From 1939 until 1977, Franciso Franco was the authoritarian ruler of Spain backed by many global leaders. Upon his death, democracy was cobbled together and proposed a great amnesty in which political prisoners and their torturers and killers would go back to their lives, never discussing the cruelty and inhumanity of the Francoist government in what is called “The Pact of Forgetting." Franco isn’t taught in Spanish schools, memorials depicting survivors are torn down and vandalized, but the many fascist memorials, statues, and even street names are celebrated and defended.
Many governments, especially the United States, turn a blind eye to the crimes against humanity committed by this regime in support of their violent repression of Communist ideals. In that political fervor many bystanders, children, and other innocents were affected. The crimes of the regime didn’t stop with the death of Franco as many of his closest advisors and political allies remained in power long after 1977.
The Silence of Others is a groundbreaking documentary in its scope and content. Most documentaries about Francoist Spain focus on the Spanish Civil War or a specific incident: This documentary focuses on many first-hand accounts by those who were tortured, had their children stolen, or fought to claim the remains of loved ones executed as political prisoners. The director uses a classic and artistic style, using mixed footage from historic reels, interviews, and following events as they unfold.
The main subjects of The Silence of Others are attempting to overcome the legal gridlock created by the Pact of Forgetting. Many parallels are made to South and Central America in which members of fascist regimes have been vilified and tried as criminals despite adopting similar stances on amnesty. Spain is a lone holdout in this field. In their attempts to have the case tried at an international level, we can see how most of the world’s governments handle crimes against humanity; that is, they ignore them or bury them beneath bureaucracy and litigation. Using Francoist Spain as a case study, we can see how the free world chose to forget and ignore the atrocities committed by the Spanish government, labeling them a “fight against international communism” instead.
Many of the subjects have heartbreaking and horrific stories to tell, but despite this, The Silence of Others manages to feel surprisingly heartwarming at times. For many of these people, this is the first time they’re publicly telling their stories. In all, this documentary is incredibly informative, visually stimulating, and so very human. This is a documentary that should be seen not just for its under-studied subject matter but for the artful form with which historic, informative, and documentary footage are interwoven with the main narrative. For these and many other reasons, The Silence of Others is highly recommended.
Included in our list of Best Documentaries 2021.
