Paper Birds (2010)

The lives of a comics and artists group in the hard times after of Spanish Civil War.

Director:

Emilio Aragón

Writers:

Emilio Aragón, Fernando Castets

Stars:

Imanol Arias, Lluís Homar, Roger Príncep

5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Imanol Arias	...	Jorge del Pino
Lluís Homar	...	Enrique Corgo
Roger Príncep	...	Miguel (as Roger Princep)
Carmen Machi	...	Rocío Moliner
Fernando Cayo	...	Montero
Diego Martín	...	Quiroga
Oriol Vila	...	Pastor
Luis Varela	...	Arturo
José Ángel Egido	...	Don Ricardo
Javi Coll	...	Pedro
Concha Hidalgo	...	Amparo
Ana Cuesta	...	Merceditas
Pedro Civera	...	Herrera
Francisco Merino	...	Luciano (as Paco Merino)
Lola Baldrich	...	María

Storyline

Jorge and Enrique are two performers in the post Spanish Civil War times that adopt an orphan child called Miguel. With a varieties company that travels around the country, Jorge and Enrique see the horrors left by the war meanwhile the "Nationals" watch Jorge and the rest of the company suspecting that some of them collaborate with the Republicans, opposite to the Franco Regime.

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Plot Keywords:

spanish civil war | 

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Taglines:

Soñar forma parte del viaje. Reír...una elección [To dream is part of the travel. To laugh...an election]

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | History

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Fernando Cayo and Roger Príncep were father and son in other Spanish big hit, The Orphanage (2007).

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Goofs

When the company goes to play to the theater in the small town, part of the act is the Sabre Dance, from 'Gayane' by Aram Khachaturyan. However, Gayane was completed in 1942, while the action in the film takes place at most in March 1940, one year after the end of the Spanish Civil War.

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Soundtracks

No se puede vivir con un franco
Music by Emilio Aragón
Lyrics by Emilio Aragón and Emilio Aragón 'Miliki' (as Emilio Aragón Bermúdez)
Performed by Emilio Aragón 'Miliki' (uncredited)

User Reviews

A Varieté company takes on difficulties and shortages during post Spanish Civil War

This dramatic film deals with lives of a group of artists and comics in the hard times after Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Jorge and Enrique are troubadours touring scenarios and playing burlesque during the post Spanish Civil War . Jorge ( Imanol Arias ) and Enrique ( Luis Homar ) are two artists who love the Theatre in the post Spanish Civil War times and adopt an orphan child named Miguel (Roger Princep). With a troupe that travels around the nation , Jorge and Enrique see the horrors left by the war meanwhile the official Montero (Fernando Cayo) watches Jorge and the rest of the company suspecting that some of them collaborate with the rebels opposite to the Francoist Regime . Jorge is Republican , and with the Varieté company they journey into various cities and villages . They are arrested, fear a firing squad, and receive a reprieve from officer Montero if they arrange a performance for Franco and his troops, bargaining with Jorge to stage in exchange for the actors' freedom . But a fateful and twisted conspiracy takes place originating unfortunate consequences .

This is an interesting story about human beings and how they cope with the nightmare of post civil war including their penury , poverty but also some mirth and joy . We are shown that people's reactions to this kind of ordeal are various . It is an extreme situation and this is conveyed pretty well by Emilio Aragon , as we see people attempting to forget where they are and enjoy themselves watching the antics of our variety troupe , only to be reminded of reality . This theme of constantly being dragged back to the reality of war continues through the picture. The flick bears remarkable resemblance to much better ¨¡Ay Carmela! (Carlos Saura) ¨ as screenplay as direction . The acting is first rate , Imanol Arias in particular, and regardless of with whom our personal empathy may lie, Emilio Aragon does not condemn individuals . Above all, the pain and sadness of a country at recent war with itself is expressed through the tortuous mental and emotional processes Imanol Arias goes through . Emilio Aragon conveys the escalating tension before the show with a healthy measure of difficult time drama and ironic backstage humor . There appears even Generalisimo Franco himself attending the performance and Moorish troops aiding the Spanish Nationalists . Good support cast with prestigious Spanish secondaries as Carmen Machi , Francisco Merino , Jose Angel Egido and Luis Varela . The motion picture is professionally written , produced, musicalized and directed by Emilio Aragon in his first film . He's a real showman , he writes , composes and directs ; he is an authentic craftsman . Rating : 6 , acceptable and passable though contains some gaps and flaws ; resulting to a flop at the Spanish Box office .

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

12 March 2010 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Paper Birds

Filming Locations:

Almagro, Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

EUR3,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,693,223

Company Credits

Production Co:

Antena 3 Films, Canal+ España, Generalitat de Catalunya - Institut Català de les Indústries Culturals (ICIC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1