While at War (2019)

Salamanca, Spain, 1936. Celebrated writer Miguel de Unamuno supports the military rebellion hoping it will solve the chaotic situation in the country. Meanwhile, General Franco adds his ... See full summary »

Director:

Alejandro Amenábar

Writers:

Alejandro Amenábar, Alejandro Hernández

Stars:

Karra Elejalde, Eduard Fernández, Santi Prego

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Karra Elejalde	...	Miguel de Unamuno
Eduard Fernández	...	José Millán-Astray
Santi Prego	...	Francisco Franco
Luis Bermejo
Tito Valverde	...	Luis Valdés Cavanilles
Nathalie Poza
Patricia López Arnaiz
Inma Cuevas	...	Felisa
Carlos Serrano-Clark
Luis Zahera
Luis Callejo
Mireia Rey	...	Carmen Polo
Ainhoa Santamaría
Itziar Aizpuru
Miquel García Borda	...	General Kindelán

Storyline

Salamanca, Spain, 1936. Celebrated writer Miguel de Unamuno supports the military rebellion hoping it will solve the chaotic situation in the country. Meanwhile, General Franco adds his troops to the uprising, secretly aspiring to take command of the war. The conflict turns bloody and with some of his colleagues incarcerated, Unamuno questions his initial posture. When Franco transfers his headquarters to Salamanca, Unamuno will visit him, determined to request clemency.

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Plot Keywords:

spanish civil war | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes silence is the worst lie.

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

Spain Argentina

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

27 September 2019 (Spain)

Also Known As:

While at War

Filming Locations:

Salamanca, Salamanca, Castilla y León, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mod Producciones, Movistar+, Himenóptero

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Ghost Haunts Spain

Violence may win a fight, but it does not win hearts. It does not persuade. During the first months of the Spanish civil war a senior professor and famous writer, Miguel de Unamuno, doesn't take the uprising too seriously. Cooler heads will prevail he believes. Yet as his friends and colleagues disappear, Miguel realizes he made a great mistake.

While at War is based on real events and the belief that Franco has not really died. "He is a ghost that haunts Spain to this day," said Alejandro Amenabar "the same events could happen again anywhere." Spain made great again. I was fascinated not only by the character of Miguel de Unamuno, but also by the portrayal of Franco. He avoids the inflexibility that brought down other dictators of the time. Franco is quiet, patient and wise in a devious - not moral - sense. He learns from others and changes as needed. It is fascinating to see some aspects of how the fascists and Franco came to power. It is not how I imagined. In my ignorance I even imagined the wrong character to be Franco through half the film. While at War is not merely a good story, it is well made and acted as well. Seen at the Toronto international film festival.