A Spanish film by director Antinio Cuadri, is a coming of age /political polemic set in 1975 to coincide with the death of Francisco Franco, that portrays the strife between the conservative religious and the liberal secularists Drawn into this is a boy of 13, Ramon, whose father's job requires frequent shifts in residence with the consequent difficulty. for Ramon of adapting to a new environment and making new friends but more importantly, avoiding bullies. One way he copes is to engage in a fantasy, based on a love of Westerns, of conjuring up an Indian brave, who consuls him on all aspects of his behavior. This is a charming device but seems to give the film the aspect of a children's only movie. This is sharply contrasted with the sexual openness and liberal use of four letter words. As a prime example, a priest who teaches the boys gives them a motto which is repeated often: Your friend is your friend, even if he fecks you. On first thought this seems incongruous, but checking the certification in Spain it got a 7:suitable for age 7 up. .So I have to put this down to my lack of cultural understanding:however it gets a strict 15 in the UK. What a difference! . The aspect of the cultural divide in Spain is not shown in any depth as this is foremost about the boy. . LaLengua de las mariposas, (1999) was much more successful as it went in to greater detail concerning secular/religious issues. The boy in both films was played by Manuel Lozano who does a fine job. A nice film for children but with reservations. .
