Land and Freedom

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Matthew B As a director, Ken Loach is mostly renowned for making movies with a contemporary setting that have a strong focus on social realism. However he occasionally dabbles outside his comfort zone. A few of his movies have been set in other countries, and he has also made a few historical dramas too. Among these is Land and Freedom, a film that is set against the Spanish Civil War. How does a director renowned for telling stories about ordinary people and ordinary events manage to reconcile his usual approach with making an historical romance? Well by not making a historical romance for one thing. In fact, Land and Freedom remains true to Loach's focus on the common man and woman. This is not the story of governments and military leaders and the people in power. Indeed while the film is inspired by George Orwell's factual account of his own experiences fighting in the Civil War, it does not feature Orwell either. Instead the characters in Land and Freedom are the people who never had power – the Spanish lower classes and the citizens who came to Spain to fight alongside them. They may be people who are jobless in their own country, or who had humble jobs such as being a pastry chef. They come from all nationalities, and are united only in a common cause. Similarly the focus of the film is less on exciting battles, and more on the everyday details of fighting – the trenches, the lice, the political arguments, and the guerrilla warfare carried out amidst the rubble in the streets of local towns. For Loach, the focus is less around the individual, and more on working class loyalty and solidarity. The story concerns a young man from Liverpool called David Carr (Ian Hart) who went to Spain to fight on the Republican side. We learn about his story from letters that he wrote back home describing his experiences, and these are being read by his granddaughter after his death. The story of Land and Freedom follows a similar path to that of The Wind That Shakes the Barley, a later more polished Ken Loach movie about the war for independence in Ireland. In both cases, the guerrilla army fights against a common enemy, but finally the hopes for a new and more representative society are quashed by the statists on their own side. Perhaps in that sense Loach is naïve in his idealism, always lamenting lost causes and failing to understand how these causes did not succeed in the first place. George Orwell, whose work inspired Land and Freedom, understood better. He admired much about the POUM and defended them, and he deplored the Stalinist brand of communism that made Spain an unsafe place for him. Nonetheless he recognised that wars are not won by amateurs, and he remained a democratic socialist. However there is always room for idealism and for seeking higher and more radical ideas. These create the intellectual space for society to move into at a later date when social and political attitudes soften. For that reason, Ken Loach's films are relevant and important, and they deserve to be regularly watched and remembered. I wrote a longer appreciation of Land and Freedom on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2018/11/23/land-and-freedom-1995/ Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/28/23 Full Review william d I was hoping to see an interesting story about the Spanish Civil War, or at least some decent battle scenes. What I got was numerous scenes of actors rehashing the ideological differences of the 1930s commie/left. Given communism's execrable track record I can't imagine why anyone would find this interesting. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Tony S Plainly blunt in who it is favoriting. The astounding cinematic wank of anarchists, never actually mentioning their pitiful war effort in the Spanish Civil War, set against a background of boy meets girl. Despite portraying Nationalist soldiers as if they walked off the propaganda posters, shielding themselves with women. The film is essentially about the split between the communist forces at the end of the conflict. And don't you worry, Ken Loach will tell you exactly whose side was right. Film already has done all the thinking for you. Just sit there and soak it in. I can't in good faith call it a propaganda. But many good scenes, such as discussion on collectivization among the villagers are most certainly devalued, by just how blatant the angle on these events is. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 11/05/21 Full Review Audience Member One of my favorite movies of all time. Loach does a brilliant job with both the political and dramatic aspects of the film, building a strong connection to the characters and their struggle to protect democracy and socialism in Spain from both fascism and Stalinism. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review william k Fervent, realistic and distressing depiction of revolutionary idealism and its disillusionment in the face of conflicting factions and realpolitik. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member So good. Moving. Great content and script for both genders. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Land and Freedom

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