Wouldn't be on the first floor, would it?
Ambulance!
Yeah. Yeah, here you are, love. In 'ere.
It's the old fella.
He's collapsed on the couch.
Let's have a look at him, eh?
This is his grand-daughter.
You were here when this happened, were you?
Yeah, I just come in and found him on the couch.
What's his name?
Dave Carr. Dave!
Is he gonna be all right?
Dave? Dave?
No response there, Dave.
No response, yeah...
How's he doing, love?
He's okay at the moment so let's just keep our fingers crossed.
Does he have any other close relatives at all?
There's my mum. She lives in Wales,
so, I mean, she doesn't see him often
Her and me dad have split up.
Paul, make the hospital. He's just gone on us, mate.
Oh, God! Have we lost him? Oh, God, Dot!
It's all right...
(THE MINER MORE PIT CLOSURES)
(The Socialist LABOURS' FIFTH COLUMN)
(SPANISH TROOPS REVOLT IN MOROCCO)
(THE DAILY WORKER)
(ALL INTO ACTION NOW! DEFEND SPANISH REPUBLIC!)
In February a coalition of socialist,
republican and other left wing parties
were victorious in the general election.
They proposed a series of democratic reforms.
The big landowners, industrialists,
churchmen and army officers
feared the growing power of the working class.
July 18th.
There was a military uprising
led by the Fascist General Franco
against the democratically elected government.
Government supporters formed militias to defend themselves.
Organised by trades unions and political parties,
they went to fight for their democratic rights
against the Fascists.
This, this is... this is the...
one of the militias going to the Zaragosa front in, in Aragon.
You can see all the cars.
They've got the name of the workers' organisation...
because they've all been nationalised,
they've all been taken over by the workers.
That is the Union of, of the Railway workers.
This is the CNT...
the anarchists' union.
As you can see...
the support the whole of Barcelona is on the streets
but with very few guns.
Most people haven't got guns.
You can see young, old, men, women.
These are the fascists.
The General, the defenders of privilege.
And this is what they are doing to us.
They are killed and left there...
just for being trade unionists.
Every defeat for us is a defeat for you.
Every step that takes Franco closer to poser in Spain
also takes the fascists closer to power here.
If Franco wins the war...
it would be a major boost for fascists everywhere.
And before long, comrades...
they will drag all freedom-loving people
down to barbarism and, and war.
Comrades, whether Spanish or English, or American or Chinese
we are one class of people with the same aspiration...
the same hope for a just and equal society.
I want you to join with us...
make our fight your fight.
Let's come together...
let's come together...
Let's take up the slogan. No Pasaran.
They shall not pass. No Pasaran. No Pasaran.
No Pasaran.
You've got our support. We're right behind you.
We wanna fight.
No Pasaran.
Kit...
I'm going to go to Spain.
What, just like that you're going to Spain?
Well, not just like that but...
It'll take a while to organise.
I'll go to Barcelona, sort it out from there.
Why you? Why have you got to go?
Because I can.
I haven't got any kids or nothing. I mean, you know...
what am I doing here, Kit?
I'm on fifteen bob a week on the dole.
Y'know, there's millions of us, out of work.
I'm on, you know, demonstrations, hunger marches just...
I know. I've been there with you.
I know. But I want to do something.
And you can't do it here?
If we've got to do it, we've got to do it now.
We've got to stop them
otherwise it's not, it's going to be too late, Kit.
We'll have no future here.
I can't spare you.
Come here.
Dear Kit...
well I made it.
It was a bit tricky and the sea was rough.
I was glad to get off that ship.
But Larry, who smuggled me aboard, turned up trumps.
He got us ashore, in one piece, at Marseilles...
and put us on the road to Spain.
And then I hitched a lift in a couple of lorries to the border.
It seems there's no organisation here to help volunteers like me
you've just got to make your own way.
With no passport, crossing the frontier wasn't easy
and I had to walk across the Pyrenees.
I must have climbed for miles.
My boots are all shot to pieces and my feet are steaming.
I was scared stiff but we made it.
Would you like to sit down?
Madam, could you please move the chickens?
Now I'm in Spain
and everything is so bright it hurts your eyes.
I've 'copped' the train for Barcelona.
Maybe I'll see some action.
He said that they could use your feet as a weapon against Franco.
What do you do here?
Oh, I've come to fight for the Republic.
Good. The more that come the sooner we'll win.
Do you want a drop?
Thanks. Salud!
Gracias.
Smoke? Smoke?
Oh, with pleasure.
My name is Bernard. Bernard Goujon.
Pleased to meet you. David Carr.
Bernard.
D'you smoke, lads?
Do you have papers, documentation?
Yeah, I've got my Party card.
My Com, Communist Party of Great Britain membership.
Yeah, I've got it here.
Look, it's like that.
See.
It's for a comrade of the POUM.
The what?
The POUM, P-O-U-M
Never heard of that? No, never heard of the POUM.
It's Spanish workers' Party. Revolutionaries.
Tickets, please.
He's with us, boss.
He's come to fight the fascists.
Welcome in Spain.
Thanks very much.
The Trade Union is controlling all the line.
Thanks.
So it's a present for you.
Oh, don't have to pay?
No, no, don't have to pay.
Thanks very much. Thanks, comrade.
Gracias.
Left, right, left, right...
Alto!
Halt!
Turn to right. Alto!
Hey, dickhead. Make up your mind.
Shut up. I'm in charge here.
