El laberinto del fauno

[O Trovador]

Has anyone seen it?

After a nice dinner at my uncle's house this evening, several of my cousins and I sat down to watch this film. Unfortunately, I was unable to overlook the disgusting and entirely biased portrayal of the Nationalists and appreciate the finer attributes that the film possibly offered. In fact, I question if this film was created solely to spread anti-Nationalist lies and propaganda.

It seemed that at every opportunity the Nationalists were given an inhumane, demonic quality that the viewer can not help but be repulsed by. From the innumerable stoic and brutal killings committed by the Nationalist camp to the graphic torture of the captured prisoner - it seems beyond obvious that there was an agenda behind this film.

The trouble and the most unsettling thing about this film is that, while those who have taken the time to study the Spanish Civil War will be able to distinguish between myth and reality, the average person who has no prior knowledge of the subject is going to walk away from this film believing that there was some truth to the pure lies that this film is riddled with.

I'm shocked. I'm interested in hearing some of your opinions, particularly those who have seen the film.

[Strengthandhonour]

I have not seen it yet, I want to tho.
I did hear some comments about the film being biased. we will see..

[Breogan]

It's a great movie in spite of the historical bias you mention, because the core of the film is the girl story, the rest is just the time and place.

Nihil novum sub sole: Franquist troops are the evil and Marxist maquis are the good ones. The usual retarded stupidity.

[Susi]

Same thoughts as you, Vas.

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by Breogan

Nihil novum sub sole: Franquist troops are the evil and Marxist maquis are the good ones. The usual retarded stupidity.

I've heared horror stories about the maquis from old people from isolated villages.

I wonder if there is a good history book about the maquis, like the one that I assume that Ricardo de la Cierva wrote about the International Brigades.

[Strengthandhonour]

I finally got around to see the film.
I admit I enjoyed it, even though it's portrayals of the nationalists. I try to keep a very open mind about this type of things. It is important to remember that regardless of ideology, there is always bad guys in all camps..be it in a democratic,fascist,communist,etc government. I have heard stories of all sides of the camps, dosn't affect my beliefs though. There is bad people everywhere.

[Gavril]

I saw it a few weeks ago. The one thing that I noted was that the parallel world played too little part in the movie. The time spent on the tasks seemed too short, so the movie never really had that sense of magic to it. And the fauno animation was strange - he looked too scary and too...animated. The story was great, though, despite the few hang-ups.

[O Trovador]

Originally Posted by Strengthandhonour

I finally got around to see the film.
I admit I enjoyed it, even though it's portrayals of the nationalists. I try to keep a very open mind about this type of things. It is important to remember that regardless of ideology, there is always bad guys in all camps..be it in a democratic,fascist,communist,etc government. I have heard stories of all sides of the camps, dosn't affect my beliefs though. There is bad people everywhere.

Of course, and I hope you understand I wasn't attempting to suggest that the Nationalists were infallible or anything along those lines. But, by the same token, it is ludicrous to portray them in the manner in which they were protrayed, and I can only surmise that such a portrayal was not without an agenda.

I'm not much of a movie watcher. At most, I'll watch one or two movies in a year. So outside of this particular gripe I have, I'm not really one to judge whether the movie itself was any good or not.

[Errigal]

Originally Posted by Vasconcelos

...

It seemed that at every opportunity the Nationalists were given an inhumane, demonic quality that the viewer can not help but be repulsed by. From the innumerable stoic and brutal killings committed by the Nationalist camp to the graphic torture of the captured prisoner - it seems beyond obvious that there was an agenda behind this film.

I agree. Politically the movie was shockingly simplistic and even judged as a piece of fiction it was far too one-sided. The army officer who was the girl's step-father was brutal, emotionally cruel and rude to everyone. An effective bad guy has to have some charm to make the audience take an interest in him.

Also, I wouldn't recommend the movie to anyone wanting a movie for kids; there are three or four really nasty scenes.

[3rdEye]

Originally Posted by Breogan

It's a great movie in spite of the historical bias you mention, because the core of the film is the girl story, the rest is just the time and place.

The setting strikes me as pretty damn atavistic, actually. I don't think that it could ever be considered a fair depiction of the sides, 'just any suitable setting' or anything like that. As far as the fairy tale is concerned, it could even better be adapted to a completely neutral setting. Any everyday setting would be clockwork. The girl find's a secret door, and there it is, wonderland.

In the movie, the reds are exclusively peasants, and Franco's men seem to be quite bourgoise. Is there any truth to that, or is that also a fairy tale?

[Breogan]

Originally Posted by Seekers

...

In the movie, the reds are exclusively peasants, and Franco's men seem to be quite bourgoise. Is there any truth to that, or is that also a fairy tale?

It's not a fairy tale but a complete distortion of historical reality.
There were peasants on both sides as well as bourgoises and even aristocrats.

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by Seekers

In the movie, the reds are exclusively peasants, and Franco's men seem to be quite bourgoise. Is there any truth to that, or is that also a fairy tale?

That depends on the region/territory of Spain.

The Reds in Andalusia were certainly peasants. But rural Andalusia has traditionally been culturally influenced by the latifundia system. Basically big patches of land in the hands of a few people, so that made the majority of the rural population, landless workforce. Though to be honest this was not the same throughout all of Andalusia.

Nearly elsewhere the system was traditionally the exact opposite. Here in Valencia, for example, virtually every man in a rural population owned his own patch of land which they cultivated. In these areas Traditionalism and Conservatism was rather popular among the rural population, whereas in the cities the urban bourgeoise population adhered to Liberalism.

In the cities, the Reds strongforce came from industrial workers. In Northern Spain it came mostly from the mines.

In the film, the Reds are so-called maquis and played as victims and heroes. The reality was another. I still remember the stories from old ordinary people from rural areas, who told horrors of the maquis and their savagery.

I had thought of contacting an eminent professor of History here, who is an expert in the field and who wrote an irrefutable book about the International Brigades unveiling their brutality and criminality, to ask him to write on the Maquis too. Unfortunately to write such a book, apart from the knowledge that he already possesses, it takes time to research and I'm afraid that he might be near to the decline of his age..

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

The Reds in Andalusia were certainly peasants. But rural Andalusia has traditionally been culturally influenced by the latifundia system. Basically big patches of land in the hands of a few people, so that made the majority of the rural population, landless workforce. Though to be honest this was not the same throughout all of Andalusia.

I should add here that one of the biggest land owners in Andalusia is Luisa Isabel Álvarez de Toledo y Maura, XXI Duchess of Medina-Sidonia, better known as the Red Duchess.

She's been a member of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and was imprisoned for her affiliation in the 60s, during Franco's regime.