WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

johnnyboyz Land and Freedom begins with a death; ends with a death but is ultimately a celebration of one person's life. The film is all at once a realist drama, a political thriller and a war movie; Ken Loach's trademark vérité style dogging every cut; composition; transition and individual scene resulting in a near breathless film-watching experience of conflict, both of an internal and external sort, tribulation and strife. The film is very much The Spanish Civil War, as well as those of whom fought in it, through the eyes of Loach; an event of which, like several other background incidents that have since plagued Loach's work, such as Ireland's Independence throughout The Wind That Shakes the Barley; The Navigators, and its covering of men suffering at the result of British Rail's privatisation, but also albeit fleetingly, Looking for Eric's monopolisation of Manchester United football club, is melded into what is first and foremost a character study feeding off an intense sense of realism.Ian Hart eventually comes to play that of David Carr, a young Liverpudlian man of whom we first see in the then-present of the mid-nineties alone and in a bad way as he alone occupies his tower block apartment having suffered a heart attack. The tower block itself is a tad grimy; graffiti of a somewhat politically motivated sort plagues the stairs, stairs of which paramedics must ascend out of the fact the lift does not work and probably has not done so for some while. Alas, everyone, including that of his granddaughter whom discovered him, are too late to save our Dave and he dies from the heart attack; an event leading his young relative to uncover a tin in the apartment rife with trinkets and items that we will come to learn meant a great deal to him. The tin mostly contains Spanish memorabilia, and we are led into assuming the man to be somewhat political out of the miner's strike newspaper clippings he kept. Amidst the photos; the collections of dirt kept back and the letters we, through the granddaughter, build an image of David's experiences abroad at an important time in his life.Principally, the film is one long flashback with brief darts back to the present also arriving as we witness Dave's exploits in tandem with that of his granddaughter's uncovering of the facts; her character most probably discovering as much about the Spanish Civil War as Loach's intended audience are. In 1930's Liverpool, Carr is in his mid twenties and intermingles with the odd friend here and there when he isn't looking for work out of being unemployed or maintaining his Communist party roots. One day, a trip to a local cinema encompasses that of a propagandist newsreel and a talk by a Spanish politician, of whom has come over to inform those of specific political stances whom might be willing to fight with him, as a brooding situation in Spain develops. Seemingly desiring a life away from what foundations he has, Carr accepts what proposals are outlined that day in the darkened, enclosed locale of the picture-house and it isn't long before he is riding a train in northern Spain to the front-line of what is The Spanish Civil war raging between Conservatives, and those of a more leftist-nature on the political spectrum, against the Fascist might of Franco and his followers.There is a beautifully placed scene very early on in Carr's venture out there, an exchange on board a train as he makes his way across and through the somewhat barren northern parts of the country depicting him barely able to even say the Spanish word for "Thank you". This, not only a happening highlighting his raw and inexperienced nature to the locale, actually accentuates how much it means to those with whom he's intermingling when a train guard hears of the cause for his presence and offers him a free ticket on behalf of it. One thing leads to another, and he eventually links up with a rag-tag bunch of soldiers predominantly populated by Spaniards known as the 'POUM', a united workers party fighting the concurrent fascist sentiment. Through this group of people of varying nationalities and the nature of their cross cultural banding togetherness, the general disposition of the film's production is nicely surmised, as this piece formulating out of the resultant coming together of varying fellows combining for a cause. It is within this group that he meets an array of people, including that of local Spaniards; Frenchmen; the fiery Maite (Bollaín) as well as Blanca (Pator), whom he eventually comes to feel rather fondly for.The film does an excellent job in channelling the nature of what warfare in the trenches, unfolding in this era may have been like; everything droll and unglamourous when it isn't bullet ridden, the better equipped enemy never feeling much more than not-so-far-away, with conflict and violence seemingly around most turns. Away from the sequences of conflict, which reach heady heights when the early storming of a nearby town plays out, the film is rife with really remarkably played sequences of heavy political involvement featuring the characters deliberating and speaking on the state of their nation and what ought to happen; the scenes so authentic in their unfolding, one could be forgiven for thinking one had been transported back in time and invited to a live chaired debate. The film is a remarkable drama, a war film in which the warfare slips away and into the background whilst the characters take centre stage; a film which beautifully sews in a love story amidst all the strife and generally makes for accomplished viewing.