I'm pissed off with this.
This is important pick it up immediately.
You pick it up. I'm off.
Where are you going, love?
Don't call me "love".
Comrade, comrade...
I am going to Madrid. Understand?
They take things seriously there.
This is vital for the revolution for both men and women.
We've got to have discipline we'll never win without it.
Where are we going going to get to with this...
This is just the beginning.
I want a gun.
You'll get to fight...
Please trust me... Get back in the line...
what are you lot gawking at? Let's have some energy.
I've seen more life in a sick note.
Right! Halt!
In Germany I was a pastry cook.
Pastry...
Yeah, pastry cook.
And you, Gene, what was your job?
Eleven years on the sea. Bosun.
Bosun?
Yes.
I've just spent six days on the sea and it was not for me.
I was, went from Liverpool to Marseilles
and I was sick all the time.
So... I'm not a sailor.
I was a servant. A cleaner.
Servant. For an English family.
On the first day everything starts they went running to England
so they left, they left me alone in Barcelona.
I'm free for the first time of my life.
Salud, camaradas.
Thank you, thank you.
You got the weapons?
Yes.
Antiques.
Antiques?
German, Mauser, 1896.
Single load.
How many?
Thirty.
Okay. All right.
Be better using a big stick.
Okay.
Get these off and take them over there into the 'store place'.
When did you learn about guns?
Five years in French Army, I was sergeant.
Comrade. Where you from?
Italiano. Milano.
Italiano? So you know fascism?
They're bastards.
Que?
Do you need some help?
No, I'll do it myself.
Vale, leona.
Aye, aye, soft ollies.
Are you taking the piss?
Want to change?
Come here!
Sit down. Sit down, please.
Garibaldi, come here.
My name's Rafael Poccetti, Captain.
I know. But I need Garibaldis more than I need Poccettis.
Sit down, please.
Leona, tu tambien.
Okay.
In the other side of the hill are the trenches.
Our trenches.
And beyond them is the enemy.
And the only good soldier in Franco's Army is a dead one.
My name is Vidal and I'm your Captain.
We are the POUM and we organise this section of the, of the front.
To the west of us are the anarchists.
And we fight together, comrades in arms to defeat,
to destroy the fascists
and make the workers' and peasants' revolution.
Understand?
Don't forget it.
You are welcome here because you are my speaking squad English.
Okay?
We are proud to have you fight with us in our side.
Hey, David... look.
The whores are also at the front.
Yeah, but they're better looking than the ones back home.
Yeah?
Good morning, Coogan, your reinforcements are here now.
I thought it was Sunday.
Dear Kit. Well, I'm a soldier now with the POUM Militia.
It's a People's Army.
Just ordinary men and women fighting for a cause
not like the Army back home.
There's no salutin'.
We elect the officers, and everything's discussed and voted on
It's socialism in action.
I'm in a special section...
it's mainly internationals but some Spainish...
and the common language is English, so we get by.
An Irishman called Coogan is in charge.
We're all on the same pay
ten pesetas a day
which is kept for us for when we go on leave.
And we also get a packet of fags a day, which isn't bad.
It's a huge operation,
about twenty thousand militia on this front alone.
I'm not in the communist brigade, but it doesn't matter
cos we're all fightin' the same enemy.
Viva Franco!
Viva Espana!
Fascists bastards. Rot in hell!
Sons of bitches!
Fascists, you've got no balls.
The food here's fuckin' brilliant!
I'm going to shove a bullet up your arse.
Hey, rich bastard, you'll die with nothing.
I'm going to shove a bullet up your arse!
You must be used to this weather coming from your godforsaken town.
It never stops fuckin' raining!
You been, have you?
Yeah, five years, Manchester.
Staring at the poxy rain through prison bars.
What d'you get put down for?
Fightin' the Brits.
Murderer... Murderer of a free nation.
Are you all right? Yeah, yeah, yeah!
There's all sorts here...
French, German, Yanks, Spanish of course,
and a Scot by the name of Jimmy.
All good lads.
The front line doesn't seem to move.
We watch the fascists, and they watch us.
Lots of hanging about waitin' for something to happen.
Digging trenches, going out on patrol, sentry duty.
But worst of all is the lice.
They're worse than the nits back home.
They send you mad. They lay their eggs in the lining of your trousers
and you can't get rid of 'em.
You're forever scratching.
The food's not great...
it's usually bread and beans which gives us all a problem...
I could murder some cabbage and ribs.
The local women do the cooking.
It's strange to see women in the trenches
fighting alongside the men.
But no need to worry, Kit,
none of them could hold a candle to you.
Max...
You know what we said the other day when we came down...
about Blanca being a whore. You know, a prostitute.
Who? Who?
Who?
You said that Blanca was a prostitute - a whore!
Yeah, yeah. Sure.
Good one.
Good one?
Good one!
Yeah!
Yours are winding me up.
Everybody knows... except you.
Maite...?
True.
You know, David, Blanca has told me some stories...
crazy ones. Hard life...
Hard life... hard one!
In fact, Jose can tell you, you know.
He knows her very well, you konw, because...
She knows how to do it...
she's good and cheap.
Good and cheap, yeah.
Leave him alone.
David, it's the right moment.
Listen, she likes you, I tell you.
Good luck!
All right?
Yeah.
Do you want a cigarette?
No, thanks.
So, I mean, I was just thinking
if you're not busy later on you might want to...
you know, go for a walk with me.
