Land och Frihet

Land and Freedom tells the story of David who in the middle of the '30s went from England to Spain in order to fight fascism. Fifty years later an old man dies in an ambulance on its way to the hospital. His grand-daughter finds a pile of old yellowed letters amongst the belongings he left behind. In the letters David tells of his time at the Spanish front. The year is 1936, David is unemployed and after a lecture about the ongoing civil war in Spain he decides to sign up. After an eventful trip he finds himself in a group within the POUM, the internationally organized guerilla movement, where both men and women live closely together in an existence where war and politics, work and play are constantly intertwined. Two people become David's special friends: the hot-headed Irishman Coogan and Blanca, his woman. When Coogan dies, David and Blanca gravitate towards each other. After a long string of films from the seventies onwards which were always rooted in their own time, the Brit Ken Loach is making a historical film. It is his biggest venture to date, with a budget far beyond the normal limits for a Loach film. He has, however, not abandoned his special way of working which is to shoot his films chronologically, something which in this film is complicated by the alternating time perspective. ''The Spanish Civil War is one of the most important periods of our century. It was the first real blow against fascism and it is high time that we remember our history. We are watching a similar conflict in the former Yugoslavia, where they are trying to defend what is left of the multi-ethnical society in Bosnia. Land and Freedom is also my tribute to the working class' timeless solidarity'', says Ken Loach in an interview in the Norwegian film journal Film & Kino. Doubtless the following question comes to mind: how do you show solidarity today with the people who are stricken by the great European war of our own time? Do you become a UN soldier in Bosnia? Or do you send flour and provisions with ''Ship to Bosnia''? Ken Loach has obviously created a profoundly anti-war film. At the same time it is a beacon for all the people who fought, and who are still fighting, against fascism.

Orig. titel
LAND AND FREEDOM: Medverkande
Ian Hart, Rosana Pastor, Iciar Bollain: Producent
Rebecca O'Brien: Manus
Jim Allen: Foto
Barry Ackroyd: Musik
George Fenton: Talat språk
English, spanish