Land and Freedom (1995)

April 7, 1995 (GB) • War, Drama, History • 109m

Overview

David Carr is a British Communist who is unemployed. In 1936, when the Spanish Civil War begins, he decides to fight for the Republican side, a coalition of liberals, communists and anarchists, so he joins the POUM militia and witnesses firsthand the betrayal of the Spanish revolution by Stalin's followers and Moscow's orders.

Director

Ken Loach

Writer

Jim Allen

Top Billed

Ian Hart

Keywords

worker spain solidarity revolution fascism spanish civil war (1936-39) anarchist franco regime (francoism) betrayal working class

Where to watch

Check streaming options on TMDB

Top Billed Cast

Ian Hart

David Carr

Rosana Pastor

Blanca

Frédéric Pierrot

Bernard

Icíar Bollaín

Maite

Tom Gilroy

Lawrence

Angela Clarke

Kitty

Eoin McCarthy

Connor

Suzanne Maddock

Kim

Jordi Dauder

Salas

Pep Molina

Pepe

Mandy Walsh

Dot

Miguel Cabrillana

Speaker

Francesc Orella

Casado

Daniel Muñoz

Man in the Cafe

Marc Martínez

Juan Vidal

Andrés Aladren

Militia member

Sergi Calleja

Militia member

Raffaele Cantatore

Militia member

Pascal Demolon

Militia member

Paul Laverty

Militia member

Josep Magem

Militia member

Eoin McCarthy

Connor Coogan

Jürgen Müller

Militia member

Víctor Roca

Militia member

Emil Samper

Militia member

Rafael Díaz

Barracks officer

Felicio Pellicer

Nationalist officer

Ricard Arilla

Priest

Enriqueta Ferré

Concierge

Asunción Royo

Old woman

Phil O'Brien

Ambulance man

Dave Seddon

Ambulance man

Xavier Amatller

Man on the train

Jaime Prats

Man on the train

Jose Luis Prats

Man on the train

Carles Vilarrasa

Man on the train

Fina Alcañiz

Townsperson

Claudio Domínguez

Townsperson

Ernesto Grau

Townsperson

Maria Folch

Townsperson

Maite Lucas

Townsperson

Sebastia Marmaña

Townsperson

Lola Olives

Townsperson

Ma Eugenia Palatsi

Townsperson

Pepa Palatsi

Townsperson

Miguel Quintana

Townsperson

Aniceto Rallo

Townsperson

Paco Rangel

Townsperson

Jose Antonio Ripolles

Townsperson

Consol Segura

Townsperson

Manolo Vicent

Townsperson

David Allen

Man on the roof

Manel Anoro

Man on the roof

Lali Cambra

Woman on the roof

Cristóbal Estudillo

Man on the roof

Adoni González

Man on the roof

José Luis González

Man on the roof

Marius Lou

Man on the roof

Pep Navarro

Woman on the roof

Antonio Pellicer

Man on the roof

Pepe Valenzuela

Man on the roof

Joan Pau Romaní

Woman In the cafe

Santi Celaya

Man In the cafe

Josep Galindo

Man In the cafe

Sergio García

Man In the cafe

Neus Agulló

Blanca's parent

Pep Cortés

Blanca's parent

Joan Manuel Gurillo

(uncredited)

Francisco Franco

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Moreno-Fuentes

Milician (uncredited)

