Long Live Death (1971)

At the end of the Spanish civil war, Fando, a boy of about ten, tries to make sense of war and his father's arrest. His mother is religious, sympathetic to the Fascists; his father is ... See full summary »

Director:

Fernando Arrabal (as Arrabal)

Writers:

Fernando Arrabal (by) (as Arrabal), Fernando Arrabal (novel) (as Arrabal)

Stars:

Anouk Ferjac, Núria Espert, Mahdi Chaouch

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anouk Ferjac	...	La Tante / The aunt
Núria Espert	...	La Mère / The mother
Mahdi Chaouch	...	Fando / Son
Ivan Henriques	...	Tosan / Le Père-The father
Jazia Klibi	...	Thérèse / Fando's friend
Suzanne Comte	...	La Grand-mère / Grandmother
Jean-Louis Chassigneux	...	Le Grand-père / Grandfather
Mohamed Bellasoued	...	Colonel
Victor Garcia	...	Fando / 20 ans-yo

Storyline

At the end of the Spanish civil war, Fando, a boy of about ten, tries to make sense of war and his father's arrest. His mother is religious, sympathetic to the Fascists; his father is accused of being a Red. Fando discovers that his mother may have aided in his father's arrest. Sometimes we witness Fando imagining explanations for what's going on; sometimes we see him at play, alone or with his friend Thérèse. Oedipal fantasies and a lad's natural curiosity about sex and death mix with his search for his mother's nature and his father's fate. Will Fando survive the search?

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Plot Keywords:

nihilism | mother bathes son | federico garcia lorca | fascist government | fascist regime | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France Tunisia

Language:

French

Release Date:

12 May 1971 (France)

Also Known As:

Long Live Death

Filming Locations:

Tunisia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Isabelle Films, Satpec

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Directorial debut of Fernando Arrabal.

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Goofs

When Fando is up at the lighthouse and urinates on the city, a hose behind his legs is clearly visible at times.

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Connections

Referenced in Der Todesking: The Death King (1990)

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Soundtracks

Siesta
Written by Raymond Le Sénéchal and Eddie Barclay (as Édouard Ruault)
Performed by Jean-Yves Bosseur Et Ses Amis

User Reviews

typical of its time

Whether you like them or not, the images are haunting. I saw this film 31 years ago and still remember some sequences vividly. You might argue that the anarcho-surrealism is intellectualised, a pose. But you cannot deny that it is effective. The message gets across, even if a sledgehammer approach is required. But it also is very poetic: the poetry of cruelty. I suppose this kind of establishment bashing was considered very chic in those days. Now it looks dated, unfortunately. But at the time, it shook me profoundly.