Fiesta (1995)★ 7.0/10

FR · 108 min · August 9, 1995

• Drama

Directed by: Pierre Boutron

Written by: José Luis de Vilallonga, Pierre Boutron

The title "Fiesta" is that chosen by Villalonga for his book, which this film closely follows; but it is a deliberate misnomer: "Fiesta" is about civil war and its horrors. An aristocrat landowner wants his 18 year old son, Rafaël, to do his duty in the Spanish civil war of the late '30's. So he fishes him out of college and - to avoid his son being killed out of inexperience or, worse for an aristocrat, being cowed at the first sight of bloodshed - he sends him to an old comrade-in-arms of his, Coronel Masagual. To toughen Rafaël, the Coronel assigns him to the firing squad which, after a summary judgement from a Military Court, executes Republicans caught arms in hand. Rafaël unflinchingly does his duty, but his sense of honor makes him balk at the other 'dirty war methods' of the Coronel, such as using a young girl as bait to lure her father, the local Republican commander, into a trap. _.