La barraca

La barraca, is a hit Spanish television series well directed by León Klimovsky, with nice cast , such as : Álvaro de Luna, Marisa de Leza, Victoria Abril, Lola Herrera y Luis Suárez, in the main roles . The book and film takes place in Valencia in the 19th century . It accurately describes the harsh living conditions of the peasant and agricultural population. Uncle Barret (Eduardo Fajardo) is unable to continue working the orchard that his ancestors had cultivated for generations as he cannot pay the rent to the owner of the land, D. Salvador (Adrian Ortega) As a consequence, all the residents of the village, with Pepeta (Lola Herrra) and Pimentó (Luis Suárez) at the head, conspire to prevent anyone from working on that plot again. Until Batiste (Alvaro de Luna) and his family arrive , his wife Teresa (Marisa De Leza) and their children Roseta (Victoria Abril) , Batistet and Pasqualet, plus two little ones whose names are not mentioned) who, driven by necessity, settle on the farm and agree to cultivate the abandoned farm in exchange. Two-year grace period in the payment of the corresponding lease. From that moment on, they will be indefatigably harassed by the rest of the community, who accused them of bowing to the landowner's demands, thus harming the interests of the group. The harassment reaches its climax when the young children of the Batiste family have a confrontation with other children of the village, as a result of which little Pasqualet dies . A feeling of guilt and compassion pervades the community.

Intense family drama about unfortunate and desperate people who fight for life with a tragic finale . Based on a novel by the Spanish Vicente Blasco Ibañez whose books have been adapted several times on big and small screen , such as : ¨Blood and sand¨ , ¨The temptress¨ , ¨Cañas y Barro¨ and ¨Mare Nostrum¨ , among others . The film is set in rural Spain, where new family arrives in town to work a parcel (barraca), the townsfolk are very hostile to the idea of "another" working the land that once belonged to one of them. Decent interpretations from main starring , Alvaro de Luna as the rigid , proud father full of valour , Marisa de Leza as his faithful and good wife , Victoria Abril as their innocent daughter Teresa and Luis Suárez as the stubborn Pimentó who will stop at nothing to get his purports . And other fine secondaries as Lola Herrera plays Pepeta , Eduardo Fajardo as Tío Barret , Fernando Hilbeck , Juan Carlos Naya and brief appearances from Eduardo Calvo, Terele Pávez , Adrián Ortega , Gabriel Llopart, Miguel Ayones, Alfredo Alba, José Riesgo , Rafael Vaquero, and José Canalejas .This is the second version of the notorious novel by Vicente Blasco Ibañez , there's another version , a Mexican film : La barraca 1945, dirigida por Roberto Gavaldón, con Domingo Soler, Anita Blanch y Manolo Fábregas.

The series in nine episodes produced by Eduardo Manzanos Brochero who also financed another rural drama : Blasco Ibañez's Cañas y barro (1978) with Victoria Vera , Luis Suarez , José Bodalo , Alfredo Mayo , Manuel Tejada and equally set in Valencia dealing with fishers working at the Albufera by fishing . The series La barraca (1979) was uneven but professionally directed by Leon Klimovski in his own personal style . Rating : 7/10 . It will appeal to Spanish series fans.