You know...
I don't understand you.
Maybe me and you, you know, like... with, with Coogan.
When we saw you the other day...
Coogan is my man.
D'you understand?
Yeah. Si.
Before the war we live together.
We join in the militia together.
Yeah, I'm sorry, I got... we fight together.
Sorry about that.
Sorry. Yeah. I'll see you later then.
You shower of bastards!
You... I'll have a fuckin' word with you in a minute!
Have a nice time?
Yes, I did, thank you very much.
Marcel!
David? Look.
Uh?
Fascist prisoners.
No! An officer as well.
How many?
Besides the officer, there's...
Lawrence, Coogan, Jimmy.
I wonder where they found them?
I dunno.
This fucking senora wants a word with you.
Him and his sons, we found them behind the lines.
Doing a recce or something. Anyway, they were lost.
At ease.
What's your name, lad?
Jose.
Jose?
Are you hungry?
Take them and get them something to eat, Jim.
And where are you going?
I've some questions for you.
I don't have to answer.
I'm a professional soldier.
Support the government elected by the people.
It's not a real government.
Muy bien...
How many soldiers in your command?
Have you got machine-guns?
Artillery?
Do your soldiers obey you?
Of course... we're a real army.
(FRANCO CLAIMS MALAGA MANY KILLED AT MADRID)
(MADRID HEAVILY BOMBED SHELLS CRASH INTO HEART OF CITY)
(NAZI PLANES FIRE ON CIVILIANS IN STREETS)
Mail.
No. No.
No. Sorry.
Coogan, over here.
Oh, great.
Pigat...
Are you alright?
Pigat! Pigat!
Where are you going?
What's wrong?
Leave me alone. I want to go home.
What's wrong?
I'm going home, okay?
Why?
I've got things to sort out.
You're crazy...
you can't just leave like this.
I came here willingly and I'll leave when I feel like it, okay?
No, it's not that easy.
You can't just go when you want to. There's a discipline here.
My woman's fucking another man.
Who'll sort it out?
You? Vidal?
Okay.
What are you going to do?
String the son of a bitch up by his balls.
And what good would that do?
Tell me, what good would that do?
Make me feel better.
Stay here...
with your companeros.
I came here for her, for my daughter,
the future.
You've got a daughter?
She was two last month.
What's her name?
Lidia.
Look... If we don't win this war
there'll be no future for anybody. Right?
Not for Lidia, not for your wife,
not you, not me, not anyone.
Do you understand?
The photos'll give you some idea of how cold it was.
But what they don't show is
how the rain turned everything into freezing mud.
We seemed to spend all our time searching for firewood
anything that'd burn and keep us warm.
This Coogan fella's a bit of a wild one. Ex-IRA.
He's always first on patrol and last one back.
He knows what he's doing, but he does take chances.
His girlfriend's called Blanca.
She's in our section.
She's a bit of a character an' all. Sharp as a razor.
They're not always hanging on to one another,
but everyone knows they're a couple.
The worst thing about being here is doing nothing.
It seems we're just sittin' around
and talkin' and arguin' politics all the time.
I come all this way to fight fascists
and I can't get to grips with them.
Still... at last things are warming up a bit,
not just the weather either.
Tomorrow's a big day.
We're attacking a village held by the fascists.
Think of us.
Lots of love, David.
Take off your sacks!
Vamos alla, valientes!
David, come on!
What's going on?
No! No!
Chuck us a cartridge.
Hey, chuck us a fucking cartridge!
There's women down there!
Danny, you can't be serious.
Give us a fucking cartridge!
Danny, you can't put their lives in danger.
Coogan! Coogan!
Fuego!
Don't shoot!
Speak to me!
Speak to me.
Speak to me!
This is the pig that was shooting from the tower.
Quiet!
Su rifle aun esta caliente.
I'm going to ask one simple question.
Have you fired this rifle?
No!
Tell me the truth. Have you fired this rifle?
No!
There's the proof. What's this then?
Kill him!
He informed on five comrades from the Union,
and they're dead now.
Yeah, kill him.
What happened?
They took my husband
and shaved my head.
Why? Why?
Because my husband was in the militia.
Y no lo pudieren coger.
Eran anarquistas. They were young anarchists.
Somebody say to the priest in confession where they were.
He told this to the fascists.
He knew the fascists kill them.
Murderer!
We've got to kill him.
Delato a nuestros companeros!
And we'll see you in three days...
Two or three days.
I'll stay here with twenty men for three days.
Very nice indeed.
Very nice.
I'm happy you appreciate French good taste.
Hola chico!
Gracias, amiga.
Blanca...
I just want you to know how sorry I am
for what happened.
I should have opened fire but I didn't and, and they got him.
That's all there is to it.
The thing is, he was a good man. You know, he was a brave man.
We're all going to miss him.
Yes, I know.
I know. I...
Oh, come on... come on...
when I met him the first time...
he was playing...
how do you say...
The guitar? No.
Yeah, the smaller one.
Banjo? Yeah.
He was playing banjo.
In bars and cafes.
I'm sorry, Blanca, you know, it's my fault. And I...
No.
No, I'm... I'm responsible because...
No.
You didn't kill him.
Fascists did.
He said he just wanted, like, bullets
and I said that, like, I wouldn't...
It could have happened sooner or later to any of us.
We feel a great sorrow today,
but it must not halt our efforts.
Our companions have not died in vain.
Josefina, Sebastian, Teresa all of you
we all fight for the same things as they did.
