While driving his truck, late one night, through a desolate road, Forteza, an itinerant former soccer star, stops when he sees a wounded man in the middle of the highway. This man asks to be taken to a nearby town so his wound can be treated. The hurt man is part of a group roaming the mountains of Northern Spain in the years that followed the Civil War, a devastating event for many Spaniards. These fighters fought the new regime of Franco, trying to do harm wherever they could. Forteza decides to go along, but he almost gets in trouble when he is stopped at a road block.
Forteza has an act where he competes with the locals of any town in his itinerary challenging them to try to make a goal. He is a skillful man with a great record, but now is a bit older to be playing professionally. In the town he meets the lonely widow, Manuela, who is a sister of the man he helped. Things get complicated when Sgt. Andrade, chief of the Civil Guards challenges Forteza to a competition.
It is clear that Forteza has, by this time, fallen for the beautiful Manuela, who is the talk of the town because the child she had was black, something unheard of in those days, especially in those parts of Spain.
The Civil War, and its aftermath, have been a good source for the Spanish filmmakers. They go back to try to make sense of a conflict that split the country during the 1930s and what the country became after the end of the war. Gonzalo Suarez, the director, is no exception. He co-wrote the screenplay, but it doesn't shed a new light on the conflict. This story goes nowhere as it is a local story that will confuse most viewers.
Carmelo Gomez and Maribel Verdu try their best to make this a watchable film, without much luck.
Forteza has an act where he competes with the locals of any town in his itinerary challenging them to try to make a goal. He is a skillful man with a great record, but now is a bit older to be playing professionally. In the town he meets the lonely widow, Manuela, who is a sister of the man he helped. Things get complicated when Sgt. Andrade, chief of the Civil Guards challenges Forteza to a competition.
It is clear that Forteza has, by this time, fallen for the beautiful Manuela, who is the talk of the town because the child she had was black, something unheard of in those days, especially in those parts of Spain.
The Civil War, and its aftermath, have been a good source for the Spanish filmmakers. They go back to try to make sense of a conflict that split the country during the 1930s and what the country became after the end of the war. Gonzalo Suarez, the director, is no exception. He co-wrote the screenplay, but it doesn't shed a new light on the conflict. This story goes nowhere as it is a local story that will confuse most viewers.
Carmelo Gomez and Maribel Verdu try their best to make this a watchable film, without much luck.