Ken Loach - Land and Freedom (1995)

When her grandfather dies, a young girl goes through his personal effects and finds a side to the man she never knew. Reading through his letters, newspaper cuttings and photographs, she pieces together the story of his involvement as a volunteer on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. After a rousing presentation to the local Communist Party members in Liverpool of the situation facing the workers in Spain, David (Ian Hart) ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ out of work and on the dole ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ believes he can do something worthwhile by going to Spain and fighting for the land-working population in their struggle against Franco's military dictatorship which has usurped the power of the democratically elected Socialist government. Unable to get international support for their struggle against the Fascist dictatorship which is supported by Hitler and Mussolini and even tacitly by the British government, many men, like David, make the secret crossing into Spain ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ Americans, Irish, Italians, French and even Germans ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ young idealists all willing to fight for the cause. Together with Spanish workers, they form a Republican militia unit and set about liberating towns in the Aragon region from Fascist control. But more than that, the militia and the people want revolution ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ to impose the communist ideal, collectivising land, improving productivity and sharing it with those fighting for the Republican cause.

Adding to the internal struggles between the practicalities of fighting the Fascists and implementing the ideals of Communism, the POUM militia desperately need support and weapons to hold onto the ground they have gained. They distrust the Stalinist Republican Army however, and are unwilling to subsume their passion and their love of the land and freedom to a militaristic command. As the Republican cause descends into bitter in-fighting, David finds himself increasingly disillusioned, torn between the possibility of achieving the Communist ideals he holds so dear through the Stalinist Red Brigade or through the POUM militia ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ a choice that is complicated by his love for a Spanish woman he has met in the militia.

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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114671/

English and Spanush audio; English idx/sub

My rip of the Artificial Eye DVD