Jaime Chávarri

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A cinéma-du-réel documentary by spanish film-maker Jaime Chávarri about the family of the controversial poet from the generation of ’36 Leopoldo Panero.

In 1976, Jaime Chávarri begins the shooting of what was supposed to be an illustrated report about the father of the Panero family: Leopoldo Panero. The material turns into the film El Desencanto (The Disenchantment) which will end up being a symbol of the family and of the age and will be considered a cult film by a whole generation. In the first half of El Desencanto, the mother, paradoxically called Felicidad (Happiness), and two of her sons, describe the poet with their memories. Though he does not appear in the film himself, (no pictures, no video excerpts), he is the ghost that haunts this family.Read More »

In Madrid, the family of Don Luis, his wife Dolores and their children, Manolita and Luisito, share the daily life of the Civil War with their maid and neighbours. Despite having failed his exams, Luisito wants his father to buy him a bicycle. However, the situation forces them to delay the purchase and the delay, like the war itself, is to last much longer than expected.

The movie, and the book it was drawn from, show how daily life was conducted during the war. Unexpected things happen, but people find ways to survive. Above all, it is a story of survival and adaptation.Read More »