Raza (1942)

Director:

José Luis Sáenz de Heredia

Writers:

Francisco Franco (story)
José Luis Sáenz de Heredia (screenplay) ...

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | War

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Bullet Wound | Military Parade | Politician | False Identity | Desecration

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Alfredo Mayo	...	José Churruca
Ana Mariscal	...	Marisol Mendoza
José Nieto	...	Pedro Churruca
Blanca de Silos	...	Isabel Churruca
Rosina Mendía	...	Isabel Acuña de Churruca
Pilar Soler	...	National Spy
Julio Rey de las Heras	...	Pedro Churruca's Father (as Julio Rey)
Luis Arroyo	...	Jaime Churruca
Raúl Cancio	...	Luis Echevarría
Manuel Arbó	...	Señor Echevarría
Mercedes Llofríu	...	Isabel Churruca, niña (as Merceditas Llofriú)
Eduardo González	...	Child
Consuelo Loygorri	...	Luis' Daughter (as Consuelito Loygorri)
Ángel Martínez	...	Pedro Churruca, niño
Francisco Camoiras	...	José Churruca, niño (as Paquito Camoiras)

Also Known As:

El espíritu de una raza (Spain) (reissue title)
Race (International: English title) (informal literal title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Spain:13

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Cancilleria del Consejo de la Hispanidad

Movie Connections:

Edited into Raza, el espíritu de Franco (1977)

Hate is not a good advisor

First of all, I want to clear up something: I love Britain. I love the British people. In many aspects, I feel British. (You could put the music from "West Side Story" to this affirmation: "I feel British, oh so British..."). I´m a citizen of the world. But I cannot help feeling indignant when someone tries to pull my leg, as some British character like pseudo-historian Paul Preston or so is attempting to do.

I don´t want to be boring, but I must insist about my age. I was born in 1919, so I DO know the era that "Raza" deals with. Everything that the film says is true, although it is presented in a very mild and benevolent way. The pursuit against the Catholic church is true. The hate of militiamen towards priests, monks, nuns and Catholic people in general is true. The shootings in the red zone (and the word "red" is not offensive - the left-wingers called themselves that way) are true. (For a better information, I recommend the books written about the subject by the former member of the GRAPO Pío Moa.) Believe me, I DO KNOW SOMETHING.

I want to set the record straight: I don´t like to speak badly about ANYONE, but the Truth is my best friend and I must be faithful to it. The thing is that we are talking about a film. I´m completely against Communism and that doesn´t prevent me from liking "Potemkin". I´m not a Nazi, but I like "Triumph Of The Will". And "Potemkin", judging by what I have read about the subject, is very inaccurate from a historical point of view; "Raza" isn´t. It is a no-nonsense picture. But most of all it´s a very good movie: the actors are wonderful (particularly Ana Mariscal - what a woman!), the direction is impeccable and the semi-documentary tone of the whole work is successful. I´ll say it again: the assassination of the monks on the beach is among the best cinematic scenes I have ever seen, and I cry every time I watch it. Because, unfortunately, that was only (sorry to say) too true. The fact that I´m a certain age doesn´t make me dodder or drivel, thank God.

Other films, like "La Caza", "Furtivos" or "El Espíritu De La Colmena", have tried to tell a different story, but the degree of success is uneasy: "La Caza" (one of whose leading actors, by the way, is the great Alfredo Mayo, the protagonist of "Raza") is a good film (maybe the best film of Carlos Saura, which is not saying much), but it´s not a film about the war, but rather about the aftermath of the war, and it doesn´t reflect at all a reality; those facts didn´t exist in the 60s (or, at least, they were not a general attitude). And as for "Furtivos" or "El Espíritu De La Colmena", they also depict a society later than the war (not the war itself, and still less the pre-war) and, for all their fame and prizes, they are (from a strictly cinematographic and non-political point of view) small pieces of blatant rubbish.

Before I say goodbye, I must stress something: hate is not a good advisor. And profanities and obscene language are no good, especially when headed for someone who is dead and therefore cannot defend himself. Please, let´s calm down a little bit. May people read good books and learn the truth. I hope that, as in Charles Laughton´s great film "Night Of The Hunter", love ends up defeating hate. God bless you.