Juan Antonio Bardem; Guardian obit
Hyfler/Rosner
Brave director whose films mocked the repression of Franco's Spain
Ronald Bergan
Saturday November 2, 2002
The Guardian
After the Spanish civil war, the victorious nationalists immediately began
to bring the film industry under government control; as a result, its output
in the 1940s reflected the sterility of the country's moral and political
repression. But in the 1950s, a new generation of Spanish directors emerged,
headed by Juan Antonio Bardem, who has died aged 80, and Louis Garcia
Berlanga.
As far as it was possible, both men rejected the values of the Franco
regime, and the militaristic, folkloric costume films it sanctioned. With
their first co-directed feature, That Happy Couple (1951), it was clear that
they had chosen to go against the prevailing trend by presenting scenes of
contemporary Spanish life, and using humour to describe and criticise
aspects of society.
Bardem, whose parents were actors, originally trained as an agricultural
engineer, and was assigned to the agriculture ministry's cinema section in
1946. The following year, he became a student at the Spanish institute of
cinema research and experimentation, but failed to get a diploma, possibly
because of his political views. Thereafter, he supported himself by writing
articles and criticism, and directing short documentaries.
The turning point came with That Happy Couple, much influenced by Italian
neo-realism, a style which was already passé in Italy. The title is ironic,
since the young couple, offered Madrid at their feet for a day by a soap
company, are not really happy.
It was followed by Welcome, Mr Marshall (1952), one of the biggest
international successes of the Franco years, which Bardem co-wrote with
Berlanga, who directed. Another example of Spanish neo-realism, it focuses
on a poor village in Castile trying to create a good impression on visiting
Americans in the hope of getting Marshall aid. Pointedly written and
observed, the film was condemned by Edward G Robinson, a member of the
Cannes festival jury, as anti-American. However, it is far more a sardonic
look at Spanish foibles and greed.
In 1953, Bardem founded Objectivo, a cinema journal that became a rallying
point for cinéastes, raised the level of film criticism in Spain and
informed readers about prohibited films. Two years later, it was banned by
the government after only nine issues.
Bardem made his most celebrated solo effort in 1955, writing and directing
Death Of A Cyclist. An attempt to make a socially critical film under
Franco, it tells the story of a university professor and his well-connected
mistress who knock down a worker on a bicycle while out driving. Fearful
that their affair will be discovered, they leave the man to die. The
contrasting milieu of the rich and poor districts of Madrid are well caught,
but censorship forced Bardem to punish the adulterous woman in a
melodramatic ending.
At a meeting in Salamanca in 1955, a statement of principles was penned in
which Bardem wrote: "After 60 years, Spanish cinema is politically futile,
socially false, intellectually worthless, aesthetically valueless, and
industrially paralytic. Spanish cinema has turned its back on reality and is
totally removed from Spanish realistic traditions as found in paintings and
novels."
But the situation worsened, and Bardem was imprisoned on political grounds
while shooting the uncomfortable comedy-drama Calle Mayor (1956). He was in
jail when Death Of A Cyclist won the Cannes critics' prize, but was released
after two weeks following an international outcry, and was able to complete
his new film - though he was arrested several more times during the Franco
years.
Calle Mayor involved a group of provincial layabouts who, for a bet,
persuade a young stud from Madrid to make love and propose to a plain
spinster, Betsy Blair, virtually repeating her Oscar-nominated role in
Marty, the year before. The atmosphere of a stultifying small town is well
caught, as is the portrayal of machismo, but, again, Bardem was under some
restraint.
His next film, The Reapers, was intended as a critical study of peasant
life, but was heavily censored and re-edited. As a conventional melodrama,
and retitled Vengeance, it was coolly received in Cannes in 1958.
That same year, in desperation, Bardem, Berlanga, Carlos Saura and other
directors founded their own production company, UNINCI. It was Bardem, as
president, who bravely invited Luis Bunuel back to Spain after a 29-year
exile to make Viridiana (1961), but, although the script of this savage
comedy on Catholic mentality and rituals was unaccountably passed by
Franco's censors, it was banned outright in Spain, and UNINCI was closed
down.
These battles sapped Bardem's creative energy, though he continued to direct
films in Spain, as well as co-productions in Italy, France and Argentina,
many of which were shown at festivals around the world. In several works, he
concentrated on a single character, often called Juan, who feels frustrated
and stifled in a closed society.
Among his large, less personal, productions were The Uninhibited (Los Pianos
Mecanicos, 1965), starring Melina Mercouri and James Mason, and The
Mysterious Island Of Captain Nemo (1973), with Omar Sharif in the title
role - both shot in Spain. His last film was Resultado Final, before which
came two rather academic studies: Lorca, The Death Of A Poet (1987) and
Young Picasso (1993), for television.
Sadly, the cultural liberation that followed Franco's death came too late
for Bardem. He is survived by his wife Maria and their four children.
· Juan Antonio Bardem, film director, born July 2 1922; died October 30 2002