40/33
Buried memories of the Spanish Civil War are revealed when a woman searches for the remains of her grandfather’s father and learns the story of a young idealistic teacher from Tarragona. NanaSochinil Manuel de Falla. I was very lucky to find this film on a Singapore Airlines flight! It tells the story of a beautiful progressive teacher, a follower of the little-known and rather revolutionary “Frine method”, who tries it out in a tiny village school in rural Spain. Unlucky time! He clashes with the local priest, an inveterate authoritarian figure, and is then handed over to the new authoritarian government and Franco’s troops on the eve of the Spanish Civil War. He is beaten, displayed in front of his young students almost lifeless, and then killed, and his body is thrown away and never found. In the film, his story is revealed anew through the requests of the great-granddaughter of one of his students to find the burial of her great-grandfather in a mass grave. I found it very touching and a wonderful testimony to the humanity and spirit of this teacher. It deserves more attention and exposure in arthouse circles, at least in Great Britain, Europe and where I live, in Australia. Unfortunately, the “true story” book on which it is based does not seem to be available in English yet.