Spanish Earth

This documentary not only shows the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), but also tells the story of a group of farmers that are farming their land during this period. Ivens' film in fact develops on two levels. On the one hand, the spectator is confronted with all facets of the war. The heroism and the horrors, the soldiers fighting fascism and foreign intervention, the trenches, the injured, as well as images of Madrid, devastated by German and Italian bombs. On the other hand we see, in a relatively peaceful atmosphere, the farmers who at least still own their land and who also have the knowledge and the means to till the soil. The struggle being fought at the front basically enables the farmers to farm the land and subsequently supply the fighters with food again. SPANISH EARTH was made between March and May 1937, on the initiative of a group of American intellectuals. The voice-over is by Ernest Hemingway.