While at War (2019)

Writer Miguel de Unamuno faces himself and his ideals after the 1936's military coup d'etat.

Director:

Alejandro Amenábar

Writers:

Alejandro Amenábar, Alejandro Hernández

Stars:

Karra Elejalde, Eduard Fernández, Santi Prego

14 wins & 41 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Karra Elejalde	...	Miguel
Eduard Fernández	...	Millán Astray
Santi Prego	...	Franco
Nathalie Poza	...	Ana
Luis Bermejo	...	Nicolás
Tito Valverde	...	Cabanellas
Patricia López Arnaiz	...	María
Inma Cuevas	...	Felisa
Carlos Serrano-Clark	...	Salvador
Luis Zahera	...	Atilano
Ainhoa Santamaría	...	Enriqueta
Mireia Rey	...	Carmen
Luis Callejo	...	Mola
Dafnis Balduz	...	Ramos
Jorge Andreu	...	Miguelín

Storyline

July 18, 1936. Salamanca, Castilla and León (center to Spain). The Spanish army declares the state of war in the city, hoping to extend it to the rest of Spain and improve the unstable situation in the country after the proclamation of the Second Republic five years ago. An aging Miguel de Unamuno, not only writer and academic teacher but one of the most recognized intellectuals in Spain, disappointed with the Republic that publicly he helped to create, supports the new revolt in the hope to clean the country of the undesirable elements for desperation of his close friends teacher Salvador and priest Atilano, creating too many problems in his house where Miguel lives with his daughters María and Felisa, his housemaid Aurelia and his grandson Miguelín. At the same time that Salamanca's mayor Casto Prieto is arrested without cause apparent and his wife Ana asks help Miguel de Unamuno, the Joint Chiefs of Staff meet to decide the strategy to take the power, where the merciless one-eyed, ...

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Plot Keywords:

spanish civil war | 1930s | year 1936 | general franco | based on real events | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes silence is the worst lie.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

An important part of the movie is set in the town of Salamanca, being the Main or Major Square (Plaza Mayor) widely relevant. It was actually shot in that very square, although the vegetation shown had to be added as in the moment of shooting the square had none.

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Goofs

Despite the high precision with which some key moments in this film are traced, such as the fact that Unamuno used the letter from the widow of the Protestant pastor Atilano Coco to write the draft of his speech, it is not true that Millán Astray bellowed "España Una, Grande, Libre" (Spain One, Great and Free) after the writer's harangue, since this nationalist phrase was not yet pronounced at state events, only at those held by the Falange. He did shout instead patriotic proclamations.

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Soundtracks

Marcha real

User Reviews

An Essential Movie

This is a very good movie, well-acted, well directed and with a nice photography, but the most important is its message and the reflection it causes.

The movie is about Spain in the 30s, but I see its importance in the actual context I'm living right now in my country as a brazilian.

The people who supports or simply doesn't stand up against fascism are not necessarily fascists as we can see in the main character. The brutality, fanatism and absurd could be right in front of your eyes and you still are not able to see and comprehend it, specially if the context you are living is confusing and complex.

Spain paid a very high price because of this and suffered for 40 years in the hands of a fascist - an upholder for the "good spaniards".

That's a movie that should be shown to people like Miguel de Unamuno before it's too late, like it was for him.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Spain Argentina

Language:

Spanish English German

Release Date:

27 September 2019 (Spain)

Also Known As:

While at War

Filming Locations:

Salamanca, Salamanca, Castilla y León, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

EUR4,300,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,144,370

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mod Producciones, Movistar+, Himenóptero

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1