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Welcome Mister Marshall! (¡Bienvenido Mister Marshall!)

Luis García Berlanga
Spain / 1952 / 78 mins. / Spanish with English subtitles

The witty, multi-layered and subversive Welcome, Mr Marshall! - a watershed in Spanish cinema history - captures the intrigues and insecurities of a Castilian village that rouses at the news that Americans, representing the post-WW2 European Recovery Program (the Marshall Plan), are due to visit. With the help of Juan Antonio Bardem and humorist Miguel Mihura, Berlanga transformed what began as a hymn to Spanish hospitality into a sinister critical farce about meek villagers and their incompetent leaders, as the local mayor kits out all the men in traditional Andalusian costume and the women as flamenco dancers.

United States, which offered a varied and exciting panorama on the collective imagination, had just getting by without a trace. A broken dream that just had caused costs, when they really needed their help. The image on the floor of a sad flag with stars and stripes, washed away the rain, was a powerful and eloquent ending.

Ironically, the film missed out on a Cannes prize when jury member Edward G Robinson complained of its anti-Americanism.

Luís García Berlanga was born in Valencia (1928). in 1951 he directed (together with Bardem) the film That happy couple (1953). After being expelled from the Falange, he started to adopt an individualistic and libertarian position. Berlanga and Bardem collaborate on Welcome Mr. Marshall! (1953); this film received an International award and a Special Mention award at the Cannes Festival. Berlanga's conceptual and political audacity continued in his other films during the 50s. In fact, his film Miracles on Thursday (1957), was modified by the censors and was delayed for several years before its eventual release. In 1956 he filmed Calabuch. With Placido (1961) received an Oscar nomination in 1963. That same year, Berlanga made of his best films: The executioner (1963). After Franco's death, he filmed a trilogy comprising La escopeta Nacional (1978), National Heritage (1981) and National III (1982).