José María García

In a western and Mediterranean country, very fond of bullfighting and soccer, legislative elections are held, that is, "El Gran Mogollón" is elected from the bosses. Each leader feels that his position is secure, and some are preparing to take the presidency of "El Gran Mogollón", when the surprise arises: the P.E.R. has won by a wide margin.

Un homme humble parcourt l'Estrémadure avec son fils, Eleuterio Sánchez, mieux connu sous le nom de El Lute. Il vole des poulets et est condamné à six mois de prison. Des années plus tard, il est impliqué dans le vol d'une bijouterie au cours duquel un agent de sécurité est tué. El Lute est jugé pour cela et condamné à mort, une peine qui est commuée en réclusion à perpétuité. Finalement, lors d'un transfert en train, il parvient à s'évader, devenant l'homme le plus recherché d'Espagne.

This literary film is imbued with the disenchantment of Spanish exiles who left their homes to protest Franco's fascist regime and then returned after its demise to find that democracy had not instilled either ethics or deep motivation in government leaders. Director Basilio Martin Patino presents his story, and a large part of the film is based on his own life, through the experiences of an exiled heroine played by Charo Lopez. She has returned to Spain to look for meaning in her life, something that she never found living in Germany, not even after having a child. She is also in the process of translating the German lyric poet Friederich Holderlin (see the 1985 Halfte Des Lebens) into Spanish, focusing on his epic Hyperion. Excerpts from the translation are voiced over throughout the film. As she looks up old friends from many, many years ago, even those who have achieved worldly success are suffering from the same ennui that propelled her back home.

A documentary about how Republican forces lost to Franco in the Spanish Civil War.