The Rock (La Roca)

La Roca examines the relationship between the British territory of Gibraltar and the nearby Spanish community of La Linea, through the eyes of both local populaces, who over the decades have seen peace give way to conflict. People from Gibraltar once worked and played freely in La Linea and vice versa, drawn to each other's attitudes and cultures and often marrying and living happily together. Filmmaker Raúl Santos intersperses archival and news footage with interviews of people who share reminiscences, moving more or less chronologically to recount the evacuation of residents of Gibraltar to London during World War II; Germany's surrender and the families' return to “The Rock”; and the discovery of Western music and culture in the early 1960s. Extensive coverage is devoted to Generalissimo Francisco Franco's closing of the border between Gibraltar and Spain in 1969, which resulted in forced separations within extended families that led to heartbreaking attempts at cross-border communication (including Sunday gatherings at the boundary gates where people would peer through binoculars in search of loved ones on the other side), as well as elaborate smuggling operations. Despite the eventual reopening of the crossing in 1982—amid great fanfare—political strife continues between Spain and the U.K., while the trust between citizens on both sides seems to be irrevocably broken. A sad, thought-provoking film, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Puffer-Rothenberg)