“El Viaje de Carol” (2002): The Civil War in a Castilian Village

Abstract

El viaje de Carol (Carol’s journey) is a film set in the Nationalist forces reaguard, in an unespecified Castilian village, from 1938 to the end of the Spanish Civil War. This film shows how cinema reflects on the past. As historians we cannot forget that we live in a society of images: past becomes present in the same moment in which History is made. So, we can say that cinema has a big influence on the society which consumes it. In that way, Imanol Uribe activates the mecanisms to recreate the past as well as the public’s memory of it which is used to dialogue with reality. Cinema is a good means as an ideological transmitter. Therefore, this research tries to show us the importance of cinema in our collective memory, because —as a social product— it is a source of knowledge of our History. Analysing its key points, we can hear —through fiction— the social message which is being se to us: the stupidity of this armed conflict. So, we can establish an evident intent to give us a history lesson. Images are not innocent: it is an intellectual product directed at the society which produces it. This metaphor shows a way of making history. In this way, we must study and show the kind of history that we are creating.