kennprop The story of a working class miner in the Uk becoming a committed part of a greater struggle in Spain. One soon realizes that the main battle is between the rich conservative fascists and those they seek to exploit. The rich own the levers of power and the land. Religion and conservatism are about maintaining control.This movie is based on Orwells Homage to Catalonia and his experiences during the Spanish Civil War. Read this book if u want an indepth view of what went on. The movie simplifies this reality. The anti fascist side was fragmented into many groups and were ultimately betrayed by Stalins agenda. An international group fought fascism but they were defeated. This is a movie about heroic commitment to an ideal. Of course we now know that Stalins Communism as a system failed. It was just a cloak for centralised totalitarian control. It was at the time seen as an alternative to capitalism and exploitive extremism. This movie fits in with the movie Grapes of Wrath. Both were during a period of chaos and depression. The speech at the end Of GOF shows a similar commitment to fight fascist police, company thugs, robber banks , exploitation and etc. I really enjoyed the story and I think KL told the story well.Its a little known episode just predating the main event of WW2. As a theory Communism is closer to pure democracy, than capitalism is, I think.This movie is hard to get in the US. Probably because it shows alternative ideas, - Communism, Anarchists, Socialists ,union groups.

ma-cortes The picture begins in recent times when a granddaughter looking for papers aware her grandfather fought in Spanish War Civil (1936-1939) that is the subject matter of the movie. Then happens a long flashback where are developed the facts about David (Ian Hart), a working-class and unemployed young . He's an English communist who leaves Liverpool and comes to join the Republicans troops against the General Franco army . He joined the P.O.U.M. (Partido Obrero Unificacion Marxista) of Trosky ideology, for that reason are called Troskists. There he meets women fighters ( Rosana Pastor, Iciar Bollain) and the International brigades (Tom Gilroy). David befriends the militia people and fights in the trenches of the battles of Teruel and Ebro. David is wounded and while he's in Barcelona occurs confrontation between FAI, CNT anarchists followers of the leader Durruti (who gave name to the Column Durruti), regular troops of the Republican government, Stalinists and Troskists. Then David decides to return to his previous militia.This interesting historical story is a passionate retelling and a touching warlike drama. The film originated an intense discussion in Spain about its principal theme , the Spanish Civil War . However the intense debate about ownership of lands proceeded in pseudo-documentary style is overlong and dull. Adequate cinematography by Barry Ackroyd , Ken Loach's usual . Perceptible and sensible musical score by George Fenton. ¨Land and freedom ¨ was a Spanish- British co-production and obtained much success in the Spain box-office . The film belongs a splendid trilogy by Ken Loach, developing historical deeds from a thoughtful point of sight , such as ¨Hidden agenda¨ and ¨The wind that shakes the barley¨.The motion picture is professionally directed by Ken Loach. In the 90s he directed a series of award-winning movies firmly establishing him as one of the best European filmmakers with ¨Riff-Raff¨, ¨Raining stones¨ and ¨My name is Joe¨ winning several prizes in Cannes, and of course ¨Land and freedom¨ which achieved the Ecumenical Prize and the International critics Prize at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. In the 2000s, Loach went on his special landmark about socialist realism with ¨Bread and Roses¨, ¨The Navigators¨, ¨Sweet sixteen¨, ¨Just a kiss¨, and ¨It's free world¨. This rich human drama appeal to Ken Loach enthusiasts and history buffs.

Eric Lee Though set in Spain during the time of the civil war of 1936-39, Loach's film belongs more to the genre of anti-Stalinist cinema than it does to films about Spain. The main theme of the film is the young man's discovery about the reality of the political movement to which he has devoted his life. And the climactic moment in the film is when he rips up his Communist Party membership card.The crimes of the Stalinists are portrayed throughout the film -- they deny decent, modern weapons to those sections of the front which they do not control; they actively engage in repression against the POUM and the anarchists in Barcelona; in the pages of the British Daily Worker which we briefly see on the screen, we are shown the daily barrage of lies they spread (such as Trotsky's 'support' for Franco fascism).Anyone who sees this film as simply a black-and-white, good vs evil portrayal of heroic young people aiding the brave Spaniards in their battle for freedom is missing what is, I believe, its main point. It is not primarily about Spain.Seeing a film like this, I cannot forget the more typical Hollywood portrayals (at least in the last generation) of Communists. A film like "The Way We Were" shows the American Communist Party only during those moments when its positions would today be considered palatable (supporting the Spanish republic, backing Roosevelt and the US war effort in World War II, and later calling for nuclear disarmament).It doesn't show the time of the Moscow Trials, nor the real role played by the Soviet Union and its agents in Spain, nor the Communist Party's opposition to fighting Hitler and the Nazis in 1939-41, nor the post-war period when the Party did what it could to encourage nuclear proliferation by passing on atomic secrets to Stalin.Land and Freedom does try to show one of the Comintern's uglier moments, to its credit.A film like this was made possible by the fact that Loach comes out of the British far left, and the British far left has long been dominated not by Stalinists but by their Marxist opponents -- primarily the Trotskyists of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). Whatever disagreements I or others may have with the SWP (and they are many), at least they rejected Stalinism.What we need are more films like this showing the real role played by Communist Parties all during the history of the Soviet regime. For example a film set in any European country during the period between September 1939 and June 1941 (the time of the Hitler-Stalin pact) which honestly portrays Communist parties as allies of the Nazis (even in occupied countries like Norway and France) would be welcome.

ccthemovieman-1 Fascism versus Communism? Gosh, what a choice. How 'bout neither?A combination English/foreign film, with subtitles mixed in liberally, this is the story of the common peoples' fight against Franco's fascist regime in Spain. The "people" consider themselves Communists and that ideology is portrayed positively, of course, an antidote of sorts against Fascism. Frankly, neither system has shown itself to be a good one for the "common man," so promoting Communism, as it's done here, was not attractive to me.What was attractive was to see this on a widescreen VHS because it's nicely filmed. However, the story begins to lag halfway trough as long ideological arguments are espoused over and over. That, and a boring romance, led this to make me lose interest before it was over.