The Silence of Others
A film by Almudena Carracedo & Robert Bahar
SPAIN / U.S.A, 2018, 96 min, DCP, in Spanish with English Subtitles
Filmed over six years, The Silence of Others reveals the epic struggle of victims of Spain’s 40-year dictatorship under General Franco, as they organize a groundbreaking international lawsuit and fight a “pact of forgetting” around the crimes they suffered. A powerful and poetic cautionary tale about fascism, and the dangers of forgetting the past.
The Silence of Others offers a cinematic portrait of the first attempt in history to prosecute crimes of Franco’s 40-year dictatorship in Spain (1939-1975), whose perpetrators have enjoyed impunity for decades due to a 1977 amnesty law. It brings to light a painful past that Spain is reluctant to face, even today, decades after the dictator’s death.
Filmed with intimate access over six years, the story unfolds on two continents: in Spain, where survivors and human rights lawyers are building a case that Spanish courts refuse to admit, and in Argentina, where a judge has taken it on using the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows foreign courts to investigate crimes against humanity if the country where they occurred refuses to do so.
Press
Jasmyne Keimig, The StrangerA moving reminder of the harm that comes from denying the truth of crimes done by those in power
The ghost of Gen. Franco haunts ‘The Silence of Others’ Michael Rechtschaffen, San Diego TribuneSpeaks relevant volumes on the subject of accountability
Matthew Lickona, San Diego ReaderNo end, worthy or otherwise, justifies these brutal means against one’s own
Refuses to let Spain’s fascist past be erased Glenn Heath, San Diego City BeatAnother monument to a past that refuses to be erased.
The Ghost of Gen. Franco haunts The Silence of Others Michael Rechtshaffen, The Los Angeles TimesSpeaks relevant volumes on the subject of accountability
John Seal, Berkeley SideThe Silence of Others makes it shockingly clear how little things have changed in Spain since 1975
A stirring doc about Franco-era survivors Anita Katz, San Francisco ExaminerA stirring mosaic of citizen efforts to bring truth to light
Gives voice to the past Juan Fueyo-Gomez, The Stanford DailyA necessary puncturing of the silence surrounding the issue.
Lincoln Spector, Bay FlicksEpic, yet intimate
Jonathan Richards, PASATIEMPOStunning
Faith and change in Amazing Grace and The Silence of Others. Stuart Klawans, The NationIt has made a difference in the world.
The Spanish Civil War is still among us, says this moving documentary Kelly Vance, East Bay ExpressOne of the bitterest cinematic history lessons you'll ever see
Broke-Ass StuartAn object lesson for Americans against letting authoritarians act without consequences for their actions
Long Walk to Freedom Michael Sandlin, Film Intone of the most socio-historically significant European documentaries of recent years
Bev Questad, It's Just MoviesOutstanding
James Van Maanen, Trust MoviesNecessary documentary about Spain's ongoing fascist history
Nicolas Barber, BBC OnlinePowerful
State-stifled trauma from the Franco dictatorship comes to the fore Guy Lodge, VarietyGripping, densely packed
IDA Documentary MagazineExceptionally moving… In a style evocative of the best of Patricio Guzmán… this film is a milestone in recovery of a past that is not over—and, to invoke Faulkner, not even past
Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood ReporterA stirring documentary… a very necessary story, delivered with rigor and conviction
Alfonso Rivera, CineuropaThis courageous, moving, lithe, necessary and eye-opening documentary dares to demand the truth
Spanish citizens attempt to seek justice for atrocities carried out by General Franco’s regime Screen DailyUnfolding with all the force of a classic political thriller by Costa-Gavras or Francesco Rosi