And we shall continue it's what they would have wanted.
They're here with us,
fighting for the same cause.
We shall leave them in the ground,
but the earth is ours now, comrades,
and from this place we must draw the strength to fight on.
The battle is long and our foes are many.
But we are more,
we shall always be many more.
Tomorrow is ours, comrades.
The struggle goes on. They shall no pass.
We shall overcome.
Viva la revolucion!
Viva!
Muerte al fascismo!
Muerte!
Come on, sit down...
Friends...
Don Julian's house is now the house of the people.
Let's start the meeting.
Who's going to speak?
Teresa. We must collectivise.
The men at the front have no food
and the people in the village have been left with next to nothing
by the fascists.
The village hasn't got enough food.
We must collectivise as soon as possible.
We must get food to feed our people and the comrades
fighting for us at the front.
I'm in agreement
with the collectivisation of Don Julian's lands
or re-distribution in all its forms,
but each to his own little bit... no?
Wait... Jose, speak.
I work my land my own way...
it's not much, all that I have...
I started working it and... shit... I've thrown everything into it.
Miguel. What would you like to say?
I'd like to say to our friend here
that it's very good that he wants to work his own land,
but how much better it would be if we all worked it together.
When the harvest is ready,
are you going to eat all the wheat
and all the potatoes?
You are not to say so...
we need everything to be able...
to keep the revolution going.
The revolution has to be done this way.
Don't wait for tomorrow.
Jose, it's not only a question of land.
Hay que hacer una sociedad nueva!
Un momento, Miguel, que Aniceto habia...
Yo habia pedido la palabra, y a nosotros nos dejais de lado.
The revolution is like a pregnant cow,
if we don't help out...
the cow and its calf will be gone
and the children will be left hungry.
Remember that comrades, boys, died in this battle.
We must collectivise. Do you understand me?
The people must eat.
This struggle we've started has to continue.
There are those who are the way they are
and there are those who know how to work and people who don't...
I've got what I've got because I work.
Hold on. Paco's turn.
It's fundamental that improve our harvests...
we must grow more.
Other villages have done it
by working all the land as one.
With a tractor you can do five times more work in one day
than you can with a mule.
Un momento. No hablemos todos juntos. Un momento.
Sebastian.
There's evidence from other villages that it's working.
I believe we have to take over private property.
No one's got anything.
We could pool all our resources
and depending on each person's situation we could share it out.
If you need a cow, you'll get one.
We've all got four or five kids...
and we've all bust a gut working, just like you.
Hey! Momento! Momento, companeros...
we've got militia comrades here
who may know what's happening elsewhere...
they've helped us here.
Teresa...
Pepe's right.
Our friends from the militia will have seen
what's happened in other villages.
This is an open meeting
you can speak, too.
Your opinions are as welcome as any of ours. Please speak.
It's your village. You have to decide. It's your decision.
Okay, this is what I think,
and if anybody disagrees they should just say so right out.
Si. Okay. You should take this estate, this house, this land
and divide it up amongst the people in the town right away.
Okay. The decree passed by the Republican Government
in October allows for that.
Okay. It says all property owned by individuals
involved in the insurrection will be confiscated.
Si, si. The problem's different here...
all the landowners help Franco.
We must collectivize all the lands. You understand?
Todas las tierras, hay que colectivizar no solo dividir.
I understand that. I understand that.
I'm not, I'm not a friend of the landowner. Okay?
I'm not here to defend landowners. Okay?
But what are you going to do when you have a guy like,
what's his name, Pepe?
What are you going to do when you have a guy like Pepe who has...
he's a tenant farmer and he has a couple of acres of land...
or a tradesman who doesn't want to be part of your collective? Okay?
These people are anti-fascists. What do you do then?
It sounds really great on paper, but in reality it won't work...
because it's going to pit the peasants
against the anti-fascists. Okay?
You're fighting now and it's going to endanger your food production.
Lawrence, I think that private ownership of land
must be totally given up, forgotten, cancelled...
because it maintains people in a capitalist mentality.
I agree. Okay. I agree with, I mean,
I'm not here to argue for, for private property.
I know the definition of private property.
I know what it does.
Okay, I'm not arguing that.
This is not the time for these textbook arguments
on socialism or land reform.
We have to defeat fascism, that's the priority.
Are you suspecting this man to, to speak about the textbook of...
socialism?
No, I'm not!
Well, I'm, I'm agreeing with him. Okay?
I'm agreeing with the collectivisation, all right?
But these people cannot collectivise anything
if they're dead. Okay?
Well, this is, is your opinion.
My opinion! They asked for my opinion.
No, but in my village, the people didn't wait for the government
to give them the land.
They took it themselves.
Nadie espero a que les dijesen que tenian
que hacer con la tierra, la cogieron ellos mismos.
I want you to think beyond this village, okay
at a much bigger picture.
Okay. I have no doubt that the Spanish people,
on their own, could have 'licked' Franco.
But you're not fighting just Franco,
you now have Mussolini and Hitler on your back.
Okay. With the exception of Russia and Mexico...
the rest of the world has turned its back on you. Okay?
They refuse to sell the Republic arms.
Okay. These are capitalists, these are capitalist countries!
They're capitalist countries, and if you want their help
you have to moderate your slogans cos you're scaring them away!
I'm from Germany.
We wanted revolution and what happened?
We'd been the strongest movement in Europe...
the best organised workers' movement.
