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- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Vicente Aranda was the big name;Fata Morgana(1965)
was his best effort as part of the Barcelona School,
although films produced since have gained him more
attention.
Buñuel’s brief but spectacular return
In 1958 Berlanga, Bardem, Saura and others formed
UNINCI, a production company.They enticed Luis Buñuel
back to Spain to make a film. Somehow the result,Viridiana
(1961), made it past the censors.They clearly didn’t pick
up on the incest, suicide, rape, blasphemy and, in the final
scene, suggested group sex that run through the work.
Film buffs at the Vatican proved more eagle-eyed and
their outcry ensured it was banned not long after release.
Nonetheless, it still won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. UNINCI
was shut down and Buñuel retreated back to Mexico.
Buñuel did work in Spain again, briefly, producing the artful
Tristiana(1970), based on a 19thcentury Benito Pérez
Galdós novel. His best ‘international’ work came in the
late 1960s and 70s, with films like the surrealLe Charme
discret de la bourgeoisie(1972) andBelle de Jour(1967)
in which Catherine Deneuve interrupts the humdrum of
housewifely life for bondage in a brothel.
Surcos(1951) José Antonio Nieves Conde
The gritty portrayal of urban migration was the first Spanish film in the neo-Realist mould.
¡Bienvenido Mister Marshall!(1952) Luis García Berlanga
An artful example of how film-makers appeased the censors yet still pointed the finger at the regime.
Marcelino, Pan y Vino(1955)Ladislao Vajda
The most successful Franco-friendly film made in post-Civil War Spain.
Viridiana(1961) Luis Buñuel
Watching this kind of stuff could get you locked up under Franco. The only full feature made by Buñuel on Spanish soil.
La Caza(1965) Carlos Saura
Brilliantly tense reminder of how fresh Civil War wounds remained nearly 20 years after the event.
If you only watch five Spanish films from the Franco era...watch these
Blooding new talent
Vincente Aranda’sLa
Novia Ensangrentada
(1972) has found cult
status among an
American audience
under the titleThe Blood
Spattered Bride. Made
in Franco’s final years,
the film shows how
much the Spanish
censors had loosened
their grip, particularly
when it came to blood
and gore.
“I DIDN’T
DELIBERATELY
SET OUT TO BE
BLASPHEMOUS,
BUT THEN POPE
JOHN XXIII IS A
BETTER JUDGE OF
SUCH THINGS
THAN I AM.”
Luis Buñuel responds to
the Vatican’s outrage at
Viridiana
