Raza (film)
Encyclopedia
Raza is a 1942
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...

 Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 semi-autobiographical
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...

 war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...

 directed by José Luis Sáenz de Heredia
José Luis Sáenz de Heredia
José Luis Sáenz de Heredia was a Spanish film director. His film Ten Ready Rifles was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival.-Filmography:* Patricio miró a una estrella...

. It is based on a novel by Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...

 under the pseudonym of "Jaime de Andrade."

The film won the Prize of the National Syndicate of Spectacle.

Plot summary

The film tells the story of four siblings, Isabel, Pedro, Jose and Jaime, children of the ship captain Pedro Churruca and descendants of Damian Churruca, an Almogavar
Almogavars
The almogavars were a class of soldiers from the Crown of Aragon, well-known during the Christian Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula. They were much employed as mercenaries in Italy, Latin Greece and the Levant during the 13th and 14th centuries.-History:The Almogavars came mainly from the...

, "the most wise and courageous Marine of his time." Their father, emulating his illustrious ancestor, dies at the beginning of the film in Cuba, which is still a Spanish colony, in a suicide mission against the United States Navy. Before leaving for martyrdom, however, Pedro was doing his best to convey to his children the inherent spirit in the family name, Churruca, which is the spirit of the Almogávares: "elected warriors, the best representatives of the Spanish race: firm fighters, agile and determined in manoeuvers. "

Since his early childhood, Jose has displayed that Almogávar spirit. The same cannot be said for Pedro, in whom we see a constant lust for money and a tendency to lie and cheat. Isabel, for her part, is a model child. Jose goes, like his father, into the military career. Isabel marries a soldier. Pedro, unlike his brother, becomes deputy Republican and requires his share of the family inheritance quickly, to cover the costs his political career. The fourth son, Jaime – still a baby when his father died – joins a religious order as a priest.

Civil war breaks out. Isabel is with her husband in the Nationalist area. Pedro and Jose are in the embattled Republican Madrid. Pedro has risen to an important post, apparently in the Ministry of Defence. Jose is captured as a result of his activities as a fifth columnist and sentenced to death, a sentence that his brother, Pedro, worried about himself, does not intend to revoke. Jose was shot by a platoon of illspoken and unshaven militiamen, but, by some miracle, he survives. Moved, by a woman who loves him, to the clinic of a doctor who is in favour of Franco, his wounds heal and he acquires a new identity that will allow him to move around the area. Unfortunately, his brother, Friar Jaime is captured by the Republicans in Barcelona, a Republican area. He is shot dead, along with the other friars, by a mob of militiamen who attack and destroy the convent. He has the opportunity to save himself by invoking the name of his brother, Pedro (who has been assigned to Barcelona), but true to his surname and his colleagues, refuses any privilege.

Jose gets into the Nationalist area, with the help of a dentist who had a "bad past" in leftism, "which gave him influence in that corrupt society." He comes to the border of the Basque Country, where he meets his brother-in-law, Captain Echevarria, who feels tempted to desert the Nationalists and cross the lines to meet his wife, Isabel Churruca and his two sons, who are trapped in, Republican, Bilbao. Jose avoids this, and soon resolves the situation with a happy ending: national troops defeat the International Brigades who defend the capital, Biscay, and the family meets.

On the northern front, the French army are preparing to attack near Aragon. In Barcelona, Peter, now dressed in a uniform of the republican army, is preparing the defence against imminent attack. Pedro confronts the prejudices of a man who has a bad appearance and worse manners, who argues that someone with the surname Churruca can not adequately serve the cause of the Republic. Pedro does not know it yet, but moments later prove that the militiaman was right: a woman visiting him, asks him to provide her with a copy of the status of forces on the front lines of Aragon to give to the nationalists. Pedro, shocked, says he cannot betray his own. The woman replies that "it is not possible to have the murderers of your family and many honorable families as your own". Touched by the argument, Pedro gives her the plans. However, the operation is discovered, to the pleasure of the head badly handled militiaman, and the plans do not reach the powers of the nationalists. Faced with death, Pedro seems to recover that Almogávar spirit that had not managed to penetrate him before. "Even without plans and without arms, the reds steadied themselves," and Franco's troops win the battle.

The film closes with the surviving Churruca family members attending the parade of victory in Madrid, chaired by Franco.

Cast

  • Alfredo Mayo
    Alfredo Mayo
    Alfredo Mayo was a Spanish actor.- Biography :After leaving his studies of medicine in 1929, Mayo debuts at theatre with the company of Ernesto Vilches...

     ... José Churruca
  • Ana Mariscal
    Ana Mariscal
    Ana Mariscal was a classic Spanish film actress, director, screenwriter and film producer.She was involved in well over 50 films between 1940 and 1968.Her brother Luis Arroyo was also an actor and film director....

     ... Marisol Mendoza
  • José Nieto
    José Nieto
    José Nieto , is a Spanish musician and composer, best known for his film work.- Life :Born in Madrid, Spain, in 1943, in 1958 he joined the band "Los Pekenikes", playing the drums. He began his career as a professional musician in 1962 in orchestras and jazz dance groups...

     ... Pedro Churruca
  • Blanca de Silos ... Isabel Churruca
  • Rosina Mendía ... Isabel Acuña de Churruca
  • Pilar Soler ... French spy
  • Julio Rey de las Heras ... Pedro Churruca's father
  • Luis Arroyo ... Jaime Churruca
  • Raúl Cancio ... Luis Echevarría
  • Manuel Arbó ... Señor Echevarría
  • Juan Calvo ... El Campesino
  • Vicente Soler ... Dr. Vera
  • Fernando Fresno ... Padre Palomeque
  • Antonio Armet ... Gen. Vicente Rojo
  • Pablo Álvarez Rubio ... French commander
  • Fulgencio Nogueras ... Adm. Cervera
  • Domingo Rivas ... Engineer Colonel
  • Manuel Soto ... Almirante de la base
  • Pablo Hidalgo ... Don Luis
  • Ignacio Mateo ... Col. Pardo
  • Antonio Zaballos ... Sacerdote
  • Santiago Rivero ... Engineer Captain
  • Luis Latorre ... Dr. Gómez Ulloa
  • Horacio Socías ... Padre prior
  • Erasmo Pascual ... Militiaman #1
  • Joaquín Regúlez ... Volunteer
  • Raza Zarnad ... Volunteer
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