There were six million of us in unions
and what happened?
Hitler...
The socialists and the communists told us...
to make our revolution later.
But I say make the revolution now.
When people see as the village sees
that you can be in charge of your life, your land,
when collectivisation becomes a reality,
it'll be possible for people in Germany, Italy,
to follow our example.
These people think they have, they think they have something,
but they have nothing!
But we have to show to the people that, that we have...
we're poor but we're alive and we've got power now,
we don't have to be seized by fear.
We're alive, we'll die when our time comes, but...
All French working people are, are looking to us in Spain,
probably all around the world
and I think it is not the right time to fight,
to fight each other
but together.
Now all of us know the price of the freedom and we,
we've lost a lot of friends.
Gene, your theories are very seductive but I've got one question for you.
Who are you trying to appease...
foreign governments, foreign bankers?
What is a revolution?
It's nothing other than a radical change
in privilege, wealth and power.
What's going to happen, what'... the only way we'll appease,
the only way we'll appease these people
when the ideas are diluted and watered down
till they mean absolutely nothing.
Now I think you're dead right when you say
when you say that they must look beyond this village,
and must look at what's happening outside.
Okay, but not only to foreign bankers and foreign governments.
What we must look to as well is that outside these windows,
as we speak, on this land
are two million landless peasants.
From the day they were born
they had absolutely no hope other than a life of misery.
And unless we harness that energy now
the ideas will be dead, there'll be no change
and this will all be in vain.
Ideas are the basis of this.
Jimmy...
Jimmy, those people will be dead never mind the ideas!
If Franco comes in, you know, if Franco wins this war
he'll just kill a million of those people.
They're nothing to him. They're just a piece of shit!
That's obvious, I agree with that.
Exactly. So, unless we win the war,
there's no point in having the ideology.
The ideology does not exist in, in like, in a book.
It exists, has to exist in place.
It'd have to be real, for real people.
I say that we have to take risks. What do we do?
Misery, hunger, hopelessness.
Franco might come back and kill us
but I say it's worth it to continue collectivising
and improving the quality of our lives.
Let's vote!
All those in favour of collectivisation.
All those against.
Friends, the vote is to collectivise the land.
You all right? Want a hand?
Yeah.
I thought maybe your foot was hurtin'.
It's okay, thank you.
No problem.
Hola.
And you talk about being poor.
Who?
You. With Coogan that night.
We were just talking about when we were kids.
I tell you what poor is.
Two pesetas a day for agricultural labours
if you're lucky.
Peasant families living in caves or sandpits
that is poor.
That is why we need the revolution.
Don't laugh! I'm not laughing.
I saw you! I wasn't laughing!
D'you want a hand with that? Oh, I can see you've got one.
Don't say any more!
What I'm saying, Kit, is that I'm not the man I was.
I feel like I'm standing on higher ground, if you see what I mean.
I can see further and,
and I notice things I hadn't even thought of before.
Like I, I left Liverpool with a daft romantic idea
but in war people get killed.
Fellas like Coogan...
and the women and kids who died in this village
that's all part of me now and I'll never shake it off.
Fascist planes dropped leaflets on us yesterday
saying how they was winning the war.
Well, myself, it's hard to know
what's going on in the rest of Spain.
But here, on the Aragon front, we're holding our own.
And if only we had decent arms.
Who knows?
Perhaps a line of Russian tanks will come rolling over the hill.
Some hope, eh?
Pigat, Garibaldi, Roca...
Listen...
Max...
Come here.
Companeros, listen please.
I have to go to the Command Post for a very important meeting
with the General Staff of the Column.
And I say, very important
because we are going to discuss about our integration
in the new Popular Army.
There is no choice.
The government in Valencia says no more militia
and say we all must become part in the new communist
led Popular Army.
Okay? So, if we refuse they continue to withhold arms.
To keep arms from us.
Do you understand?
Let's take a vote, no? Votamos?
I have something to say, please. Please.
Excuse me a moment, please. This is probably the last time
that we can vote on something as a militia. All right?
Please.
Maybe we could integrate to the new Popular Army
and get the weapons
join together and be still in the militia too.
You're a dreamer, Pigat.
It's impossible.
Look, I think we have, we have to try to see
the reality of the situation here. Okay?
Who's ever gonna give us guns, the Russians or whomever
they're not going to give them to us
if they don't think that we know how to use them
and that we're not properly trained.
So it makes sense that the best training
is going to come from a regular disciplined army.
That's obvious. I can't see what's wrong with that at all.
Everything is wrong.
The creation of the new army with its saluting
and discipline and military hierarchy
will destroy the revolutionary spirit of the people. Okay?
And it's exactly what Stalinists expect.
What?
That makes no sense, Bernard.
Absolutely.
The Communist Party was set up for revolution.
Why would they want to suppress the revolutionary spirit?
It is no more revolutionary.
Look, the militia is the heart of the struggle.
Stalin fears us
because he wants to sign treaties with the west
and he already did, did it with France.
So, to sign treaties, to reach an agreement...
he needs to be respectable and reassuring.
Okay?
So, if he supports us and the revolution we are making...
he will lost his... respectability.
That's the reason why we are a real threat for Stalin
and also for the other countries.
I don't know, Bernard, I...
what you are saying might be right, I don't know.
I don't know. Okay.
But I do know we're not going to win this war
with a bunch of amateurs.
You may be an amateur, I'm not!
Jesus Christ!
