While at War

While at War (Spanish: Mientras dure la guerra) is a 2019 Spanish historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar.[2][3] It premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.[1]

While at War
Film poster
SpanishMientras dure la guerra
Directed by
Produced by
  • Fernando Bovaira
  • Domingo Corral
  • Hugo Sigman
  • Alejandro Amenábar
Written by
  • Alejandro Amenábar
  • Alejandro Hernández
Starring
Music byAlejandro Amenábar
CinematographyAlex Catalán
Edited byCarolina Martínez Urbina
Production
company
Movistar+
MOD Producciones
Himenóptero
K&S Films
Mientras Dure La Guerra A.I.E.
Release date
  • 6 September 2019 (2019-09-06) (Toronto)
  • 27 September 2019 (2019-09-27) (Spain)
[1]
Running time
107 minutes
CountrySpain
Argentina
LanguageSpanish

Plot
Some scenes were shot at the Plaza Mayor.
The buildings of the University also appear in the film.

Revered author Miguel de Unamuno (Karra Elejalde) decides to publicly support the Spanish coup of July 1936. He is immediately removed from his position as rector at the University of Salamanca by the Government of the Second Spanish Republic. Meanwhile, Nationalists succeed in taking control of Salamanca, and General Francisco Franco moves his headquarters to the city. Some of Unamuno's colleagues are imprisoned on charges of affiliation. Unamuno, who believes he can have the influence to liberate the innocent, heads to Franco's Palace, determined to beg him for clemency.[1][4]

Cast

Release

The film had its world premiere on September 6, 2019 at the Toronto International Film Festival.[1] The film was also included in the Official Section of the 2019 San Sebastián International Film Festival.[4]

The film was released in cinemas in Spain on September 27, 2019 and was welcomed with a positive reception for Karra Elejalde's performance as Unamuno and for the general impartiality, though the many historical inaccuracies didn't go unnoticed.[2]

Millán-Astray controversy

The Plataforma Patriótica Millán-Astray, an organization of veterans of the Spanish Legion, accused the script writers of plagiarism of the 1941 work Unamuno's Last Lecture by Luis Portillo, a text the organization claims is defamatory towards José Millán-Astray, founder of the Spanish Legion. The accusation was based on the content of the official trailers.[5] The organization demanded the public funds received for the making of the film be returned.[6]

Reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 62% based on 21 reviews, with a weighted average rating of 7.11/10.[7] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 55 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8]

References
  1. "While at War". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  2. Silvestre, Juan (13 June 2019). "'Mientras dure la guerra': Tráiler y fecha de estreno de la nueva película de Alejandro Amenábar". Fotogramas (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  3. "Así es 'Mientras dure la guerra'". El País (in Spanish). 14 June 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  4. "'La hija de un ladrón (A Thief's Daughter)', 'La trinchera infinita (The Endless Trench)' and 'Mientras dure la guerra (While at War)' to compete for the Golden Shell at the 67th edition of the San Sebastian Festival". San Sebastián International Film Festival. July 19, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  5. Rábade, Ricardo (28 July 2019). "Los veteranos legionarios solicitan que Amenábar devuelva la subvención por su película". El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). Salamanca: Vocento. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  6. Rábade, Ricardo (24 August 2019). "Los veteranos legionarios denuncian a Amenábar por plagio". El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). Vocento. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  7. "While At War (Mientras Dure La Guerra)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  8. "While at War". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
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