''Raza'' (''English: Race'') is a 1942 Spanish

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by José Luis Sáenz de Heredia, and used as propaganda by the dictatorship of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

in favour of the regime and against the supporters of the deposed

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

. It is based on a semi-

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

novel by Spanish ''

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...

under the pseudonym of "Jaime de Andrade." The film won the Prize of the National Syndicate of Spectacle.

Plot

The film tells the story of four siblings, Isabel, Pedro, Jose and Jaime, children of the ship captain Pedro Churruca and descendants of Cosme Damián Churruca, "the most wise and courageous sailor of his time." Their father, emulating his illustrious ancestor, dies at the beginning of the film in Cuba, which is still a Spanish colony, in a suicide mission against the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Before leaving for martyrdom, however, Pedro was doing his best to convey to his children the inherent spirit in the family name, Churruca, which is the spirit of the Almogávares: "elected warriors, the best representatives of the Spanish race: firm fighters, agile and determined in manoeuvres." Since his early childhood, Jose has displayed that Almogávar spirit. The same cannot be said for Pedro, in whom we see a constant lust for money and a tendency to lie and cheat. Isabel, for her part, is a model child. Jose goes, like his father, into a military career. Isabel marries a soldier. Pedro, unlike his brother, becomes a deputy Republican and requires his share of the family inheritance quickly, to cover the costs of his political career. The fourth child, Jaime – still a baby when his father died – joins a religious order as a priest. Civil war breaks out. Isabel is with her husband in the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

area. Pedro and Jose are in the embattled Republican

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. Pedro has risen to an important post, apparently in the Ministry of Defence. Jose is captured as a result of his activities as a fifth columnist and sentenced to death, a sentence that his brother, Pedro, worried about himself, does not intend to revoke. Jose was shot by a platoon of ill-spoken and unshaven militiamen, but, by some miracle, he survives. Moved, by a woman who loves him, to the clinic of a doctor who is in favour of Franco, his wounds heal and he acquires a new identity that will allow him to move around the area. Unfortunately, his brother, Friar Jaime, is captured by

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

militiamen in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, a Republican area. He is shot dead, along with the other friars, by a mob of militiamen who attack and destroy the monastery. He has the opportunity to save himself by invoking the name of his brother, Pedro (who has been assigned to Barcelona), but true to his surname and his brothers in religion, refuses any privilege. Jose gets into the Nationalist area, with the help of a dentist who had a "bad past" in leftism, "which gave him influence in that corrupt society." He comes to the Basque front, where he meets his brother-in-law, Captain Echevarría, who feels tempted to desert the Nationalists and cross the lines to meet his wife, Isabel Churruca and his two sons, who are trapped in Republican

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

. José avoids this, and soon resolves the situation with a happy ending: Nationalist troops defeat the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

who defend the capital of Biscay, and the family meets. On the northern front, Franco's army are preparing to attack near

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

. In Barcelona, Pedro, now dressed in a uniform of the Republican army, is preparing the defence against imminent attack. Pedro confronts the prejudices of a man who has a bad appearance and worse manners, who argues that someone with the surname Churruca can not adequately serve the cause of the Republic. Pedro does not know it yet, but moments later prove that the militiaman was right: a woman visiting him, asks him to provide her with a copy of the status of forces on the front lines of Aragon to give to the nationalists. Pedro, shocked, says he cannot betray his own. The woman replies that "it is not possible to have the murderers of your family and many honorable families as your own". Touched by the argument, Pedro gives her the plans. However, the operation is discovered, to the pleasure of the head badly handled militiaman, and the plans do not reach the powers of the nationalists. Faced with death, Pedro seems to recover that Almogávar spirit that had not managed to penetrate him before. "Even without plans and without arms, the reds steadied themselves," and Franco's troops win the battle. The film closes with the surviving Churruca family members attending the parade of victory in Madrid, chaired by Franco.

Cast

* Alfredo Mayo as José Churruca * Ana Mariscal as Marisol Mendoza * José Nieto as Pedro Churruca * Blanca de Silos as Isabel Churruca * Rosina Mendía as Isabel Acuña de Churruca * Pilar Soler as French spy * Julio Rey de las Heras as Pedro Churruca's father * Luis Arroyo as Jaime Churruca * Raúl Cancio as Luis Echevarría * Manuel Arbó as Señor Echevarría * Juan Calvo as El Campesino * Vicente Soler as Dr. Vera * Fernando Fresno as Padre Palomeque * Antonio Armet as Gen. Vicente Rojo * Pablo Álvarez Rubio as French commander * Fulgencio Nogueras as Adm. Cervera * Domingo Rivas as Engineer Colonel * Manuel Soto as Almirante de la base * Pablo Hidalgo as Don Luis * Ignacio Mateo as Col. Pardo * Antonio Zaballos as Sacerdote * Santiago Rivero as Engineer Captain * Luis Latorre as Dr. Gómez Ulloa * Horacio Socías as Padre prior * Erasmo Pascual as Militiaman #1 * Joaquín Regúlez as Volunteer * Raza Zarnad as Volunteer

Notes

External links

Raza (1941)
The film, online at

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española (''Spanish Radio and Television'', RTVE), is the Spanish national public Broadcasting, television and radio broadcaster. It is a state-owned enterprise f ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raza (Film) 1942 films 1942 drama films 1940s Spanish-language films 1940s war drama films 1940s biographical drama films Films about Francisco Franco Films directed by José Luis Sáenz de Heredia Falangist works Spanish biographical drama films Spanish black-and-white films Spanish Civil War films Spanish war drama films

Plot

Cast

Further reading

Notes

External links