La guerra de papá 1977 | Boys in movies [BiM]

Daddy’s War (1977)

– Daddy’s War 1977
– La guerra de papá (original title)
– 1h 31 min. | Comedy | 19 September 1977 (Spain)

Storyline:

Spain, March 1964: Quico is a very naughty child of three belonging to a wealthy middle-class family. Since Cristina’s birth, he feels he has lost the privileged position of “prince” of the house for his eight months old sister. So, with his brother Juan, who is eight years old and is quite disobedient, spend their time committing prank after prank, causing the resulting anger of his mother, the nanny and the old housemaid. The rest of the family members are two much older brothers, his resigned mother and a retrograde father of authoritarian ideas. But many years have passed, and the civil war that won the despot Don Pablo is simply for their children “Dad’s war”.

User review:

This is a movie to enjoy. The fantastic novel by Delibes gets turned here into a well-developed script with an especially terrific dialog work. A social allegory from the beginning to the end. Through the eyes of a “unthrowned prince”, a 3-year-old boy, the movie portraits the dull pain of a whole society in change: the outdated family model, the new challenges against the old traditions, the nonsense of Franco’s war-obsessed Spain, the fear of future changes and the muted discomfort and tension between all social classes. Even the innocence of a child is finally seen in disbelief, letting the viewer share the pain of an uncertain world. Great script, good acting (GREAT in the case of the incredible child actor Lolo García and the very young Verónica Forqué).
A movie that portraits an era in Spain’s history, a perfect document to any student of our “transition” to democracy.

Director: Antonio Mercero
Writers: Horacio Valcárcel (screenplay), Antonio Mercero (screenplay), Miguel Delibes (novel “El príncipe destronado”)
Stars: Lolo García, Teresa Gimpera, Héctor Alterio
Country of origin: Spain
Language: Spanish
Also known as: Daddy’s War.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076116/