La maison de mon père

Spain, The Basque Country or Pais Vasco , sometime in the 80s .We are in a democracy and the Transition has already passed, including an Amnesty Law but ETA continues to kill . The society is frightened by murders organized by the Basque extremists and the mobster extortion , while Policia, Guardia Civil and military suffer a risked situation , being really targeted and massacred . This increases the sorrow of victims, as they feel the criminals can persist in their terror strategy . After ten years abroad, former businessman Txomin Garay (Carmelo Gómez) returns to his homeland with his family. Meanwhile, the Aberzale party carries out political demonstrations and strikes , they're the political branch of the terrorist organization ETA that brutally killed about one thousand people and acting similarly to Sicilian Mafia . Txomin goes back to see his ill and stranged brother , but it is not entirely clear what happened in the past of the protagonists, what reasons led to the hatred between the brothers and the emigration of Txomin Garay. Especially his wife Blanca (Emma Suárez) awaits his return with mixed feelings. Fearing an assassination attempt, she asks her husband for bodyguard, but he strictly declines an escort. When Txomin's terminally ill brother, Koldo (Mikel Aramburu), asks him to keep an eye on his son Gaizka (Juan José Ballesta), the hatred between the brothers and the different ideological opinions are put aside and some unresolved issues remain. Txomin tries to get closer to his nephew through the Basque game Pelota. Initially to no avail, Gaizka also seems to slowly forget her hatred and anger at him. He also feels attracted to Txomin's daughter, Sara (Verónica Echegui). Txomin has love of his Basque Country , but it does not necessarily have to go hand in hand with patriotic feelings and the resulting violence. But then the journalist friend Germán (Álex Angulo) is assassinated with a shot to the head, which leads the Garai family to attempt to leave the country. You have to realize that obviously the old wounds haven't healed yet. But Txomin wants to wait another four days before leaving, because then Gaizka's most important ball game to date will take place.

The picture depicts a nice portrayal about Basque habits , the pelota game , the txocos, the town party and the violent environment with full political demonstrations and strikes. This is a deliberate drama dealing with thought-provoking subjects , social violence and excessive talking . The picture is acceptable , but also has conventional pitfalls and flaws . The film relies heavily on overtalking , a certain apology or defense of the terrorist cause and being spoiled by tiring dialogue. Both ideological directions (the Spanish and the Basque) leave room for the viewer to decide for himself which side he is close to. There have been very few movies in Spanish cinema dealing with the mafia-like terrorist band ETA, and no one was filmed dealing with the suffering of terrorism victims ever, none showing all the desolation that has changed the course of so many lives in Spain . The ordinary approach of the Spanish cinema is usually equating the victims with the executioners , with exception for : ¨Trece entre mil¨ (2005), being the best , a documentary movie are the interviews with relatives of thirteen victims of ETA , from the one thousand that ETA has killed and showing only the point of view of victims of terrorism . The main director representative of this pro-aberzale trend turns out to be Imanol Uribe , specially with ¨Muerte De Mikel¨ (1983) that belongs to Imanol Uribe's uneven trilogy dealing with problems in Basque Country , being formed by ¨El Proceso De Burgos¨ (1979) about a trial against Eta members by killing a cop , ¨Escape from Segovia¨ (1981) and finally , the successful ¨Dias Contados¨(1992) . Adding others as ¨Todos estamos invitados¨ (2008) by Manuel Gutierrez Aragón , El viaje de Arián (2000) by Eduard Bosch , Yoyes" by Helena Taberna, ¨A Ciegas¨ by Daniel Calpasoro , ¨La voz de su amo¨ by Martinez Lazaro, and ¨El Padre de Cain¨ by Salvador Calvo . The lack of interest in ETA and especially the making of films in favor of the victims and the need to stablish a resounding condemnation of this terrorist organization is explained by fear , as ETA has killed journalists and elected politicians as part of its mafia-like strategy of terror , as well as the strong presence of the Aberzale environment in the Basque Country . Although the responsible for the tragedies, in La casa de mi padre (2008) the terrorists don't appear ever, they are present in the atmosphere of fear in the population of that Spanish region with their supporters , the aberzales throughout the Basque Country. At every second, on the scene and above all in the dialogue, the Basque separatist organization ETA looms . ETA is never mentioned by name in "My Father's House". We are always talking only "of the others". The society is frightened by murders and mobster extortion. This increases the sorrow of victims, as they feel the criminals can persist in their terror strategy . Another difficulty that the victims continue suffering after the crimes were committed is expressed in the movie: the society and institutions have neglected to provide enough counseling and support to them because of a mixture of fear and lack of commitment against the Mafioso nationalists, that have an unspoken power in that society.

