The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca

Esai Morales stars as Ricardo, a Spanish-born journalist whose family fled to Puerto Rico when Francisco Franco seized power. When he was 14, he met his idol, the controversial poet, Garcia Lorca (Andy Garcia, making the most of his brief scenes), who signed his book and implored him, "Don't forget me." These words come back to haunt him when, in 1954, he decides to return to his native land to investigate Lorca's mysterious death (Lorca was arrested by Franco's forces, but his body was never found). As Ricardo gets closer to the truth, the threats and intimidation escalate. One would have gladly traded this trumped-up thriller for a film biography of Lorca, but this impassioned film earns points as an obvious labor of love (it took six years to reach the screen), and a library shelf is the ideal place for a film that champions free speech and the persecuted voices of dissent. A strong optional purchase. (K. Lee Benson)