Land and Freedom (1995)

Land and Freedom: Directed by Ken Loach. With Ian Hart, Rosana Pastor, Icíar Bollaín, Tom Gilroy. David is an unemployed communist that comes to Spain in 1937 during the civil war to enroll the republicans and defend the democracy against the fascists. He makes friends between the soldiers.

“I also love this film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s a wonderful, intense, realistic and insightful look at the Spanish Civil War with the highly naturalistic cinematography and committed performances characteristic of Loach.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe reviews and debate concentrate on the action in Spain, which, for me, is only half the story that Loach is telling. I grew up in Liverpool in the 50u0026#39;s and 60u0026#39;s and knew quite a few David Carrs. Men then in their own fifties and sixties, often alone, keeping themselves to themselves in quiet corners of pubs and working menu0026#39;s clubs. They never told their own stories, never wanted credit, never wanted to relive their experiences in the Battle of the Atlantic, on the Baltic convoys, in North Africa. Someone who knew them would sometimes say u0026quot;he was torpedoed four timesu0026quot; or u0026quot;he was two years in Spain fighting Francou0026quot; and that would be that.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo I am delighted that David Carr, played by the incomparable Ian Hart, and this movie is such a fabulous testament to all of them. I love the way his life expands onto the screen, from the small remainder in a Liverpool council flat, from the letters uncovered by his death, into the light and air of Spain, enabling us to share in his buried idealism, its betrayal, then to witness the love of his life and the loss of it. Incredibly beautiful and truly heartbreaking. Unsuspected by all but his best mates and his newly enlightened granddaughter, David is surely off to Valhalla to be reunited with Blanca and his warrior friends of the past. I cannot think of anything in film so unsentimental yet so poignantly moving as her last salute.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis isnu0026#39;t Don Quixote, though. Nor is it Orwell, who is magnificent in an entirely different way, nor is it Hemingwayu0026#39;s brash heroism or Saving Private Ryanu0026#39;s gung-ho bullet-for-bullet style of u0026quot;historical verisimilitudeu0026quot;. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt doesnu0026#39;t matter at all whether the events are being portrayed with strict accuracy or not. This is the authentic texture of twentieth century history in perfect context, portrayed through the lens of one manu0026#39;s experience.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd there is hardly anything else like it on film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA true masterpiece of the art which deserves a much bigger reputation and a place in the British Movie Pantheon alongside the very best.”