The Heifer (1985)
"La vaquilla" (original title)

A platoon of mismatched republican soldiers cross the front-line to steal the bull that the enemy is going to fight on the saint patron date of the village. In addition to ruining the ... See full summary »

Director:

Luis García Berlanga

Writers:

Rafael Azcona (screenplay), Rafael Azcona (story),

Stars:

Alfredo Landa, Guillermo Montesinos, Santiago Ramos

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alfredo Landa	...	Brigada Castro
Guillermo Montesinos	...	Mariano
Santiago Ramos	...	Limeño
José Sacristán	...	Teniente Broseta
Carles Velat	...	Cura
Eduardo Calvo	...	Coronel Republicano
Violeta Cela	...	Guadalupe
Agustín González	...	Comandante Nacional
María Luisa Ponte	...	Juana
Juanjo Puigcorbé	...	Alférez
Amelia de la Torre	...	Adela
Carlos Tristancho	...	Cartujano
Valeriano Andrés	...	Párroco
María Elena Flores	...	Vicenta
Antonio Gamero	...	Sargento Nacional 1º

Storyline

A platoon of mismatched republican soldiers cross the front-line to steal the bull that the enemy is going to fight on the saint patron date of the village. In addition to ruining the nationals' celebration they want the animal in order to butcher it and feed their famished troops. They get caught in the procession and have to go through a series of funny and pathetic incidents before they can get back to their side.

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Plot Keywords:

civil war | religious procession | spanish civil war | dead cow | behind enemy lines | 

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Genres:

Comedy | War

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Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

6 March 1985 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Heifer

Filming Locations:

Sos del Rey Católico, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 527,459,739 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

In-Cine Compañía Industrial Cinematográfica, Jet Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Luis García Berlanga took over 30 years to do the movie because on it he was looking the Civil War in a fun way.

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Quotes

Brigada Castro: La clave de todo es este chico, Mariano se llama.
Teniente Broseta: Mucho pelo, eh, mucho pelo.
Brigada Castro: Se le corta.

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Soundtracks

Songs performed by Angelillo

User Reviews

Oh what a lovely war!

It took someone of the stature of Luis Garcia Berlanga, who just recently died, to come out with a satire about a subject that is usually presented in a different way. The Spanish Civil War of the 1930s is something that most filmmakers of that country think they must deal with in different fashion. Most of the movies on the subject are usually of the heavy handed type, so this sunny comedy, written by Rafael Azcona and the director, sets a different pace to tell a different account of what they imagined went on, even during the worst days of that conflict.

We are taken to a place where the troops loyal to Franco have control of a small town. Their enemy, the Republicans, were holding positions in the fields nearby. The Republican army had almost no provisions left to feed the troops, so knowing their foes were about to celebrate a feast which involved a bullfight, they decide to infiltrate the town and steal the bull for themselves.

The absurdity of war is explored by Mr. Garcia Berlanga in a funny way. It is a different take on a conflict that pitted Spaniards against one another in one of the cruelest war in recent memory. The cast of this film is splendid. Jose Sacristan and Alfredo Landa are seen as part of the Republican invaders. The film offers a comic version of how things might have been, had the director, and creator of this film had anything to do with the fighting.