Welcome Mister Marshall!
(¡Bienvenido Mister Marshall!)
Luís García Berlanga / Spain / 1952 / 78 min
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The witty, multi-layered and subversive Welcome, Mr Marshall! – a watershed in Spanish cinema history – captures the intrigues and insecurities of a Castilian village that rouses at the news that Americans, representing the post-WW2 European Recovery Program (the Marshall Plan), are due to visit. With the help of Juan Antonio Bardem and humorist Miguel Mihura, Berlanga transformed what began as a hymn to Spanish hospitality into a sinister critical farce about meek villagers and their incompetent leaders, as the local mayor kits out all the men in traditional Andalusian costume and the women as flamenco dancers.
United States, which offered a varied and exciting panorama on the collective imagination, had just getting by without a trace. A broken dream that just had caused costs, when they really needed their help. The image on the floor of a sad flag with stars and stripes, washed away the rain, was a powerful and eloquent ending.
Ironically, the film missed out on a Cannes prize when jury member Edward G Robinson complained of its anti-Americanism.