Ironía, nostalgia y deconstrucción en “Canciones para después de una guerra”

Abstract

Canciones para después de una guerra (Martín Patino, 1971) comprises an ironic archive documentary about Spain during the forties. Using different editing strategies —such as re-location of materials, fusion between sound and image, figures of speech and montage effects—, the film proposes an alternative view to the dominant one offered by Franco’s official media. The movie provides a re-reading of the Spanish postwar period that combines the historical report of years of shortage and isolation, the political criticism of an authoritarian regime and the sentimental force symbolized by the popular songs.