Crew

Ken Loach

Director

Jim Allen

Writer

Rebecca O'Brien

Producer

Barry Ackroyd

Director of Photography

Jonathan Morris

Editor

Wendy Ettinger

Casting

Susie Figgis

Casting

Richard Rousseau

Casting

Marta Valsecchi

Casting

Martin Johnson

Production Design

Ana Alvargonzález

Costume Design

David Howell-Evans

Art Department Coordinator

Susanna Lenton

Script Supervisor

Tomás Urbán

Armorer

Roger Smith

Script Editor

Daphne Dare

Costume Design

Dominic Seal

Gaffer

Joan Benet

Camera Operator

Cosmo Campbell

Camera Operator

Jeremy Gee

Camera Operator

Nigel Willoughby

Camera Operator

Paul Chedlow

Still Photographer

Reyes Abades

Special Effects Supervisor

Ray Beckett

Sound Recordist

Kevin Brazier

ADR & Dubbing

David Old

ADR & Dubbing

Annie McEwan

Makeup Artist

George Fenton

Original Music Composer

Ulrich Felsberg

Executive Producer

Gerardo Herrero

Executive Producer

Sally Hibbin

Executive Producer

Marta Esteban

Associate Producer

Lidia Roure

Set Decoration

Yousaf Bokhari

Production Manager

Paco Calvo

Assistant Director

Javier Chinchilla

Assistant Director

Glenys Davies

Assistant Director

Guillermo Escribano

Assistant Director

Neil Grigson

Assistant Director

Julian Hearne

Assistant Director

Charlie Lázaro

Assistant Director

David Martínez

Assistant Director

Mick Ward

Assistant Director

Kevin Brazier

ADR Editor

David Old

ADR Editor

Clive Pendry

Sound Mixer

Alan Sallabank

Foley Mixer

Pedro Moreno

Special Effects Technician

Félix Sepúlveda

Special Effects Technician

Reviews

CinemaSerf

⭐ 6/10

July 24, 2025

“David” (Ian Hart) is stuck in Liverpool in the late 1930s with little by way of prospects, so he decides to go and fight for the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. He readily makes friends and is soon joined up with POUM, a collection of Marxists where he encounters “Bianca” (Rosana Pastor) and discovers quickly that this is a brutal conflict. His ‘side’ are united in their intellectual detestation of fascism, but thereafter he soon discovers that there is little else that glues this disparate group of communists together and after he is wounded, he heads to Barcelona where he finds even less satisfaction amongst an urban militia whose agenda is just as pragmatically conflicted as it is dogmatically joined up. What else to do but to return to his original group, but with the war rapidly coming to a conclusion and him realising that uncomfortable compromises are having to be made, is there any future for him here or might he just try to make it back home? Though this film is undoubtedly trying to make a statement, I found it to be completely devoid of nuance or characterisations. The theory of the friend of my enemy is my friend seems to be the mortar that underpins their battle plan, and yet it becomes clear that these people soon stop fighting for “the” cause and start fighting for “a” cause, In fact, it could be “any” cause that suits their generalised opposition to anything that isn’t to the left of Stalin. Indeed, the Soviet lack of commitment to their cause would suggest they might have been too extreme, or out of control, or possibly it was their total inability to contemplate compromise or conciliation that might have deterred them and just about anyone else from supplying them with arms or victuals. The message here labours the solidarity of the “left” as though it is some sort of unified holy grail of human existence, but just like that fabled object it is never going to be found by “David” or anyone else. The film despises the rise of the right in parts of Spain, but makes no effort to address why it was succeeding - beyond unsubstantiated rhetoric that somehow makes their own cause every bit as militaristic and oppressive as the one it was fighting so valiantly to resist. It presupposes a worthiness amongst these socialists to be judge and jury and depicts the contrary institutions, especially the church, as limbs of a extremist government - but it relies on the viewer’s own convictions about that to make it’s point rather then use these characters to prove they are better, or fairer or more honest and decent. The behaviour of Tom Gilroy’s “Lawrence” epitomises some of those attitudes effectively. Many of the local population viscerally affected by these years of relentless bullets and bombs were desperate for it all to end but that is the last thing these freedom fighters want and by the conclusion, well I felt that they came across more as war tourists who would fight where there was a fight to fight rather than people who actually cared about the fabric of the nation they were in. It is a provocative subject that had huge opportunities to shine a light on the unstoppable rise of nationalism from the Apennines to the Pyrenees in this turbulent decade, but instead it uses a really quite mediocre cast to score some lacklustre points and then just fizzle out. Pity.

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Land and Freedom (1995)

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Top Billed Cast

Crew

Reviews

CinemaSerf

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