We've done, we've done okay up, up to now, Gene.
We could have done better with guns.
We saved Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona...
and we lost Toledo, Malaga and more...
we've got to be clear about one thing here.
There's blackmail going on.
If we accept those arms, they come with conditions.
They're not interested in partners, they want stooges.
Let's vote...
Let them know what we think.
Do we support our General Stafe
when they insist on keeping our own revolutionary organisations?
Si?
Everybody?
Si.
It's a clear majority.
Now watch.
Put the bullet in here.
Yes?
Understand?
That's it.
You take off the catch
and it's ready for firing.
Si...
Come on then, "Mr Laurel".
Remarkable resemblance. Remarkable.
Even down to the blank expression.
There you go.
You need to hold the rifle harder against your shoulder.
Fire.
Whey!
How's your shoulder?
You're afraid of the rifle.
Si. Yes.
Hold it firmly like this.
You mustn't jerk the trigger.
Squeeze it like a woman's tits.
Understand?
Have you ever squeezed a woman's tits?
Yeah. Yes? I'll bet you have.
Hold on a minute.
Fuck!
Come quickly.
I know.
Are you okay?
Get a stick.
A stick!
Hey, hey, try to keep calm.
Is he all right?
Yeah, yeah! I'm all right!
We must get him to the hospital.
What happened? What happened?
Fucking rifle blew up in my face.
Jesus! Piece of shit!
Jesus!
Are you satisfied now?
This is the shitty equipment you voted for!
Don't you have anything better to say?
Please give him some peace. Don't you see?
Yeah, I can see. I see a stupid idealist with a death wish.
Can't you see what's going on here? It's over!
It's kaput! It's finished.
Jesus, easy, easy man!
Oh fuck! I've had it!
I cannot stay here watching people die of stupidity!
I can't do it! I've had it!
I'm getting out of this! Fuck it!
David, if you had any fucking brains
you'd do the exact same thing!
Davey, let me see your eyes. Are your eyes okay?
Yeah.
Oh, you daft bastard!
How's that? I'm all right.
Open your eyes. I'm all right.
Open your eyes.
Easy...
How far is this place?
About four miles.
They patch you up and send you to the hospital in Barcelona.
When you get out of the hospital...
you'll need somewhere to rest for a while before you come back.
Yeah.
I know a place, a pension in Barcelona
where the people from the POUM stay.
Would you like the address?
Yeah, that'd be great.
Thanks.
You stay there yourself, this pension?
Yeah, sometimes.
I know the old lady.
You stay there.
Tell her my name.
I will.
I'll say: "Blanca sent me. Can you give me a nice room, please?".
Look after yourself, Blanca.
I'll see you soon.
Is this boarding house around here?
The Pension Adela?
Hello.
Do you have a room for me?
Who are you?
My friend Blanca
sent me...
I like having English people, they are clean and tidy.
This is my room?
This is yours.
Si.
Hola. Hello.
How are you?
Great. What are you doing here?
You're not pleased to see me?
Yeah. Yeah. Just shocked.
How's your arm?
Oh, it's much better now.
I had the stitches taken out two days ago.
What are you doing here?
Bernard gave me seven days leave.
I thought I would surprise you.
You definitely have, without doubt.
I bought some wine. It's on the table.
I'll be with you in a minute.
All right, yeah.
Help yourself.
Pour a glass for me.
Si, claro!
Please.
How's Bernard?
He's fine.
You know.
Women aren't allowed to fight any more.
New rules.
Yeah, I heard.
I can be a nurse. I can drive a truck.
I can be a cook.
But I mustn't shoot a gun any more.
I must know my place as a woman.
Maite is going to be a cook.
No!
Yes.
She will... she will be the worst in the militia.
Well that's without doubt.
It doesn't sound at all like her.
Things are changing very quickly.
Yeah? What did Vidal say about the whole thing?
No... please. I don't want to talk about it.
All right.
Today I want to forget it all...
bullets, trenches...
politics, killings, betrayals.
I want to feel human for a change.
Salut.
Take off your shirt.
What? Come on.
Take off your shirt! All right, all right.
All right. It's got buttons, you know.
Take care.
What's going on?
The police from the old days.
And now they are back.
No guns for us at the front...
and here in Barcelona
the police have guns sticking out of their arse.
I'll make some coffee.
Do you have some matches?
What?
No matches.
Yeah, there's some matches in my bag.
What is this?
What?
This?
We get no uniforms like this in the militia.
Look...
I meant to tell you.
I'm not in the militia any more.
I've joined the International Brigade.
I leave for Albacete on Friday.
Stalinist!
Come on. Come on.
You vote! You vote to keep the militia!
Yeah, but...
things are different now. I've changed my mind.
It's because of Lawrence?
No!
He left the day after!
No, it's not because of that!
I'm a member of the Communist Party.
I've never hidden it.
But you fought with us!
With the POUM!
Yeah, I fought with the POUM.
And look at the fuck that happened to me.
I've got a big piece of metal in my arm.
But you know perfectly well why!
You know they refuse us arms!
David! The Stalinists are betraying the revolution!
I don't believe that.
Go to La Batalla. Talk to them there.
I haven't got to talk to La Batalla.
I've been in hospital, I was talking to others.
Our leaders have been expelled from the government.
That's politics. That's the way politics works.
No! They are trying to ban us.
Say we are, we are social fascists!
And you know, you know this!
You know our papers are banned, journalists arrested
and here they even talk about torture chambers.
