Guernica
The fates of Henry - an American correspondent - and Teresa, one of the Republic's censors during the Spanish Civil War.
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- Cast:
- James D'Arcy , María Valverde , Jack Davenport , Irene Escolar , Burn Gorman , Ingrid García Jonsson , Álex García
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Reviews
People are voting emotionally.
Memorable, crazy movie
Good movie but grossly overrated
It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.
The film is a fictionalized drama of a true story, based on the events that took place April 26, 1937 in Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. The movie follows the life of famed American reporter Henry Howe (James D'Arcy) as he attempts to get out stories while being censored. He is embedded with the rebels in Basque country, aided by Russian communists. The rebels are fighting for a Democratic Spain against Franco, supported by Germany and Italy. A new war technique is going to be used on that said day as the film starts a week earlier, giving us enough time to develop a love story.This is a film on the Spanish Civil War that doesn't involve Hemingway, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, or a labyrinth...although Hemingway was mentioned. Like a Hemingway novel on the Spanish Civil War, the film is a bit laborious to get through and there is a bell that tolls. This is not a documentary it is a historical novel and does not involve zombies.The film is done in multiple languages, English, Spanish, German, Russian, and maybe Basque, French, and Italian. You might want to make sure you get something with subtitles. It is mostly a drama with a protagonist that wasn't that likable and sees the war through his hip flask. Not for everyone.Guide: No swearing (In English anyway). Brief nudity (María Valverde).
The fates of Henry - a cynical American correspondent who has lost his soul - and Teresa, one of the Republic's censors and in charge of overseeing the news that journalists can send abroad, cross in Gernika. Although this movie talks about romance in a time of war there is no heart at all, the acting is so so and the whole movie is a big bubble from another based on true events film and in this case drama, war and romance doesn't work that great and some of the characters were pretty retarded this isn't a film to recommend to see or even buy just skip it and go watch a much better war film for example Fury or something that has good direction, actors and script. Guernica gets an 3 out of 10 by me.
"Guernica" is a very good film and it's well worth seeing. However, I also assume that most folks just aren't that interested in seeing a film about a town leveled in 1937 during the god-awful Spanish Civil War. Not exactly a crowd-pleaser of a topic for a movie in 2016...but still a well made and interesting film.To really understand the movie, you should know a bit about this war--things you may not clearly understand when you watch. In 1936, the Spanish people elected a socialist government (often called 'Republicans'). However, a coup soon broken out when right-wing nationalist generals decided to depose their leader and create their own government. It wasn't a quick nor easy process, however, and the bloody war raged on for several years. Soon the Soviets began aiding the government and the Axis powers (Germany and Italy) began sending support to help General Franco and his Nationalist forces ultimately win the war. The destruction of the town of Guernica by the Luftwaffe was soon made famous by Picasso's enormous mural named after this city.When the film begins, Henry (James D'Arcy) is an American news correspondent who working in Spain during this war. He soon finds frustration in covering the events, as often the Republican Spanish government heavily censors his stories--making them, essentially, bland propaganda. What he doesn't realize is that the Soviets advisers in the country are essentially running both this propaganda campaign as well as a Stalinist system by which 'enemies of the state' are ruthlessly purged...whether or not they are guilty of anything. Because Henry has a habit of stepping on toes, he soon is the subject of one of these purges...and this ends up not only affecting him but his lady, Teresa (Maria Valverde). But just as this trap is sprung, the infamous bombing begins.While this is a romance, I must emphasize that the romantic portion is not primary. Additionally, the plot will not satisfy romance junkies--it doesn't follow the formula of a romance and is more tragic than heartwarming. Instead, the film is more about the events leading up to the carpet bombing of the town of Guernica as well as a vivid recreation of this...and this fictional romance is woven into this. History junkies, however, will be happy with this choice in focus, as the film did an excellent job trying to get the look right of the German planes, uniforms and costumes. It also didn't portray either side as the good guys or bad guys--a mistake many films often make when they discuss the war. Think about it...Stalin on one side, Hitler and Mussolini on the other! About the only thing that didn't work for me in the film was having Henry knowing absolutely no Spanish...none...which was very odd for a news man living in Spain and investigating what's going on in the war. Odd...but not a serious problem with the film. Overall, an interesting and occasionally powerful film about a seldom discussed topic.
Guernica could have been one of my all time favorites but unfortunately, as it happens too often these days, the culmination was badly executed. The first act is wonderful, a perfect setup for the upcoming events in the movie, with breathtaking cinematography, decent script and superb acting. The sets and the costumes were top notch, whoever could pull this off with 5 million deserves utmost respect. The first 30 minutes really feel like you're watching one of those great classics and I was pretty convinced that this movie is going to be ten star material. Unfortunately, as the movie progresses past the second act, it starts to lose its charms. The focus turns on the love story, which somehow manages to be underdeveloped, despite the huge screen time that it has. From there on, we have a cascading chain of blatant clichés which, combined with a final act that feels disjointed, really ruin the whole experience. Now if you pay attention, you'll notice that the final act is where we lose the German perspective. A scene on a bomber, a pilot reaction or even the German colonel watching the ongoing bombardment from a far would've kept this perspective alive and could've added some needed dramatic effect. Instead, the focus falls entirely on the events occurring in Guernica, which wouldn't be so bad if the whole act wasn't filled with severely overused clichés. All in all, this is a pretty decent war drama, which could've been something really special, had the writers come up with more original ideas.