Marc Martinez Movies

Noted Spanish director Ventura Pons closes his "minimalist trilogy" with this morbid meditation on the frailty of life, told in seven vignettes depicting the final moments of seven very different people. A filmmaker (Lluis Homar) overcomes his writer's block just as he has a heart attack, a junkie (Marc Martinez) is confronted by his concerned sister (Anna Azcona) and later overdoses, a young girl (Carlota Bantula) chokes to death on a chicken bone in front of her horrified mother, a hospital patient (Mingo Rafols) can't reach the panic button during a fatal coughing fit, a youth on a motorbike is knocked over by a pair of cops, and finally, a deeply religious middle-aged businessman (Francesc Orella) is executed by a hitman. This film was screened at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

A reflective look at an idealistic young man's involvement in the Spanish Civil War, Land and Freedom combines wartime drama with impassioned political debate. Director Ken Loach, better known for his intimate portraits of working-class British life, begins on familiar turf in the present day, with a teenage girl sorting through the belongings of her recently deceased grandfather. She soon discovers her grandfather's involvement in the Spanish Civil War, and the film then flashes back to the 1930s to tell the story of young Dave Carr, intensely portrayed by Ian Hart. A dedicated young communist, Carr joins an international group of freedom fighters in order to wage the good war against fascism. The experience proves far less heroic than expected, however, as the fighters struggle with poor supplies, a lack of training, and internal discord. The traditional battles and romances of war drama follow, as Carr becomes involved in a tumultuous affair with a fellow fighter, but Loach and screenwriter Jim Allen give equal weight to more philosophical discussions about the nature and fate of socialism. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide