The Endless Trench

 

At a time when many of us are confined to our homes, I can recommend a Netflix film that will put a stop to any complaints or feelings of self-pity.

The Endless Trench is a Spanish film which tells the story of Higinio (played by Antonio de la Torre) hiding in his own home for thirty years, and successfully evading his Francoist enemies with heroic help from his wife Rosa (Belén Cuestas).

The film begins in 1936 at the start of the Spanish Civil War. Living in an Andalusian village, the newlyweds are forced to make a temporary subterranean living space beneath the floor of their living room. Higinio had been a Republican village councillor and must hide from a fascist execution squad who had assassinated the other Republicans in his village.

Aided by Rosa, his hiding continues for 33 years. After amnesty was granted in 1969 to these topos (moles), Higinio emerges into the light.

The Endless Trench directors, Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga were encouraged to make the movie with the rise of the far right and the Vox Party in Spain. They wanted their film, released last year, to contribute to the political debate there. Areggi said, “Our film proposes that everyone hides things from each other, and that these conflicts are always there, even if they’re beneath the surface as its message—its warning—is universal.”

Fascism does not arrive politely. Its weapons are subterfuge, violence and fear. Its practitioners, like General Franco, are ‘career psychopaths’. And it’s worth noting that Higinio was not a communist or a revolutionary. He had been a Social Democrat.