We are all children of the war, Andreu says to himself as much as the audience. Like every village in the country, his was torn between fronts and ideologies. Falangists and Republicans live door to door, at the ready. Andreu and his friends Francisca, Manuel and Pau witness a mass execution under cover of night. Next morning, they decide to dispense some justice of their own. Whilst punishing one shooter’s son by force-feeding him a laxative, Pau smashes the child’s head in a fit of rage. Shocked, he kills himself. The shadows of this day’s horrors shall hang over the survivor’s lives – innocence lost once again. The Sea is a vibrant masterpiece; morbid, violent at heart and unflinching in its gaze. It is inspired in equal parts by Bernanos, Schnitzler and Cela, with some choice splashes of ur-Spanish Surrealism, the crasser variety.
Film details
- Country of production
- Spain
- Year
- 2000
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2011
- Length
- 107"
- Medium/Format
- 35mm
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