MIRITO TORREIRO @ 'EL PAÍS' | 15-09-06

(…) The script and the quality of the production inevitably lead the viewer to a thoroughly impressive ending, distressing not only because we know how the story ends but also because right down to the last detail the conclusion oozes realism and credibility, to the extent that the film makes for compulsory viewing.

(…) The film becomes something majestically unbearable just as the life of the young man who wished to live without fear.




A. FANCELLI @ 'EL PAÍS' | 15-09-06

Rush to see the film. And don't worry about crying: it's a great way of sympathising. It's the best antidote against those who wish to revise history and try to tell us that Franco was a benign dictator.




E. RODRÍGUEZ MARCHANTE @ 'ABC' | 15-09-06

(…) A story with personality and strength with a sense of the tragic about a character living on the edge of society, a loser, an anarchist condemned to death in the last throes of the Franco regime and the last person to be garroted.

(…) The director's perspective is sympathetic and the result is that the figure of Salvador Puig Antich is appropriately portrayed, at least in this part of his life.

(…) Without getting into the debate about "historical memory", what is true is that 'Salvador' touches a nerve.




ANTON MERIKAETXEBARRIA @ 'EL CORREO' | 15-09-06

'Salvador' is an undeniable chronicle of our times, made with passion, calling a spade a spade, lifted by an unequivocal popular angst, despite the appearance of some characters that don't quite fit, such as Puig Antich's girlfriend.

(…) Later generations shouldn't dismiss such creative efforts as that of Manuel Huerga, backed up throughout by an actor of the calibre of Daniel Brühl, capable of portraying a multitude of different emotions, a magnetic performance. A film, in short, in which once again simplicity is the gift of courageous directors.




JESÚS MANUEL RUBIO @ 'LAS HORAS PERDIDAS' | 16-09-06

(…) An accurate and extremely rich account of what happened which makes the most of the resources, well above the typical Spanish film, but not massively so. Those who work in cinema know how difficult it is to recreate the recent past such as 1970's Spain when a living memory of that time still exists unlike imperial Spain which nobody has lived through. In 'Salvador' you can also see battles, literally with hundreds of people, fire, weapons, a lot of smoke and horses: yep, literally right in front of your eyes. And police chases, violence, powerfully real scenes which make you proud of the direction, production and photography. When you're talking about a real film, it's great to get to talk about the technical side.

(…) The pace of the film is incredible, rarely seen in Spanish cinema, the result is that the shoot-out scenes, the police charges, the money spent on every bullet that misses its target, every broken pane of glass and the use of high definition video for some shots is all tremendously real. The production design is simply perfect and in some passages of the film, especially those which involve the armed gang it has airs of the recent film 'Munich' in its use of light and background contrasts and its 1970's feel with touches of France and all of this backed up by a brilliant soundtrack which reaches its pinnacle with 'Suzanne' by Leonard Cohen.




LLUÍS BONET MOJICA @ 'LA VANGUARDIA' | 17-09-06

(…) 'Salvador' excites and moves the spectator, in part as a consequence of the excellent performance of Daniel Brühl, who brings an air of credibility to the role of the young man who starts out as a rather aimless revolutionary. His relationship in the Modelo prison with a guard (Leonardo Sbaraglia, who substituted Sergi López in the role) is another strong point of the film and which helps us to rebuild our collective memory but not with rambling speeches.




BEGOÑA DEL TESO @ 'DIARIO VASCO' | 17-09-06

(…) Everybody cried. They all cried back in May in Cannes where 'Salvador' was shown in the socially committed "Un certain regard" section, and everybody cried that dark Friday evening in the Príncipe cinema for the premiere of Huerga's film and that of many others, including Puig Antich's sisters. Everybody cried because it is a superb, powerful film that narrates the most intense moments of the life and death of a young man who fought against Franco and his henchmen in the same rather clumsy way that many fought the regime whilst as we all know the rest looked the other way.

Everybody cried in Donostia and in Cannes, in the Claude Debussy theatre, there was a long lump in the throat ovation in the presence of Puig Antich's sisters who were also in Donostia for the Film and Human Rights Symposium, because among many other things 'Salvador' ends with the final credits rolling with a chilling song from Llach, in which he relates that if his song is sad it's because his eyes and those of many others are full of a fear that nobody can eliminate.

'Salvador' possesses a tremendous visual power, a power which is characteristic of someone like Huerga who directed the tremendously intense 'Antártida'. A visual power that grows throughout the film and culminates with the death of the main character to the sound of 'Suzanne' by Leonard Cohen; the young man who crosses borders and robs banks whilst you're listening to 'Knocking On Heaven's Doors' by Dylan who in his day was also a rebel. Obviously 'Salvador' has a slightly saintly air. It's a vital part of the film. The spectator is witness to the creation of a man, a hero, a legend and we forget that at that time very few fought to save his life. 'Salvador' is a tremendously rich film. Scenes such as the younger sister playing whilst, whilst, whilst…... are price-less. It's pure gold. And obviously 'Salvador' contains typically filmy things. But the best things and obviously the police are right nasty pieces of work. No fudging there, obviously.




PELAYO LÓPEZ @ 'SIGLO XXI' | 18-09-06

(…) A long cast-list with great performances all round which make the film seem like one of those classics from yester-year: Aida Folch, Antonio Dechent, Beatriz Segura, Carlos Fuentes, Celso Bugallo, Ingrid Rubio, Joaquín Climent, Joel Joan, Leonor Watling, Mercedes Sampietro… Although the sound-track includes songs from people like Leonard Cohen, the actors move to the pace of another famous Catalan, Lluís Llach, who has provided the music to fit the moment in time, not something he's used to doing and culminating in the final track dedicated to the memory of the central character.

(…) The use of high definition allowed the director to employ different textures and shades of colour depending on the scenes inside the prison or outside in the street, those shot in Spain and those in France. The production is very now and dynamic but never loses the essence of the time, highlights include the opening credits in black and white with the red of the split blood, all blended with images of characters whose significance is revealed in the course of the film.

(…) The film, which enjoyed the backing of the family, is a clear example of committed film-making, a collective lesson for society in general, a lesson in historical memory + cinema.




Download the PDF article about the film 'Salvador (Puig Antich) published on the 03-09-06 in 'El País Semanal'.