alfa-16 I also love this film.It's a wonderful, intense, realistic and insightful look at the Spanish Civil War with the highly naturalistic cinematography and committed performances characteristic of Loach.The reviews and debate concentrate on the action in Spain, which, for me, is only half the story that Loach is telling. I grew up in Liverpool in the 50's and 60's and knew quite a few David Carrs. Men then in their own fifties and sixties, often alone, keeping themselves to themselves in quiet corners of pubs and working men's clubs. They never told their own stories, never wanted credit, never wanted to relive their experiences in the Battle of the Atlantic, on the Baltic convoys, in North Africa. Someone who knew them would sometimes say "he was torpedoed four times" or "he was two years in Spain fighting Franco" and that would be that.So I am delighted that David Carr, played by the incomparable Ian Hart, and this movie is such a fabulous testament to all of them. I love the way his life expands onto the screen, from the small remainder in a Liverpool council flat, from the letters uncovered by his death, into the light and air of Spain, enabling us to share in his buried idealism, its betrayal, then to witness the love of his life and the loss of it. Incredibly beautiful and truly heartbreaking. Unsuspected by all but his best mates and his newly enlightened granddaughter, David is surely off to Valhalla to be reunited with Blanca and his warrior friends of the past. I cannot think of anything in film so unsentimental yet so poignantly moving as her last salute.This isn't Don Quixote, though. Nor is it Orwell, who is magnificent in an entirely different way, nor is it Hemingway's brash heroism or Saving Private Ryan's gung-ho bullet-for-bullet style of "historical verisimilitude". It doesn't matter at all whether the events are being portrayed with strict accuracy or not. This is the authentic texture of twentieth century history in perfect context, portrayed through the lens of one man's experience.And there is hardly anything else like it on film.A true masterpiece of the art which deserves a much bigger reputation and a place in the British Movie Pantheon alongside the very best.

pikechuck It's one of my favorite movies. The director made an outstanding job representing this glorious and terrible part of the Civil War. It's a movie with a low budget, a good historical representation and a great job from the actors. Iciar Bollain is great. They told me (when I saw it back in 1995) the actors, even many extras, played roles according to their political ideas. I'm thankful for the individuals foreigners who came to my country Spain, from all parts of Europe, USA, etc, to fight against the arise of the fascism in Europe. So I'm thankful for this movie. You'll love the guys of the POUM. You'll also understand why the good guys can't win. Please notice that the Spanish Civil War ended in April 1939, and that the Second World War started in July 1939. 4 more months and instead of the history saying that the 2WW started in Poland, it would say that started in Spain. Well, this is the only movie I know about the Spanish Civil War.

davidholmesfr It is, perhaps, surprising that more films about the Spanish Civil War haven't been made. The Spanish landscape, the sheer ruthlessness of any civil war, and the perceived Spanish emotions all combine to make what would appear to be an attractive proposition for a film-maker. The names of Picasso and Lorca will forever have an association with the war, yet where are the artists representing cinema? All the more surprising then that it should have been British director Ken Loach who took up the cudgels. Loach is probably best known for his gritty portrayals of the British working class (and under-class), something that has, perhaps, made him more approachable outside his own country. In tackling the Spanish Civil War any writer is faced with the overwhelming complexities that underlie the events. The regionalism (think only of the Catalan and Basque regions, let alone Galicia and Andalusia), the monarchy, the Catholic Church, landowners, trade unions, anarchists plus the leaderships of the Nationalist and Republican movements all combined to create a very tangled web. Add to that outside involvement, principally from Mussolini and Stalin, the vacillation of Britain and France and, of course, the omnipresence of Hitler, and anyone might wonder where to start.Loach and Allen take their approach through the eyes of an unemployed Liverpudlian, David Carr (admirably played by Ian Hart) who, as a card-carrying member of the Communist Party, answers the call to fight for the Republic. We follow his exploits through a number of episodes, involving battles, falling in love, injury and, ultimately, a degree of disillusion as the reality of Stalin's views eventually come to dominate, and eventually destroy, his cause. The film is supremely well-made, highlighting the horrors, the camaraderie, and the political divisions. In particular, the debate amongst the militia about collectivisation after they have taken a small town takes no sides, but simply allows a number of valid arguments to be exposed within the context of the shifting sands of the war.There is still ample material for the industry to go on to make more films on this important period in history. But Loach has set the benchmark.