"Down the glens, Where the headlands stand, I feel a healing, Through this land" (Runrig)
"Down the glens, Where the headlands stand, I feel a healing, Through this land" (Runrig)
Member since:01.07.2009
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Released in 1995, Ken Loach's film Land and Freedom is a moving portrayal of a small POUM (United Marxist Worker's Party) militia fighting in the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. Its protagonist, David (Ian Hart), travels from Liverpool to join in the fight against Fascism. He falls for a militiawoman, Blanca (Rosana Pastor), and finds that the Communist ideals he stands for are false.
Loach does a superb job of showing an almost forgotten faction of the fight against Franco. The POUM were denounced as traitors by the main (Russian controlled) Communist Party, and forced to disband, their leaders arrested. The film has been criticised for its narrow focus on the small militia, but that is what makes it so wonderful - it is possible to engage with the characters and feel what they feel. We may see little of the Anarchists or the Communist Popular Army, or even of the enemy Nationalists, but we understand what the war is about. Much of the fighting was done by these small militias, who, although fighting on the same side, were often up against
each other in terms of arms, members and other supplies.
Loach wanted to show how the Communists betrayed the ideals of the Left in the Spanish Civil War. They said the war must be won before revolution can happen. Understandably, David, a proud member of the Communist Party in the UK, refuses to believe that they could want anything other than revolution - isn't that what Communism is all about? He soon comes to realise, that with Stalin in control of the Spanish Communists and ultimately the whole Spanish Left, there will never be a revolution: Stalin is too interested in forging ties with the West to embarrass himself with a social revolution.
The story is framed by episodes in present day England, following David's death. As his grand-daughter finds his old letters and newspaper cuttings, we see that although there is a difference of sixty years, the fight of the Spanish Civil War is still going on everywhere, it is still relevant.
This film is incredible. Some understanding of the Spanish Civil War and its many complicated parties and militias would help, but even so it is enjoyable and very moving. There are a lot of similarities to George Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia" (which I would also recommend). David is much more idealistic and naive than Orwell, but it is the same fight on the same side, with the same pain at defeat.
Land and Freedom is wonderfully filmed, with an international cast, not even all professional actors. I sometimes found David seemed a little wooden, but I don't think this is down to Ian Hart playing him badly - imagine you are in a foreign country in 1936, you can't speak the language and you're surrounded by very passionate people. I think that this is part of the character, that he isn't entirely at ease in Spain, at least not to begin with.
One thing which many people may not like is the language. The dialogue of Land and Freedom takes place in a mixture of Catalan, Spanish and English, with subtitles in English where relevant. Personally I love this aspect of the film as I speak Spanish so I had no problems following it, and even so subtitles don't bother me. I liked the mixture of languages and the switching between them. I also feel that this is a very accurate device - many of the militia members would have been native Catalan speakers, while a young Englishman rushing over to help in a fit of ideals would probably have had little Spanish.
Land and Freedom is a very moving film. As I have already mentioned, the focus on the small militia, who are fighting for their country and fighting to survive, enables the viewer to engage with the characters. We see them fighting and we see them resting, and we see them trying to help the people they meet. I won't give away the story, obviously you know the overall outcome of the Civil War but I don't want to ruin this small fictional story set in the whole. The film is excellently researched, and it is an historically accurate portrayal of militia life in the Spanish Civil War - and to back that statement up, it was a course text in my Hispanic Studies degree.
I really can't recommend this film highly enough. Whether you know much about the Spanish Civil War or not, it is fascinating and very emotional. This war is often overlooked in European history as it was soon eclipsed by World War II, but it's interesting to know that Hitler did in fact help out Franco in bombing Guernica, essentially using Spain as a training ground for what was to come.
The DVD is currently available from Amazon for £5.98.
Adapted from a review published by me on Amazon.co.uk as Eilidh. Also published on Dooyoo.
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Ian Hart stars as David Carr an idealistic young member of the British Communist Party ... more
who decides to join the leftist forces fighting fascism in 1936 Spain in this drama from director Ken Loach. The story is told in long flashbacks framed by the per...
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![Land And Freedom [1995] [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78508395.jpg "Land And Freedom [1995] [DVD]")
Jul 19th, 2009
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