esrosedotblog

INTERNATIONALE

Today's NY Times Best 1176 Film was the documentary

The Good Fight: The Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War (1984)

This fills in a blind spot in recent American history.

The 3200 men and women who went to fight the fascists in Spain in the 1930's were ignored and, because they were activists, in some cases, punished for the bravery.

The United States and their allies refused to intervene in the Spanish Civil War and therefore lost the first opportunity to turn fascism back. The Republicans (the good guys) were unable to resist once they ran out of supplies and armaments.

This is one of those films that has lots of original footage as well as the people themselves talking about their experience. Studs Terkel is the narrator.

It is very good. There were actually 45,000 "foreigners" who volunteered in the war. They were all pulled back towards the end in the hope that the Germans and Italians would also retreat and let the fight be just between Spanish. That did not happen.

All of this occurred just before I was born.

Everyone who tells their story in this film are dead now.

Their story remains.

If you are a lefty, this film is a MUST. If you are an alien, then it will be interesting and informative about how people of a conservative bent and those who choose to do nothing can stand in the way of history or, I suppose actually make a terrible history by not acting on their avowed principles.

You will see and hear Ernest Hemingway in this, incidentally. A small bonus.

I would not mind seeing it again. I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: best films