just watch it!

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

This is a decent Spanish post-war drama. It's nothing really special but the acting is good, the writing is fine, and it's a well constructed and well done film. I wish there were more surprises and parts of it dragged but it's definitely worth watching if you don't mind "foreign films" with re-dubs or subtitles, they don't bother me so much but I know others hate reading while trying to watch visuals.

The film has received a lot of criticism for not being true to the book. Adapting novels is no easy task especially when you have to fit it into a 100 minute. I haven't read the novel and based on what I've seen of this film, I don't think it's as bad as a majority have called it. I do agree that it could have been a lot more. The film could have further explored the tension and terror of the Franco regime. The angle with the daughter and her boyfriend is very poorly developed.In the end, the focus of Rafael Azcona's script is on the infatuation of a young deacon and Elena and Ricardo's attempt to live together in secret. The infatuation theme is well explored. The character Salvatore is constantly in doubt and gives in to temptation which eventually gets the better of him. Ricardo is presumed dead or escaped. He continues to write against the regime in secrecy. The conflicts that arise between him and his wife and his own anguish and struggle could have been further developed.The plus is that 'Los Girasoles Ciegos' is a well made film on the technical side. It 'looks' clean. The polished sets, costumes, locations etc are nice to look at. The score is pretty good too. This film does provide some insight(albeit a toned down one) to those who know very little about Spain under Franco's power.The performances stand out. Maribel Verdú does a fine job as the wife struggling to hide her husband, to maintain the family secrecy and deal with the deacon's infatuation. The role itself is a little bleak but Verdú manages to rise above it. The Ricardo character is sketchy but Javier Cámara does the best he can. Raul Arévalo is brilliant in a complex role.Given the source, 'Los Girasoles Ciegos' had potential. However, as a standalone film, in my opinion, it's not a complete failure as I found it to be quite a watchable film.

A Spanish post-war drama directed by Jose Luis Cuerda and based on the novel of Alberto Mendez of the same title.The story is set in the Spanish city of Orense, in Northern Spain, in the 1940s, and tells the story of a family of communists struggling to survive after the victory of the fascists in 1939. The father Ricardo -played by Javier Camera- declared dead, lives hidden in the family basement with his subversive and prohibited books, and types works on his wife's behalf to earn some money. The mother, Elena -played by Maribel Verdu- lives and acts as a widow who makes ends meet by sewing and typing. Their teenage daughter Elenita and her boyfriend Lalo -played by Irene Escolar and Martin Rivas- are involved in guerrilla activities but try to escape the country, while child Lorenzo -played by Roger Princep- goes to the children school in town. There, Gonzalo gets the eye of Fr Salvador -played by Raul Arevalo- a seminarian and fascist ex-soldier who feels immediately attracted to Elena.The script is mediocre with stereotypical characters, predictable plot and events, and, most importantly, without emotion or heart. A soulless movie despite telling a story that should be moving and thought-provoking, and it ends being just pretentious. Nothing new in the exploration of the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.Regarding the acting, Maribel Verdú and Javier Camera do not believe what they are playing, and their performances are mediocre, much below their acting abilities and quality. Raul Arevalo is good in his portray of the confused tempted priest. The rest of the supporting actors are OK in their roles, but child Roger Princep was awful to watch.There is nothing excellent or memorable about the film, just mediocrity. To be honest, the things I liked the most about this film were its atmosphere, the views of the Orense's city, and the title. While watching this movie I thought of a similar movie which, instead, showed all what this lacked in this - the Butterfly's Tongue.Despite the script being so poor, perhaps because the novel was not, the scriptwriters won a Goya -the Spanish Oscar- to the best script in 2008. The movie was also selected to represent the Spanish cinema in the Oscars in the same year, but did not make the final cut.

The triumph of Franco in Spain brought about a repression toward anyone that were considered communist. Intolerance from the church, which allied itself with the winners, took a hard line in order to defend their new reality in the country. Many opponents to the regime had to go to an exile that took them away from their country because of their ideas.Basically, this is the essence of Alberto Mendez's novel, that dealt in those difficult days the country lived after the war. We are presented a family that have to live in a small town where a father, Ricardo, has to hide from the Gestapo-like police, to save his own life. The wife, Elena, must try to live as normal life as she can, but instead of the quiet life she is looking for, trouble comes her way in an unexpected way.Salvador, the young seminarian, is a man with a troubled heart. He has been sent to the small town where Elena and her family are trying to live. To make matters worse, Salvador, who is the teacher of Lorenzo, Elena's young son, takes an interest in the beautiful mother. He is a hypocrite that cannot control his carnal impulses and tries to force himself upon her, causing the tragedy that will be the ruin of this family.Jose Luis Cuerda, the director, also helped Rafael Azcona to adapt the novel to the screen. Like every film about the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish directors, feel they are breaking new ground about the turmoil the conflict caused the Spanish people that had to live those terrible years. The director's feelings are on the side of the ones defeated that had to live the terrible ordeal.Maribel Verdu deserves better. She is a good actress, but the script, like in most Spanish films makes her the object of desire by the unscrupulous Salvador. Javier Camera does not have anything to do as Ricardo. Raul Arevalo's Salvador makes the most of his role in a film that goes nowhere.