Camaras de tortura!
I don't know that, do I? I'll wait till I see it with my own eyes.
But you don't see it! You don't want to see it.
Why you didn't tell me yesterday?
I was going to tell you. I meant to tell you, just...
Liar!
Come on, look. I've tried but...
Blanca...
I came to Spain to fight for socialism,
to fight for the Republic!
And the best way I can think to do
that is with the International Brigades.
And if, if what you're saying is true
then I'm sure there's a good reason.
There's an explanation of some sort.
Of course it's true!
And there is an explanation. It's called Stalinism!
Look, what are you going to do now?
I go back to the front, where my real comrades are.
Oh look, come on! Blanca!
For fucks sake, Blanca.
Listen!
Blanca!
Look after yourself, will ya?
Please.
(GERMAN EAGLES ON GUERNICA BOMBS)
So that's why I'm in Barcelona.
It's dead complicated, Kit, and difficult to explain.
The problem is the struggle seems to be falling apart
in front of our eyes.
No-one trusts anyone any more.
Anarchists and POUM are pulling one way, communists in another.
It's mad. All I can do is believe the Party.
They must know what they're doing.
JOINT PLANS TO BREAK MADRID FRONT
The city is like a powder keg waiting to go off.
Trucks of assault guards everywhere.
And now there's trouble at the telephone exchange
which is run by the anarchists.
The police just took it by force.
They say the anarchists are sabotaging the war effort
by interfering with government business.
There's fighting in the streets,
barricades going up all over the place.
There's shootings. Comrades against comrades.
Fascist must be laugh that, that's all.
David.
The attack of the telephone exchange
is a declaration of war against the working class...
what are the POUM up to?
A general strike has been called in all industries
except those producing weapons...
Plants, machine shops, warehouses...
are stopping work.
The barricades of liberty have risen again in every part of town!
Arm yourselves to defend the revolution!
You should be killing fascists not one another!
What are you saying?
We've got nothing to eat.
D'you hear? We've got to put food on the table.
Please get out of the way.
Sorry, friend.
I'm sorry.
Bastards!
Hey, you, Stalin's sidekick. What division were you in?
The Karl Marx Division. And you? The Third Division?
No, you bastard. We're from the Durutti Division, the best.
You don't even know who's your enemy. You idiots!
You idiots!
You have betrayed the revolution.
That's a lie.
You are the ones who have broken the anti-fascists front.
I've been at the front and I know.
Are you English?
Yeah. You?
Where are you from?
Manchester.
Fucking hell, I'm from Liverpool.
What you doin' here?
Don't know. Why aren't you over here with us?
I don't fucking know.
We can smell food, fascists.
What are you cooking, bastards?
Sausages and beans. Are you hungry?
You bet!
Then here you are.
No more. Never.
We're not enemies.
My friend, Martin, returned from the front
dying of hunger. It's a disaster.
Which front? Aragon.
When it's decision time, everyone is the boss.
They say they don't even know how to load the guns.
Get away!
They say the militia women aren't killing fascists,
they are fucking them instead!
They fuck them.
They do nothing. They're crap.
They're a disaster, they take 4 totally inexperienced men.
That's a lie.
I'm from the front.
I'm in the militia.
You're in the militia?
He can't even speak properly.
What? What are you saying?
Listen, you're a fucking kid.
You know fuck all. Do you understand me?
Yes, a kid.
You don't know nothing. You've seen fuck all.
What's going on?
Son of a bitch!
Quiet! You fucking know-nothing,
you little snotty-nosed little kid!
What's going on? That's enough.
Are you mad, or what?
What do you think is going on?
If the leaders of the POUM and CNT get together, we're fucked.
That's what's happening!
They need to come from abroad to tell us that?
At least it's good that they're here.
Lazarus.
Yeah. Back from the dead.
Is that you?
Yeah. Gone but not forgotten, eh?
Has vuelto?
Si.
Roca! Andres!
Que tal amigo?
Yeah.
Are you a spy of the communists?
Si.
Fucking English. You're welcome.
Good to see you.
We have a new cook now.
Maite! Maite!
Fucking shit, the woman's doing the cooking...
Hola, amigo!
David!
Si!
What are you doing here?
I came back for something to eat.
Oh great!
I heard you'd taken over the cooking.
No, seriously, what happened?
No, seriously, what's on the menu?
Seriously... Fucking beans!
Go to hell, Pigat.
It's terrible!
Hola.
Fine.
And you?
So so.
What are you doing here?
I'm glad to see you again.
Si, si. Yo tambien.
The party stinks, Kit.
And I never thought the day'd come when I'd have to say that.
It's evil and corrupt.
In Barcelona I saw good comrades
snatched off the streets and executed
others disappeared into torture chambers,
and it's still going on.
Stalin is just using the working class like pieces on a chessboard
to be bartered, used and sacrificed.
Things have changed while I've been away.
Some of the old faces are missing
because they couldn't stomach all the in-fighting
and all-in-all we've taken a bit of a battering.
It's rumoured we're going to make a big attack soon
and still no weapons, no support.
But this one we're going to win.
Despite everything, our spirits are high.
Keep cover!
Viva!
Medico!
We have had many casualties.
They're bombing us...
Liste...
where's the cover you promised?
What kind of position is this? Nobody's come.
You don't understand anything.
Nobody's come.
We can't hold on.
Those fucking Stalinist bastards.
This should have been over hours ago, mate.
