El 47 Review
The perfect amount of heartwarming drama, laugh out loud comedy, and true story realism to kick off the Spanish Film Festival in Australia!
Manolo Vital (Eduard Fernandez) helped found the small town of Torre Baró on the outskirts of Barcelona, when he had to leave his hometown due to persecution. But years later, this aged, faded revolutionary is content driving his bus route in the main city of Barcelona - even as his community argues amongst itself on how to move forward with power, sewage, water and other infrastructure issues. When tragedy strikes the suburb, Manolo decides to take drastic action to try and secure a symbolic win for his home, amidst the 1970’s boom of Barcelona.
El 47 is beautifully shot. With a little bit of extra grain, a wonderful cinematic flare, and not too polished a finish, the film immerses you into the outskirts of Barcelona in a way that will have you pining for the simple life. It also does wonders interspersing real, existing footage of Barcelona and the busses of the period with the elements shot for the film; an intriguing blend of real archival footage, and modern footage made to look archival, occurs at various points and it is a technique I had never seen used before to that effect.
Eduard Fernández, as the main protagonist, is an absolute, hands-down standout. He’s someone you can absolutely root for, bringing a warmth and humour to his faded revolutionary character but also an inner steel that shines through.
The story is one that, perhaps on the outside, tackles a small subject; one of bringing a bus route to a town outside of the main city of Barcelona. But it is so much more than that. Director Marcel Barrena gives this movie so much gravitas and heart in its telling, really blending in the challenges with the bureaucracy, the need for revolution that led to the founding of this city, the real life historical impacts of the government shifts, and more. The film never bogs itself down too much in preachy speeches, or in dramatic retelling of major historical incidents, instead referring to them often tangentially.
Instead, this movie hyper focuses on this little town, and shows how a community can build itself up from nothing in the face of immeasurable adversity, but also needs to keep fighting all the time to maintain its survival, and its purpose.
At the end of the day, this is a movie that will have you cheering like its the final at the World Cup when Manolo gets a bus up a hill, but it’s a film that has certainly earnt that emotional pay-off, and done so in a way that feels unique, and warm.
