when the priest killed himself, he held a book of Unamuno. What's the meaning?
he constanly talk of Miguel Unamuno through the film. Is there anything to see bet he and Unamuno?
any nudity?
not gory is it?
I think it basically relates to the fact that Miguel de Unamuno (a member of Spain's famous "Generation of '98") was a non-believer and an existentialist. De Unamuno was very articulate, a great raconteur, and a very attractive person to hang out with if you were up to his level of discourse. When once asked why he always smoked his huge, black, foul-smelling cigars, he replied: "Fumo ergo sum."
shareIt is most likely referring to Unamuno's "San Manuel Bueno, mártir," a story that revolves around a priest that serves his people well but does not believe. The complete text in Spanish can be found here: http://www.ciudadseva.com/textos/novela/sanmanu.htm
It's a great, thought provoking story for anyone who reads it.
Adding to the reference of twinextralong, the book that the priest is holding at the time of his suicide is "The tragic sense of life in men and nations" by Unamuno. Unamuno was not precisely an agnostic (as it is Manolo in the movie) but a critical and inquisitive believer, who considered the belief in God and the trascendent in relation to human existencial anguish. Or something like that.
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There is a specific reason:
The Spanish Second Republic has been declared, which is a great victory for freedom.
Unamuno, however, lashes out against the Republic, showing his authoritarian and traditionalist side.
Disillusioned that his hero does not share his ideals, the priest commits suicide.
It is still a problematic aspect of the movie in that the motivation is still inadequate, but it is the clearest connection to what is happening.
Unamuno was by no means authoritarian. He stood against several of the main Francoist nomenklatura members in a very difficult situation in defense of freedom and culture. Facing them at a political meeting, he said "This [the Salamanca University] is the temple of knowledge and I'm its high priest"
For the same reason, he, like many intellectuals of the time, stood against the socialist-communist attacks against democracy during the Republic years. This period is best defined in the sentence of philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, when he said simply "It was not THIS!!" [what they believed in and had struggled for]
Anyway, I think it is the existencialist ideas of Unamuno who drove the priest confused and deceived, up to the point of hanging himself
gwydno, If you have read San Manuel Bueno, you should be aware that there is an authoritarian side to Unamuno. His political views fluctuated a great deal over his lifetime, going from early socialism to later traditionalism. He did in fact lash out at the Second Republic, which he felt was too undisciplined. When the military officers began their coup in 1936, he initially welcomed them. He only changed his mind when they were "in his face," condemning intellectual liberty.
The moment depicted when the priest hangs himself is a time when Unamuno was not embracing the new freedoms of the Second Republic, but siding with tradition and "discipline." He was very critical of GarcIa Lorca, for example. So I have added this as a possible motive for the priest's suicide.
However, Unamuno's existentialist views, which included the temptation of suicide as a way of ending life's uncertainties, are another key motive. The scene is simply not very well worked-out in the movie.
Yes, I’m not sure that the intellectual underpinning of the story is meant to be that rigorous. While several thinkers and writers of the time are mentioned or quoted, is this more for period flavour than for deep cerebral reflection? And doesn’t one of the characters say that Unamuno is a poet rather than a philosopher (implying that his words should not be taken too literally)?
shareUnamuno as poet of melancholic existential anguish is key, Charlot. Plato exiled the poets from his Republic, didn't he? Well, I think that is the thought process employed by the screenwriter. Unamuno, and by extension, this country priest, do not have anything positive to offer the forging of the newly initiated Spanish Second Republic.
Another important reference for Spanish film makers is the French film 'Diary of a Country Priest.' This depicts a priest overwhelmed by provincial narrow-mindedness who falls into a spiral of self-destruction. I think this priest's suicide also refers in a slap-dash way to that movie, and Unamuno is meant to be the bridge.
Feeling that my comments yesterday might seem superficial rather than provocative, I was just reopening them to amend or delete when instead I find your thoughtful post.
We can certainly draw fruitful contrasts between the two mature male characters. Don Manolo’s shelter from reality is his liberal values, which seem about to triumph with the declaration of the Second Republic. He can retreat to his mansion and his art. Don Luis on the other hand has to defend his Catholic beliefs, about which he has increasing doubts, and provide spiritual leadership to the little community. And yes, Unamuno’s passionate but gloomy book “Del sentimiento trágico de la vida”, in a copy autographed by the author, explicitly is the trigger for his suicide.
But what grim ironies! The Second Republic did not last out the decade and the world view of all the Don Manolos was submerged. In its death throes countless country priests were murdered, a fate poor Don Luis avoids.
Those are important distinctions, Charlot. Agreed!
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