There is a moment of disappointment for me when I realise that the film is not a true story. I looked at the end of the credits only to see that 'all characters were fictitious' blah blah. The reason for my surprise was that this film is the epitome of Ken Loach's naturalism which he directs with his usual unvarnished honesty. The film therefore quietly fooled me on my part alone, that it was a true story.
I can always give or take some of Ken Loach's politics, but here I think he dials it back enough, to give an important examination of the Spanish civil war. I think there is a perhaps unwitting homage (pun intended) to Orwells 'homage to Catalonia' especially in its examination of the inter-sectional infighting (sometimes literally) between the Stalin backed armies, and the other Spanish militia groups, all of whoms obstensible foe is meant to be Franco.
The angle that Loach takes is to look at the POUM which mainly represents the workers, and that would tie in with Loach's general philosophy. This actually works to the benefit of the film, because the true enemy of the peace along with Franco, is the distant, puppet master, Stalin - who wants all armies to fight under his banner. The POUM are to be absorbed into the Communist party proper, and if they resist; well they will end up shot.
It really is one of those fascinating and slightly neglected corners of history - due to the war's proximity to the second world war. Here Loach uses as a device a love story between Ian Hart as David Carr and Bianca played by Rosana Pastor and this plays to a tragic conclusion. Ian Hart is good enough for the role, but Bianca is played with intelligence and a lovely warmth and earns Rosana Pastor the acting plaudits. The film does work as a love story, and because I thought this was a true story, I did have hopes for them - alas however. Ken Loach though handles this doomed love affair well, and weights it with enough balance not to distort the overall direction of the film.
The acting in the cameo roles is good, even from those who were not trained as actors which is especially on show at a village meeting in the middle of the film. There is key support from Tom Gilroy who plays Lawrence; an American radical who will disloyally support Stalin by the end of the film. Worthy of mention is Iciar Bollain as Maite another fighter who imparts a brilliant naturalism that is a feature of Ken Loach's films.
The scenes of battle are very well done, and considering the likely tight budget of the shoot, very convincing. The structure is an unusual one, were contemporary footage is linked to events in the civil war, and the brave decision were a lengthy village meeting is shown. It is very close to being too long and perhaps critically so, yet the back and forth discussions just hold enough interest for you to forgive the expositional tone of it.
The most interesting part of the story apart from the love story, where probably the Barcelona scenes. The would be allies turn to shooting at each other, and here we get how Stalin is not interested in a unified front against Franco, but only interested in those loyal to him. The message that Loach tries to hint at is that had the anti-Franco resistance been unified they might have won. I think that is tendentious, because Franco's army was better equiped, and he was there on the ground in Spain. There is not much doubt that a unified resistance, could made the war last a couple more years, but I suspect that Franco would have won in the end. He could also rely upon Hitler to help him out as well; the bombing of Guernica being the prime example of that.
There are elements of this film I like, and it is a useful way into the Spanish civil war; for those who know a little about it. I think it is an important film, but it lacks the feeling of an epic. I was interested in the love story, but the contemporary scenes were a little bit of a luxury. There is a suggestion at the end that the fight goes on, and for Ken Loach you shouldn't doubt that. Whether you want to be entirely on Ken Loach's side is a different matter though; you might drift into more unrealistic left wing policy. The village meeting was probably a risk worth taking, but it is a close call. I probably admire this film, rather than love it. If you weren't interested or didn't know much about this period of history, then I'm not quite sure it would keep your attention through-out. This though is a solid enough piece of film-making, and worth attention.
I can always give or take some of Ken Loach's politics, but here I think he dials it back enough, to give an important examination of the Spanish civil war. I think there is a perhaps unwitting homage (pun intended) to Orwells 'homage to Catalonia' especially in its examination of the inter-sectional infighting (sometimes literally) between the Stalin backed armies, and the other Spanish militia groups, all of whoms obstensible foe is meant to be Franco.
The angle that Loach takes is to look at the POUM which mainly represents the workers, and that would tie in with Loach's general philosophy. This actually works to the benefit of the film, because the true enemy of the peace along with Franco, is the distant, puppet master, Stalin - who wants all armies to fight under his banner. The POUM are to be absorbed into the Communist party proper, and if they resist; well they will end up shot.
It really is one of those fascinating and slightly neglected corners of history - due to the war's proximity to the second world war. Here Loach uses as a device a love story between Ian Hart as David Carr and Bianca played by Rosana Pastor and this plays to a tragic conclusion. Ian Hart is good enough for the role, but Bianca is played with intelligence and a lovely warmth and earns Rosana Pastor the acting plaudits. The film does work as a love story, and because I thought this was a true story, I did have hopes for them - alas however. Ken Loach though handles this doomed love affair well, and weights it with enough balance not to distort the overall direction of the film.
The acting in the cameo roles is good, even from those who were not trained as actors which is especially on show at a village meeting in the middle of the film. There is key support from Tom Gilroy who plays Lawrence; an American radical who will disloyally support Stalin by the end of the film. Worthy of mention is Iciar Bollain as Maite another fighter who imparts a brilliant naturalism that is a feature of Ken Loach's films.
The scenes of battle are very well done, and considering the likely tight budget of the shoot, very convincing. The structure is an unusual one, were contemporary footage is linked to events in the civil war, and the brave decision were a lengthy village meeting is shown. It is very close to being too long and perhaps critically so, yet the back and forth discussions just hold enough interest for you to forgive the expositional tone of it.
The most interesting part of the story apart from the love story, where probably the Barcelona scenes. The would be allies turn to shooting at each other, and here we get how Stalin is not interested in a unified front against Franco, but only interested in those loyal to him. The message that Loach tries to hint at is that had the anti-Franco resistance been unified they might have won. I think that is tendentious, because Franco's army was better equiped, and he was there on the ground in Spain. There is not much doubt that a unified resistance, could made the war last a couple more years, but I suspect that Franco would have won in the end. He could also rely upon Hitler to help him out as well; the bombing of Guernica being the prime example of that.
There are elements of this film I like, and it is a useful way into the Spanish civil war; for those who know a little about it. I think it is an important film, but it lacks the feeling of an epic. I was interested in the love story, but the contemporary scenes were a little bit of a luxury. There is a suggestion at the end that the fight goes on, and for Ken Loach you shouldn't doubt that. Whether you want to be entirely on Ken Loach's side is a different matter though; you might drift into more unrealistic left wing policy. The village meeting was probably a risk worth taking, but it is a close call. I probably admire this film, rather than love it. If you weren't interested or didn't know much about this period of history, then I'm not quite sure it would keep your attention through-out. This though is a solid enough piece of film-making, and worth attention.