Spanish cinema, is all the more significant by starring two stars of escapist entertainment who in real life were quite politically charged.

Had this been a box office hit, we may have been able to keep the multi- talented Marisol on the screen for a few more years.

This film and as well as CASO CERRADO are the antidote to Marisol's cheerful early Franco musicals.

!Pepa, por favor vuelve!