Soldados de Salamina

The Javier Cerca's book in which this film is based was already an excellent material to make a movie, and director David Trueba doesn't deceive at all the expectations generated.

Trueba's screenplay introduces a lot of significant changes (the main one is the gender of the protagonist, now a woman, a role wonderfully performed by Ariadna Gil), and far from betraying the novel's spirit, all of these changes add a lot of deepness to the story.

As far as the direction is concerned, Trueba mixes admirably fiction, the recreation of historical events and archive material. The main character's investigation about a surprising event at the end of the Spanish Civil War is filmed under a realistic light and with a documentary approach, and that is in harmony with the rest of the textures used to recreate historical facts.

The whole cast deserve special mention, too.

All in all, "Soldados de Salamina" is one of the most interesting Spanish films shown to date. Not only a notable cinematic work, but also a touching story about the nonsense of war and the little acts that ordinary people do in order to redeem our imperfect human condition.

Not really. "Soldados de Salamina" it's not a great novel, from my point of view. And like the main character, never gets to close to the real drama of the Spanish Civil War, except in two or three things. And we've got the same conflict with the film, besides the changes after the screen adaptation. I think it's a good movie for people who doesn't know too much about the Spanish Civil War, specially some scenes, when the journalist can talk with the old republican fighter it's a great moment, the best in the whole film. But the movie goes in and out of many nonsense, like the "modern gipsy" (a nice and great interpretation, but outside the movie, except for some relief for all the horror of the war we must face). And the narrative is bouncing without direction from start to end. Well, if you don't have any idea about the Spanish Civil War go ahead...if you know...you know

David Trueba makes a lot more sense of the novel than did Javier Cercas when he wrote it. The novel is like an endless loop of the author telling the story of how the fascist Rafael Sánchez-Mazas escaped execution. In the novel, this brief historical episode is repeated endlessly, to the point of it being maddeningly repetitive. The film spares us this repetition just as the fascist's life was spared.

The pity was that the fascist Rafael Sánchez-Mazas didn't die in a firing squad. The typical path of cowards is to foment war and then conveniently side-step and actual combat. Dick Cheney, Donald Trump, George Bush are only a few modern examples.

The movie, like the book, chronicles a reporter's investigation into how the above-mention fascist escaped a firing squad in the waning days of the Spanish Civil War, and the story about how a Republican soldier spared his life when he was discovered in the woods near the site of the failed execution. Why did the soldier not kill or capture the fascist? I don't find that a particularly interesting question, certainly not enough for a novel, bit almost enough for a decent film.

Trueba's 'Soladados de Salamina' is an interesting interpretation of the Spanish Civil War. The story is about a professor/writer who's in search of facts regarding a particular event that took place during the war. Her initial curiosity turns into determination to find the information. The film starts off a little slow but picks up in the second half. Some of the war scenes are shown as live footage which adds an authenticity. I wonder why Trueba chose to execute the entire film with washed out colour? Some of the locales, which would have looked great in colour, look pale. Pretty much everything looks gloomy and lacking in colour. The score is smooth and used efficiently. The cinematography excels in places. Ariadna Gil does a terrific job in portraying Lola. The character itself isn't very likable as is evident in her interaction with others, especially Concha. But by the end we see that she has gone through a transformation and Gil does that wonderfully. She is further brilliantly supported by Maria Botto and Diego Luna. Even though 'Soldados de Salamina' is a little tedious in the beginning, the story has heart and in the end, the viewer is moved by it's spirit.

The film examines the apathy that generally exists among Spain's youth regarding the civil war, which ended in 1939 leaving wounds that in many cases still have not healed. Few people who fought in it still survive today, and those who lived during the post-war era learned not to speak openly about it. The result is that most of today's youth are indifferent to it.

Lola, the main character, reacts with disdain and exasperation when asked to write an article inspired by the civil war for the newspaper where she works. However, a reader's response to that article puts her on the trail of a mystery and as she learns more she becomes more and more interested in what motivated those who fought. The things Lola's interviewees tell her serve as a sort of CLIFF's NOTES for those that have not studied this history. The fact that the movie does not openly take a side with respect to the war is a first in Spanish films about it.

The scenes of Lola's modern life juxtaposed with those of the events she investigates accentuate the changes in Spanish society nearly seventy years later. The slow pace and detached manner of interaction used for today also seems to make a statement about how we live our lives versus the boisterous NODO footage and apparently handheld shots of the past.

The plot itself is not overly intriguing; however, the things that the characters say are extremely moving and hopefully might even inspire a few to start talking to their grandparents before it is too late. Anyone who learns even a little of what happened cannot remain indifferent.