Engossing but not for children

Rating: 10/10 (30 September 2009)

This film is often called a fantasy. Fantasy is correct only in that a part of the film takes place in the imagination (or, delusion) of a girl who is escaping from the horrendous reality of a brutal civil war in which fascists were the victors whose dictator (Franco) ruled Spain long after the end of the German and Italian fascist regimes. It is definitely NOT A FILM FOR CHILDREN. Aside from the fantasy portion being mostly as dark, ugly and dangerous as a horror movie, the lengthier reality portion presented chilling shots of torture and an unfeeling sadistic commanding officer.
Nevertheless, for adults, it is an engrossing, if disturbing film. Although in the film the leftist Republicans have a local victory, defeating the Fascist military unit sent to hunt them down, in real life the war ended with the victory of the right-wing rebel forces (with military support from Nazi Germany), the overthrow of the Republican government, and the founding of a dictatorship led by General Francisco Franco. After the civil war ended in April 1939, all right-wing parties were merged into the single Fascist party of the Franco regime.
I read where there were parallels between the fantasy and the reality portions of the movie. Perhaps the moral is that despite the real death of the heroine (the Republican regime), it was not completely forgotten and eventually its sprouts and blossoms grew again.