Stars Carmelo Gómez who gives an acceptable acting as a businessman returns his family home after eight years in exile avoiding the terrorism of the ETA. Being well accompanied by a nice cast , such as : Emma Súarez , Juan José Ballesta , Verónica Echegui , Mikel Aramburu and Alex Angulo that a short time later he died in a car accident. The film debut of San Sebastian director Gorka Merchán is developed in a slow narrative tone and equally a quiet camera work.

I would say that the movie focuses mainly on people that are in the black list of the Basque pro-independence organisation ETA, and this group's acts of terrorism. The main protagonist (Carmelo Gómez) was a successful plastic factory owner, who (coz he seems to have been linked to unspecified non-Basque political groups? was it because he did not pay the money they asked?), like many other businessmen, started to be threatened by ETA with anonymous life-threatening letters. He has spent 7 and a half years in Argentina where he, his wife (Emma Suárez), and 19 years old pretty daughter with a very-strong Argentinian accent (Verónica Echegui). The movie starts when the three members of the Garai family return to Gipuzkoa by plane and arrive to the international Airport of San Sebastian (actually located in Hondarribia, where the protagonists will stay with wealthy grand-mother). The protagonists' only brother (a left-wing pro-independence ex-town councillor who is now fed-up of ETA's violence) is cancer-stricken and is going to die very soon, they quarrelled and have been distanced for political differences, but now they will sort of reconcile. The bed-ridden brother is married to a secessionist but sensitive Basque woman, who is also working-class and a plastic artist who paints a portrait of his niece (Verónica Echegui). They have a handsome teen son who is a pelotari or Basque ball player, or wants to train to become one; and a much younger daughter. The film portraits a Basque Country of small towns in which ordinary people are often whether active intolerant and rage-stricken Basque secessionists or rather defencive and afraid of ETA; and in which ETA is apparently killing innocent people everyday; where brainwashed Basque youngsters do ordinarily destroy telephone boxes, bank cashiers, or burn urban buses. People who are killed by ETA are portrayed as very ordinary good-hearted, human, tolerant and friendly people. For instance, no clues are given as to understand what it is that the case of a very nice journalist victim wrote or did that made the terrorists so furious to the point as targeting him as eventual victim. The movie portraits the Basque Country's small town as an extremely difficult place to live due to the social control exerted by ordinary people radicalised by ETA, but these scenes of extreme street violence look an exaggeration for a story that is supposed to take place in 2008: it looks more like a 1980's or 1990's Basque Country. It is also unbelievable that someone who receives life-threatening letters from ETA would refuse any police bodyguard, even when his wife is insisting that he should. The two protagonists are this Basque industrialist and his nephew, and the uncle's character is portrayed as a family-man, very human and with very good-intentions trying to fulfil the promise he made to his dying brother that he would save his pelotari nephew from ETA partisans' brain-washing. Implicitly, he might be the ultimate good-honest Basque man, who is misunderstood by his community and hated by evil secessionists. I understand that at present day it is difficult to make a politically balanced movie about the Basque conflict, specially when the Spanish state and other local televisions are financing your work. So I expected such ideological bias. Anyway, I think the director succeeds in the choice and direction of actors, that dialogues and images were well put together, and in spite of the commented shortcomings watching the movie was rather entertaining and not a waste of time. However, although many scenes and specially secondary characters (e.g. young actors of Basque soap-opera Goencale mixing Basque and Spanish in their dialogues; the somehow cliché but effective character of the Catholic grand-mother, gossip in the shops...) do at times succeed at giving the movie some local taste, the movie fails (or is not even interested) to grasp the underlying issues of the Basque conflicts. In a well played and touching scene the now widow aunt has to account why she persists in worshipping her brother (a member of ETA who died in prison) and invites her niece (Echegui) to join a street celebration to pay homage to this "victim of Spanish police's repression". He is someone described as a ETA's hit-man by the charming and cheerful teen's mother (Emma Suarez), who is stressed, traumatised and hates the town and its ETA-sympathiser dwellers. This artist aunt is also allowed to explain why she hates the Spanish repressive forces: it is justified as the result of torture she suffered in their hands. So the film tries to show a deep concern and broader scope to analyse different positions in the Basque conflict, but at least it actually manages to be an entertaining fiction work. If you do not expect to find an accurate analysis of the Basque conflict, you might enjoy some aspects of it: say the Basque sites and the charm and beauty of some young and middle-aged members of the cast.

I like this film the actors are fantástic all of them and the director transmite the sensations of this conflicts no a good form Iagree with is form to tell the story i recomend the movie if you like cinema