Salvador (Puig Antich)

i can't help wondering what the point of this film pamphlet was. it seemed to veer towards naive heroism in the beginning and at the end again, meanwhile completely neglecting a discussion of what set these people apart from other 'normal' terrorists. and then we get a subplot of the last death penalty dealt in Spain with this kid who of course doesn't deserve to be murdered at the hands of the state, but who does really. it fails on this level as well as a level of human relationship, using the story of the guard merely to make a point of how the revolution lives on.

so i felt really ambiguous and detached from the film, which seemed so uncommitted to an involved and deep discussion of its story.

I was really caught by the story - a story which I didn't know, and which is hardly known outside Spain and even Catalogne, as the director explained in a festival here in Italy where the film was presented. The last years of life of Salvador Puig Antich, the Spanish anarchic activist, who became the last prisoner of the Franchist regime to be executed. The rhythm is fantastic, energetic and dynamic, thanks to a very suggestive photography and the use of vivid images. The music supports the high tone of the events. The last part involves the spectator in a "crescendo" of emotions, slowing down the rhythm while approaching to the inevitable end. No political claims, no moralistic lessons. A well shot, thrilling, emotional movie!

I've seen this film today, and although I wouldn't say it's great film wise, I think it's important for people to know about recent history, especially Spaniards. I'm totally against death penalty, and this film has only reassured me in the matter. But I must say the film is somehow partial, as Salvador was in fact a bank robber, no matter what he used the money for. The acting is quite impressive. I must confess I wasn't too convinced about Daniel playing Salvador, as he's German, but he's great. Tristán Ulloa is also very good, and he speaks really good Catalán, sounding native although he's actually Galician (north west Spain). And finally Leonardo Sbaraglia plays an impressive policeman. Incredibly, you forget he's an Argentinian sex symbol and does a really good Spanish accent.Also, I may be a bit impartial myself, since I know the sister of one of Salvador friends in the film and about the family suffer...

In 1974 the young anarchistic bank-robber Salvador Puig Antich is executed after spending some time in jail. His death starts a period of unrest in Spain, at that time still ruled by the dictator Franco. That unrest is the beginning of democracy in Spain.

This film plays the last months in the life of Salvador. It gives a short insight into his life, his why and what and the choices he makes. It then rolls on to his time in jail and all that follows.

Biographic pictures like this one stand or fall with the capability of the actors to play their real life counterparts convincingly. This film stands. It does a very good job at dramatizing the actual events and left me with a giant lump in my throat.

9 out of 10 accidental heroes.

By watching Salvador you can move less than thirty years back and discover or remember, depending on your age, Spain during the latest days of Franco's regime. Those were times where things were changing, but to some others of them it had to take longer.

Salvador Puig Antich will be forever remembered as the last person to be executed in Spain. In the movie, the anarchist Puig Antich is played by the German actor Daniel Brühl. The fact that his mother is Spanish allows him to act speaking in both Spanish and Catalan. Nonetheless, one of the greatest achievements of the film is that it shows how both languages are used in Catalonia. Daniel Brühl's performance is flawless, you could sense his fears, passions,...

The rest of the cast, including Leonardo Sbaraglia or Leonor Watling among many others, adds up quality to the film.

"Salvador" is a great movie. 9 / 10.