They should have fucking taken that hill hours ago.
Trust them just to make a fucking point.
They've dumped us, Davey!
Madruga.
Si...
Ammunition!
Wait...
I'm waiting! I'm not going anywhere, am I?
See we're hemmed in here, mate. They know where we are.
Where are they? Where's the asaltos?
Never mind in fucking reserve!
We're fucked here...
we can't hold this position any longer.
We must stay here.
No. We can't. We don't have any weapons. We don't have...
we must show them what we are, Bernard.
Listen, they know exactly what's happening here.
Nobody's sending arms or the army.
We will die alone, here, and you will do their game.
We are fighters.
Bernard, we are fighters!
It's an order.
We're fucked here...
This is madness. You've got to hold on.
Yes, sir.
Retreat immediately.
Why are you giving me this order
when you've just told me to hold the position?
All right?
I also want to know... listen...
why we've been risking our lives here
waiting for the promised reinforcements. All right?
Whatever you say, sir.
Madruga, Andres, come here
and the rest, quickly.
Garibaldi, Roca, we're going back to our old positions.
Come on, Roca.
Bernard, to the left with Jimmy.
David, cover this flank. Come on!
Quickly, orderly, orderly... go with them...
Come on, David.
All of you get back.
Come on... back...
Come on...
My fucking leg!
Blanca, come here.
Orderly. Orderly, there's a bad one, quick!
Stay with them.
Come on, Jimmy!
Be brave.
Oh, my leg!
Mira, mira, the cavalry have come.
If they've come to fight,
they're a bit late for that one, aren't they?
Hey, Gene. Gene! Gene...
what are you doing here?
Gene, what are you doing here?
Take it easy.
Bernard, keep everybody calm.
Stay where you are!
Quiet, everybody.
What the hell's going on?
Listen.
Drop your weapons on the ground, immediately.
Obey the order!
What's going on, Lawrence? Listen.
Es una orden.
What's the meaning of this?
Can we know why?
Officer, get your men to obey.
I refuse.
Obey my orders!
From now on this unit is disbanded.
You can all go home,
except for the following who are under arrest.
Quiet!
Juan Vidal
Bernard Goujon
Miguel Angel Campos
Rafael Jimenez
Ni locos...
what are we accused of?
The POUM is now illegal.
Your newspaper has been banned and your leaders arrested.
What charges?
Conspiring with the fascists...
collaborating with Franco!
Is this conspiracy?
Is this conspiracy, Colonel?
Jesus!
It's a lie... it's a lie...
while we've been getting fucking shot...
Don't look at the ground look at me face to face.
It's not a reflection on you it's your leaders.
It's a Stalinist plot.
The fucking government's a load of bollocks!
Sietamo, what about Sietamo? Alcubierre?
Come on, Gene, what about the people...
Lecinena? Casetas de Quisena? Tierz?
Navales?
They're all places liberated by the POUM.
Were they fascists who did that?
What about fucking Coogan and the others, who died?
Are we all fascists all of a sudden?
Were these places liberated by fascists, too?
It was the men of the POUM who defended Madrid.
Were these places liberated by Franco?
Quiet! Obey my orders!
Prepare to fire!
Take it easy!
Quiet!
What shall we do with the wounded?
Madruga, quiet!
You're under arrest.
Do as he says.
What happened in Barcelona with our comrades? Murderers!
They're going to shoot you...
Murderers!
Control your men, Captain.
Fight with us against fascism.
Fascist bastard, come here and say that face to face with us.
Come here.
Coward, coward, come here. Blanca!
They have to do this. Come here.
Coward, come here! They have to do this.
You're being tricked.
You're being tricked by your own leaders!
You're being lied to! Fight with us.
They're tricking you. You are tricking us!
No, the leaders of the POUM are tricking you!
You are tricking us!
Lawrence, open your eyes!
Come here, coward.
They have proof.
Come here! Come here!
Blanca...!
Silence... You idiots. God Almighty!
Silence...
Murderers...
Vidal...
what the fuck did you do that for?
We've fought for nothing, comrades.
Why did you do that?
You bastards...
Murderers...
we've fought for nothing, comrades.
Lower your guns.
Death to Stalinism! Long live the revolution...
Open your eyes!
Long live the revolution.
Down with fascism.
Thank you very much.
We buried Blanca in collectivised land.
She would have liked that...
even though the Stalinists came four weeks later
and broke up the commune.
At least the earth belonged to her for a short while.
I'm trying to get home, Kit, but it won't be easy.
They have a "wanted" list ad, as a so-called deserter
and supporter of the POUM, my name's on it.
There are no "safe" houses and we spend our time
hiding out in building sites and living rough.
Some of the most sincere and dedicated fighters
against fascism have been murdered.
But if you get this letter...
understand that I regret nothing.
Revolutions are contagious, and had we succeeded here...
and we could have done.
We would have changed the world.
But never mind...
our day will come.
We shall leave them in the ground,
but the earth is ours now, comrades,
and from this place we must draw the strength to fight on.
The battle is long and our foes are many,
but we are more...
we shall always be many more.
Tomorrow is ours, comrades.
Can I just say something a minute?
The other day, I found this.
It was amongst, like, my grandad's papers.
And I just thought it was, like, fitting for him.
It's a poem by William Morris, and I'd just like to read it out.
"Join in the battle"
"wherein no man can fail"
"For whoso fadeth and dieth"
"Yet his deeds shall all still prevail"