Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Leftbanker A hand grenade of a film from one of the truly dark moments in 20th century Spanish history but Salvador goes way beyond a bio-pic. For me the finest moment in the movie was when his guard reads the letter he had written to his father and in those words he sees that his prisoner is a man of flesh and blood capable of feelings and consciousness.What the movie really is about is the inhumanity of capital punishment and how it is used as a political tool, a tool of vengeance which is something that any modern judicial system must avoid at all cost. The garrote device used in the execution is just about the most horrible thing I've ever seen. I am 100% positive that he couldn't have been breathing or alive at the end. This type of strangulation results in death in seconds. Brilliant acting all around and I completely believed every second of the story. It all seems like so long ago but it happened in my lifetime. In Spanish and Catalan. My Catalan is lousy as no one speaks it here. I learn more Catalan in a week in Barcelona than I do all year here in Valencia.On a negative note the last 20 minutes of the film dragged on way too long.

Lola33 I was lucky to get into a screening of "Salvador" at a German film festival and saw it with English subtitles. This movie transports us back in time to the era of the Spanish Franco dictatorship. Yet, it's not so much a history lesson as a universal plea against death penalty – one of the most powerful ones that I've ever seen in cinema. The film tells the story of Salvador Puig Antich, one of the last political prisoners to be murdered by the Franco regime in 1974. Salvador certainly isn't an innocent victim. He is an anarchist involved in armed bank robberies and when they finally catch him, a policeman dies in a shootout. However, he never receives a fair trial and the method of execution they apply for him is nothing short of barbaric. The garrotte, once a standard device for execution in Spain, resembles a medieval torture instrument where the delinquent is strangled with an iron collar. Salvador's execution is shown in the movie, but it isn't done in a sensationalist way. Much more haunting to watch is the period before it happens – the desperate tries to save Salvador's life by his lawyer and the last visits by his sisters. It's largely thanks to the protagonist that the film works so well on the emotional level. Daniel Brühl, one of the finest actors working in Europe today, is wonderful when it comes to convey the feelings of the doomed young prisoner. He says more with only a look or a small raise of an eyebrow than many an actor could with a long speech. The scenes when Salvador realizes that he'll be facing death, when he bids farewell to his sisters and first sees the murderous machine are especially powerful and exquisitely acted. By then, of course, you'll be in tears already, like the rest of the cinema.To cast Daniel Brühl (who is half Spanish and speaks the language perfectly) as Salvador certainly was a brilliant coup by director Manuel Huerga. The star of such German gems as "Good Bye Lenin!" and "The Edukators" here makes a triumphant debut in Spanish cinema. After this performance, even more doors should be open for him throughout Europe. The rest of the cast is also very good, especially Leonardo Sbaraglia as the prison guard who gradually develops something like a friendship with Salvador. If you get the chance, go and see this movie. And bring tissues!

gabiurbon I've seen this film today, and although I wouldn't say it's great film wise, I think it's important for people to know about recent history, especially Spaniards. I'm totally against death penalty, and this film has only reassured me in the matter. But I must say the film is somehow partial, as Salvador was in fact a bank robber, no matter what he used the money for. The acting is quite impressive. I must confess I wasn't too convinced about Daniel playing Salvador, as he's German, but he's great. Tristán Ulloa is also very good, and he speaks really good Catalán, sounding native although he's actually Galician (north west Spain). And finally Leonardo Sbaraglia plays an impressive policeman. Incredibly, you forget he's an Argentinian sex symbol and does a really good Spanish accent.Also, I may be a bit impartial myself, since I know the sister of one of Salvador friends in the film and about the family suffer...

Fastolph This movie is in fact two movies. The first one tells Salvador Puig Antich's life. Explains how he became involved in the resistance against Franco dictatorship and his beginnings in the criminal life. This way, the movie doesn't try to make him look like a saint, because he wasn't, and at the same time justifies him somehow, realistically showing the cruelty and repression that take place in the last years of Franco's life.The other movie tells Salvador's last 12 hours. The relationship with his family, his friends and his enemies. And his cruel execution. This part is 100% Drama, and very well made one. Its almost 45 minutes of holding tears, jumping from a touching scene to a more touching one. Some of the weak points of the first part are finally justified to help this last devastating dramatization.The main actors make a great job, specially Leonardo Sbaraglia, Daniel Brühl and Tristán Ulloa. Although the last one sounds a little too weird when he talks Catalan. The main problem of the movie is that the plot isn't thick enough. It tells a simple story of a simple boy and don't get to fully explore the characters minds. But it gets close.