Spanish Earth

In Spanish Earth Ivens became personally involved on the front during the Spanish Civil War. Julian, the protagonist, is the guiding thread of some of the film's episodes: irrigation project around the village of Fuentedueña, forty kilometres from the capital; the fight on the front; fear and death caused by the Francoist troops’ bombings, a parallel between working in the fields and fighting against fascism. The project of a stock footage documentary on the Spanish Civil War originated in the USA in 1936, but Ivens suggested making a new film on location. Four weeks after the start of the shooting Ivens went back to Paris. There he met Ernest Hemingway, who decided to follow him to Spain. The second period in Spain produced the most tragic and painful scenes. On several occasions the troupe members’ lives were in danger. The planning of the film changed day by day: “It was war time, and war was imposing on us, deciding the screenplay [...]”. Before the end of the shooting, the protagonist Julian disappeared and was replaced by an “anonymous soldier”. Hemingway wrote the commentary, which was first read by Orson Welles, then by Hemingway himself in the final version. To those who accused him of lacking objectivity, Ivens responded that “a documentary maker should take sides on essential subjects such as fascism and anti-fascism, if he wants his work to have a dramatic, emotional and artistic value [...]”.