Libertarias
| Libertarias | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Libertarias | |
| Directed by | Vicente Aranda |
| Screenplay by | Vicente Aranda Antonio Rabinad |
| Produced by | Andrés Vicente Gómez |
| Starring | Ana Belén, Victoria Abril, Ariadna Gil Blanca Apilánez |
| Cinematography | José Luis Alcaine |
| Edited by | Teresa Font |
| Music by | José Nieto |
Production companies | Sdad Sogetel Lola Films Academy Pictures Era Films |
| Distributed by | Sogepaq Distribution S.A |
Release date | 2 October 1996 (Spain) |
Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
| Budget | ESP 700 million[1] |
| Box office | €1.9 million[2] |
Libertarias (English: Libertarians) is a Spanish historical drama made in 1996. It was written and directed by Vicente Aranda.
In 1936, Maria (
Plot summary
The movie is set in 1936 in Barcelona in the midst of the Spanish Revolution and Spanish Civil War.[3] Militia women Pilar (Ana Belén) and Floren (Victoria Abril) are joined by former prostitute Charo (Loles León) and former nun Maria (Ariadna Gil), who had hidden in a brothel to escape revolutionary violence against clergy. The film opens with scenes of working class militants demolishing and burning religious icons, as they shout "down with Capitalism!" and "long live the libertarian revolution!"
While fully immersed in the overall enthusiasm of revolutionary Spain, Pilar and friends find themselves fighting against deep
Cast and characters
- María (communal societyfounded on liberation. Though she never picks up a rifle for their cause, she ultimately becomes strong enough for a final reversal of roles, as she gives shelter to Pilar in the final moments of the movie.
- Pilar (Ana Belén) is a confident anarcha-feminist, Mujeres Libres member, and militia soldier, Pilar is a constant source of strength for the characters around her, and a protector of the naive María. After convincing the prostitutes of a brothel to turn their backs on their old lives and become militia soldiers, she takes Maria under her wing, fearing the shy girl will only be in danger as a Catholic in a newly anti-theistic anarchist society. Disguising the girl as a fellow anarchist, she takes Maria as a ward and leads a small troop of militia soldiers into battle against the forces of Franco.
- Victoria Abril as Floren
- Blanca Apilánez as Aura
- Laura Mañá as Concha
- Loles León as Charo
- Jorge Sanz as Obrero Hijo
- José Sancho as Obrero padre
- Joan Crosas as Boina
- Antonio Dechent as Faneca
Reception
Time Out stated that the movie "deserves praise for its feminist perspective on the course of the 1936-7 revolution, when women's liberation was a logical, if hardly well-recognised, constituent of the libertarian ideals that the Spanish working class rose up to assert."[4]
It was the third highest-grossing Spanish film of the year.[5]
See also
- Anarchism in Spain
- Anarcha-feminism
- Militant anti-fascism
- Mujeres Libres
References
- ^ "Cánovás 73">Cánovás,Miradas Sobre el Cine de Vicente Aranda, p. 73
- ^ Majarín, Una Vida de Cine, p. 400
- ^ Sandra Brennan, Rovi. Libertarias (1996) New York Times
- ^ Libertarias (1995). Movie review from Time Out Film Guide
- ^ "Top 10 Spanish Films 1996". Screen International. 19 September 1997. p. 20.
External links
- Libertarias at IMDb
- Libertarias at AllMovie
- (in English) New Internationalist article
- (in English and Spanish) Universidad del Sagrado Corazón summary
- (in English) Locarno International Film Festival synopsis
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