Beautiful film/moving ending!


i loved this film, i watched it as part of my spanish course and i really loved it, the ending is brilliant so emotional! what did other people think?

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I studied in Spain this year and my General Didactics Education class watched this. I was crying by the end of it, this movie was so touching I recommend it highly...also always watch movies in the original language (I dont think this has a dubbed version but just in general)

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I loved this film. It's one of the best of all the movies I have seen until this day, probably my favourite.
It is so moving how Moncho (Manuel Lozano) turns against Don Gregorio (Fernando Fernán Gómez) after they had built up such a good friendship.

The overall movie was great and the cast was outstanding.

And I also agree with Melpy. Dubbed movies are lame and the original language puts more feeling into the movie. I don't think anyone is that much of a slow reader that he misses half of the movie because he reads too slow.. A small effort, I think.

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I disagree when you say that Moncho turned against Don Gregorio. The Republicans brought out from their homes during the night, including Don Gregorio, are led through the crowd into a truck. The crowd shouts at them, "TRAITOR" "ROJO." Moncho's mother yells too, so as not to seem sympathetic towards the Republicans. She tells her husband to yell too, and he does, with tears streaming down his cheeks. Moncho chases after the truck with his friends throwing potatoes, but instead of "TRAITOR…ROJO" he yells the names of things that Don Gregorio taught to him during their field trips. This signafies he still loves his teacher, but he must chase after the truck and shout to not draw attention to his family.

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I think that with this film Fernando Fernán Gómez has established as one of the best actors ever. What a pitty not to be known internationally.

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Moncho didn't turn against Don Gregorio. If him and Ramon had not acted the way that they had, then they could have met the same fate.

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He did turn against him, surely. He doesn't understand why, except his mother has told him to. The father is obviously heartbroken at what he is forced to do, but Moncho seems to go along quite willingly in the end. Is this a comment on political immaturity and the conformism of children? Insulting the teacher using words he himself taught him seems the final insult: given the knowledge, he misapplies it. Allegory?
It's not that the little boy hates his teacher; just that it is easy to shout mindless slogans rather than think for oneself.

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i think you've read too little into the subtlety of the last scene. i dont think you can say that he SURELY turned against him. Its not too easy to read the childs expression in the last scene and obviously the director decided to throw in the words he had been taught to express something. whether its your interpretation or his continuing admiration/support for his teacher... we dont know for sure!

i think it's a bit of an open ended, personal interpretation film... but if you tie in the whole chain of events together, i think it definitely leans towards the conclusion that the child still loves his teacher.

you must remember he is a very clever child and he knows that what his parents have told him to do/shout were needed to protect his family; especially with his father's past republican involvement. remember the scene where the mother shakes him in the kitchen when he refuses to deny that his father made a suit for his teacher? and he only finally agrees with a nod.

and when they march the prisoners onto the van, he saw how his friend roque and roque's mother reacted towards roques father being marched onto the car. i guess its really up to how intelligent you believe the kid to be portrayed to be... in my point of view, he is very intelligent, albeit very impressionable when it comes to his teacher.

but you have to remember, that children are not impressed by everything and everyone they meet, especially intelligent ones... there was a particular and special bond between the child and the teacher, and he was charmed by the old man's wealth of knowledge - this is what made the muncho admire don gregario so much.

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...and charmed as well by the wonderful book he gives him, Treasure Island, another "coming of age story" that critiques an oversimplified view of right and wrong.

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[deleted]

Moncho's facial expression in the very last second is just about the most moving thing I've ever seen.

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[deleted]

Of course the kid is NOT rejecting his teacher! Of course he is an intelligent creature and part of the generation of hope and freedom that the teacher talked about in his retirement speech! He has learned the way to be free -to be able to marvel about the beauty of nature, to be kind, to know that hell is not an imaginary place in the sky but within each of us ...and other enlightened virtues that lead to freedom.

I want to believe, with the director, that the generations of children following the Civil War and Franco's 50 years of fascism (and the ones following the second World War in France and the collaboration with the nazis, the ones following South African Apartheid etc) have grown up more free and tolerant and respectful to others.

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it's interesting that your idea on the scene is quite different than jairo's. Both are valid, though.

I think he, at first does what his mother tells him to do, and then, following this inertia of anger, he follows the other children. Until the moment that the only things that can come out of his mouth are the words the teacher told him. It's a moment of some kind of internal tsunami.

Then we see his face for about 15 seconds. His eyes blink. He's somehow stunned.
I don't think he hated Don Gregorio. I think that scene is there to show us how powerful can be this mob inertia.

"Oh! there're frogs falling from the sky!"
Magnolia - 10/10

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moncho doesnt really bertay him in the en d, check out the words he uses when hes running after the bus, he uses terms that no common spanish person would know, complicated words. watch it again, thats what made it so beautiful.

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I agree. I don't think Moncho betrayed him. I don't think he fully understood what was happening, but instead of yelling out what the others were yelling, he yeld out words the he taught Moncho. I think it was a beautiful ending to a beautiful film.

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I agree just as well, he was moved by fear, trying to protect his dad, his family, he didn't beleive his teacher was "asesino, rojo" and "espiritrompa" means no evil, he was doing what he should do to save his family, yet, sad he had to do it. (of course, all this, is just my point of view)

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[deleted]

I agree, the ending is superb and very moving. A powerful statement. Worth thinking over.

** SPOILER ALERT** many of the posts in this thread say too much about the ending! Don't read them if you haven't seen the film!

henry

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Yes, he did betrayed his teacher, I believe, altough I would accept that there is no a definitive answer. But let us remember that he DID shout him "Rojo", "Ateo", and that he throwed stones (or potatos) at him before he -with a stone in his hand- shouts the words that don Gregorio taught him, throwing them back to him, using them as insults. I really would like to save the child from this charge, but I find not enough ground for it. Furthermore, this ending -specially if we follow this reading- makes a very strong political statement about the responsabilities and blames of common people at the outcame of civil war.

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Beautiful, powerful and touching ending. Wonderful movie in general. However I gotta disagree with theravekiddo and jtaboada and to agree with the rest.
Moncho didn't turn against his teacher, he just loved him too much to do that. He just realized that his father was in danger as well. Moncho under the pressure of his mother starts repeating the words he just have heard without knowing what they really mean. That's why he yells Tilinorrinco! (The bird) Espiritrompa! (The tongue of the butterflies). He simply doesn't know what else to say.
To imply that a smart but naive and pure 6-7 yo kid could have the malice to betray his beloved teacher, is both ludicrous and sad. Sorry but you have missed the point of the movie.

BTW what a wonderful performance by Fernando Fernán Gómez, perhaps the best spanish actor ever. I have seen dozens of films where he starred and he never failed to deliver a good performance. The world of cinema misses you, Don Fernando.

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I saw this movie about 9 years ago. There were 3 of us and we had the same debate afterwards. One friend was sure he was showing affection to his teacher and the other was undecided.

I thought he was insulting the teacher by throwing his words back at him after having already denounced him. I thought the context of the yelling was paramount and the kid was trying to think of the most shocking thing he could say that would severe his relationship with the teacher.

I found the movie to be hella depressing.

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I didn't like the movie really much, but the ending was indeed clever and powerful.

This signature is hilarious and original.
NAAAT!

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