Product Details

• Actors: Ana Belén, Victoria Abril, Ariadna Gil, Blanca Apilánez, Laura Mañá
• Directors: Vicente Aranda
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: Spanish
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Venevision
• DVD Release Date: December 21, 2004
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000641A04
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,542 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #24 in	Movies & TV > Military & War > International
  #26 in	Movies & TV > Art House & International > European Cinema > Spain
  #49 in	Movies & TV > Art House & International > By Original Language > Spanish

• For more information about "Libertarias (Juegos De Guerra)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Spain, July 19, 1936. The War has just begun and women as always play their part in this human tragedy. Maria, an innocent young nun, is forced to leave the convent after the arrival of the revolutionary troops in Barcelona. She takes refuge in a brothel, where she meets a group of "Libertarias", who are being "drafted" for the "Free Women" organization under the leadership of Pilar (Ana Belen) a pure feminist warrior, passionate and fiery. Alongside, Charo (Loles Leon) the hooker with the heart of gold and Floren (Victoria Abril) a spiritualist, Maria joins in. Within the brutal realities of war, Maria experiences love with an unexpected character and companionship through those she is fighting with. Libertarias is an epic of six women fight for freedom, their struggle for justice amid their passionate cry for a better world. One of Spain’s best known directors, Vicente Aranda, Winner at the Tokyo International Film Festival, has made 17 previous films including the internationally acclaimed "Amantes".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Film About Spanish Anarchist Militia Women, December 26, 2004

By	J. Hannah (Somerville, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I heard about Vicente Aranda's magnificent film "Libertarias" ("Freedomfighters") shortly after I first heard of Ken Loach's "Land and Freedom". In this film, instead of the retelling of the George Orwell "Homage to Catalonia" story, we instead follow the lives of a group of anarchist CNT militia women at the opening phase of the Spanish Civil War, some liberated from a brothel, and some former nuns liberated from a church. The two movies have some similarities - both are based around the Spanish Revolution that occurred during the Spanish Civil War... but there as a far greater focus on the anarchist state of mind in this film. It also does not shy away from the issue of free love, of the Revolution's effects on the minds of liberated religious people, or even mysticism, as in one curious scene where an old anarchist ghost is channeled through a woman in a trance - the grumpy spirit criticizes the anarchist militia hero, Durruti, and tells the militants how to defeat a nearby enemy.

This film is a lot of fun. Originally I was a little put off by the less serious "feel" of the characters in the film than I initially expected (Prostitutes? Nuns? Sex?) ...but as the film took it's course I could see how different threads - the war, personal transformation, feminism, catholicism, anti-fascism, sexual feelings, and anarchist direct action - were all woven together quite cleverly.

As with Loach's "Land and Freedom", don't expect a happy ending in this film - we all know who won the Spanish Civil War! But this movie helps us see deeply into the world of the left libertarians who resisted Franco and Fascism and dared to imagine a more free, more libertarian world than the one we have today.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LIBERTARIAS, December 25, 2004

By	L. Dequesada (JAMAICA,, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This film tells the mostly unknown story of anarchist militiawomen in the initial days of the Spanish Civil War, "the last idealist war". It is the story of a nun and a prostitute who join a group of loyalist militiawomen in their fight to resist the rebellion of the majority of the Spanish Army led by General Franco against the Republic and the people's revolution.
Seeing "Libertarias" will be an unforgettable experience and the acting is superb. Famous spanish film actors and actresses like Ana Belen, Victoria Abril, Blanca Apilanez, Loles Leon and Miguel Bose all deliver excellent and convincing performances.
This action packed film is guaranteed to become a favorite of those who see it. I highly recommend it.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great film; should have been letterboxed!, March 30, 2005

By	Carlos A. Sogamoso "The Movie Mogul" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I own the VHS WIDESCREEN VERSION and was anxiously awaiting the DVD release. To my dismay it's FULL SCREEN. What happened to the WIDESCREEN VERSION? A cinematic film like this (shot in 2:35 anamorphic) that ended up cropped loses a lot of detailed visual information. Bummer!

Guess I'll have to wait for an overseas letterboxed version to be available.