Review of Ay Carmela

Not very satisfying film by Carlos Saura about an entertainer couple in the Spanish Civil War. Early on in the film they are busy cheering up a mixed bunch of Republican soldiers - some proper soldiers mixed in with anarchist militia, both men and women. It's 1938, so that may be a historical inaccuracy - weren't the women relegated to behind-the-lines roles by then? 

The entertainers get lost on the road to Valencia and find themselves trapped behind enemy lines, and they transform their act into a pro-fascist one, even though the woman half of the couple is not so happy about it. But there's something lacking in the depiction - they are neither agonized (though she is a bit, sometimes) not cynical. Maybe that's realistic, but it doesn't feel right in the film. 

Some great details in the filming...flags, and posters, and trashed towns and villages, but a bit of a disappointment.

Watched via PC, HDMI cable and informal distribution.