«Operación Ogro» (1979)

Anatomy of a Perfect Political Murder

 

1973, an ailing Caudillo Francisco Franco still has a firm grip on Spain. He wants to ensure the durability of Francoism and makes the first step – appoints Admiral-General Luis Carrero Blanco as the Spanish Prime Minister. Caudillo plans to make Admiral as his successor and the latter is accepted by the US and by the Francoist functionaries. So, it is quite possible that Spain would remain a dictatorship for many years. Still, on the 20^th of December 1973 Admiral was assassinated by a streetside bombing and the dictatorship was not able to recover from it…

Francisco Franco was a ruthless general, who didn’t hesitate to order bombing Spanish cities into submission. He was wise enough not to engage his country directly into the Second World War and he was able to cash on this, so after the war Caudillo won the support of the United States. Additionally, Franco wasn’t as war hungry as Portuguese dictator Somoza and the former was able to steer Spain into relative economic prosperity.

On the surface, Spain of 1973 was a successful European country and even the regime began to mellow a little bit. Madrid was full of happy shoppers and tourists, and the United States were giving much needed political, military and economic assistance. Nevertheless, it was only the beautiful cover for a brutal regime which still tortured and oppressed people and tried to erase certain ethnic groups (such as Basque and Catalan).

Political terrorism will always be a controversial issue. 1970s were the golden age of political terrorism in Europe. Spain was different from Italy and Germany in that it was a real oppressive dictatorship. Is it ethical to kill an oppressor extrajudicially? The answer is yes only in the case when there are no other means to punish him (if you want another historic example – check the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942).

The Director takes a nuanced approach to this controversial issue. He agrees that it was necessary to assassinate Luis Carrero Blanco, but he makes a very important point that the violence should be renounced after Spain returned to democracy. He draws a parallel between two heroes – Izara, who renounced terrorism in favor of political struggle, and radical Iker, who remained a terrorist. I think that the Director’s sympathies are with the former.

The film also raises an important issue – are those terrorists pawns in somebody’s political game? The Director doesn’t give a definitive answer and it’s up to the viewer’s decision. Additionally I recommend you to watch «Buongiorno, notte» about the kidnapping of Aldo Moro. The latter film clearly shows how certain terrorists are used for a political gain and discarded as a used ammo.

What about the attack itself? The Director depicts it as a meticulous job by professionals, who leave nothing for a chance. In addition, the film captures the paranoidal atmosphere of Madrid, where everyone can be a snitch and success is not guaranteed at all. So, don’t expect James Bond styled villains, those people are quiet and unpretentious, who want to teach a harsh lesson to the oppressive state.

Finally, «Operación Ogro» is a very good film which tackles the controversial issue with necessary subtlety. If you like political or historical films, don’t miss this one.

«The Spirit of the Beehive» (1973)

The haunted world of dictatorship

 

The Civil War in Spain has ended and some distant Spanish village tries to maintain an ordinary life. One day there is a special event – the screening of «Frankenstein». A little girl Ana is under enormous impression and, after some persuasion on the part of her older sister Isabel, starts to think that this monster is real. Is it?

In «Frankenstein» the Monster had a grotesque look, but he turns out to be an innocent creature. Still, his looks frighten people, and they suspect him of wrongdoings, and they want to destroy him. This narrative was exploited by the Francoist state or any other dictatorship to persecute everyone, who was not fit into their definition of normalcy (Republicans, Communists etc.). People also don’t want to do anything with the enemies of the state, and they will never accept them.

The human and collective psyche always tries to substitute horrible external with some tolerable inner world. Some adults go into «internal emigration», such as writing letters to imaginary lover (Anna’s mother) or spending all time with bees (Anna’s father). Nevertheless, they are still surrounded by the Francoist Spain, which resembles a wasteland after a very brutal war.

What about children? They cannot apply sophisticated psychological mechanisms and they grow up in contaminated atmosphere. Ana doesn’t understand this new world and she, like a girl in «Frankenstein», sympathizes with so-called monsters, but she cannot do it vocally. So, basically, she got two options – accept the ideology or grow estranged from her conformist family. What would she choose?

The film was released during the last years of Francoist Spain, so the author had to be very careful with critiquing the regime. The viewer won’t hear any vocal diatribes against the regime, but he will absorb it visually. The Director shows a wasteland, which doesn’t connect with the beautiful tourist image of Spain. Additionally, he employs metaphorical language, including the abovementioned Frankenstein and bees’ hive.

This subtleness creates a very haunting image of a sick society and it is more understandable to the viewers, then some words about brutality and lawlessness of a particular dictatorship (especially for those viewers, who never experienced it). Watch this old film, because it still makes a very disturbing impression.