A brief history lesson: The Spanish Civil War, in which the Nationalists (led by General Francisco Franco) fought the Republicans for control of the country, lasted from July 1936 - April 1939. In April 1937, a legion of the Nazi Luftwaffe (supporting Franco) bombed the Basque town of Gernika. While the Nationalists and Nazi governments' official reports of the time stated that only around 300 people were killed, the efforts of international reporters told the true story, that more than 1500 civilians died after nearly four hours of constant bombing.
(Reading L-R: Álex Garcia, James D'Arcy, Bárbara Goenaga, Koldo Serra, María Valverde, and Jack Davenport.) D'Arcy plays Henry, an American journalist reporting on the war from Bilbao, who becomes involved with a government official from the censorship office (Valverde). Henry is loosely based on real-life British journalist George Steer, who was a correspondant for The Times and one of the first journalists to break the true story to the world.
This is Palacio Munoa, which has been transformed into the setting of the Government Office of Press and Propaganda. Apparently, there was a family living here until just a few months ago.
One of the reasons that the Spanish Civil War has been, for lack of a better word, 'romanticized' in international history is the involvement of many non-Spaniards on the side of the Republicans. Films such as Alain Resnais' The War is Over and Ken Loach's Land and Freedom are two interesting portrayals of the war from an outside perspective.
Fans of films about journalism and reporting from war fronts will love the set design and decoration. I was able to wander around this set, and I felt as though I was stepping back in time. It's accurate without being too precise (the way BBC dramas are often trying too hard for a 'look'), and I was tempted to sit down at one of the desks, light up a cigarette and start typing.
Censorship during the dictatorship meant that any films about the war showed the Nationalists as the heroes, while demonizing the Republicans. The Fascist government would continually deny the true story of the bombing, to the extent of even claiming that the residents had set their own town on fire. The return of democracy in the late 1970s opened the floodgates for films that showed the devastation of the war and aftermath, and told stories of the war and Fascist era from the Republican perspective.
Serra interviewed several people who were alive at the time of the bombing, one of whom recalled how low the planes flew (low enough that one woman claims she could look into the pilots' eyes). The devastation and aftermath had long-lasting effects, especially as during the dictatorship (1939-1975), Basque language and culture was almost erased.
Serra's first film The Backwoods (2006), starring Gary Oldman and Paddy Considine, is also set in the Basque country (in the late 1970s), but is about a more personal 'war' between British outsiders and locals. In the film, Serra found a perfect balance between an homage to the American rural thriller of the 1970s, with a contemporary update in both perspective on masculine violence, and the particular geographic and period setting.
While Gernika was not the first case of the large-scale murder of civilians during wartime, it remains one of the most infamous. The coverage of civilian deaths in conflict today can be traced back to reporting by Steer and other journalists of this time. This photo is courtesy of Aritz Atela, whose blog has more behind-the-scenes photos of the film.
Even given its historical significance, this is the first feature-length film about the bombing of Gernika. Its budget of €6 million is far higher than most Spanish films, but the importance of finally bringing this story to the big screen and the commitment of the crew and cast means that this money is very well spent.
Gernika wraps shooting at the end of the month. Hopefully, to be at a festival -- and theatres -- near you next year.