Direction: Alejandro Amenábar
Country: Spain / Argentina
Acclaimed Chilean-Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar makes a u-turn in his thriller-oriented filmography (Thesis, 1996; The Others, 2001; Open Your Eyes, 1997) with While at War, a historical biographical drama centered on the renowned writer/philosopher/rector Miguel de Unamuno during the 1936 Spanish coup.
Teaming up with Alejandro Hernandez (Cannibal, 2013; The Motive, 2017) in the script, Amenábar, who also produced and scored the music, creates an honest yet extremely formal portrait of the character (effectively impersonated by Karra Elejalde), a noble thinker who is caught between the rise of the fascist right wing and the fall of the 'reds'. Most of all, he shows to be reliable and frank, but is also depicted as stubborn and mercurial in his political views. Despite of that, he never vacillated in correcting his beliefs whenever the circumstances proved him wrong.
The film is not the epic that Amenábar envisioned since it struggles with some stiffness and timidness on a regular basis. Nevertheless, the shortage of narrative agility is compensated with historical substance, notable production values (Goya award winning for best production and costume designs), Alex Catalan’s beautiful photography, and clarity in the exposition of a looming, dangerous dictatorship in the guise of patriotism. Moreover, Eduard Fernández and Santi Prego are particularly convincing as the wild general José Millán-Astray and the temperate dictator Francisco Franco, respectively.
