A magnificent work of cinema, and a bravura performance from Fernández
In the Post-war period in Spain, impoverished migrants from Extremadura and Andalusia moved to the outskirts of Barcelona. In one particular area, Torre Baró, the residents built basic housing with their own hands. For years they lived without power, transport, medical services, or even a post office. In 1978 Manolo Vital, a resident there for 20 years and driver of the No 47 bus in Barcelona for nearly as long, decides to take matters into his own hands. Frustrated by the City Council’s insistence that buses could not get up the steep, unpaved hills, he highjacked his own bus, and proved them wrong.
The extraordinary actor Eduard Fernández stars as Vital in El 47. He is also starring in another Film Festival selection this year, Marco, the Invented Truth. Alongside him is a wonderful cast including the sublime Clara Segura as Vital’s wife and fellow agitator Carmen, Zoe Bonafonte, Óscar de la Fuente, and Betsy Túrnez. Guiding this line up is director and co-writer Marcel Barrena, with the screenplay also cowritten by Alberto Marini. Adding to the richness of the story is cinematography by Isaac Vila and sensational art direction by Marta Bazaco.
El 47 is a classic tale of the underdog winning. It is also a very specific portrait of a time in modern Spanish history, when the country was still shaking off the political and economic remains of the Falangists. It is engrossing, and very human, telling the personal that is the political, without an iota of lecturing or hectoring.
What a wonderful addition to this year’s festival!
El 47 is showing as part of the HSBC Spanish Film Festival starting June 11th at Palace Nova Eastend and Prospect.
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