A film by Péter Forgács, 2005, Hungary, 84 min
The personal drama and historical turbulence of life in Spain before and during the Spanish Civil War as told through a careful assemblage of home movies. Amateur film footage, photos and letters from both sides of the conflict are constructed as a balanced portrait of a country overturned by fascism, labor unrest and the rise of anarchy. The film evokes names long lost in the violence of the era, including rich Catalan industrialist Francesc Salvans, his son Joan, and leftist Ernesto Noriega - men who found themselves on opposite sides of an international conflict. The Salvans, father and son, were murdered by an anarchist 6 days after the outbreak of the war without taking any part in the military conflict. Noriega, who was arrested for warning a village priest about the approach of Republican soldiers, was imprisoned yet managed, even during his incarceration, to shoot film.