OBSERVER: El 47
El 47 tells the true story of Manolo Vital (Eduard Fernández), a bus driver living in Torre Baró, a slum area nestling in the hills surrounding Barcelona.
Vital, frustrated by the inaction of the City Council to provide a bus route to the town, hijacks his bus and drives it to his neighbourhood.
The background to Vital’s nonviolent protest has its roots in the Spanish Civil War.
The townspeople, formerly inhabitants of Extremadura, a southern Spanish city that suffered merciless repression at the hands of the Francoist Nationalists, migrated to the hills of Barcelona. The people of Torre Baró built the shantytown village with their bare hands.
In 1975, the Franco dictatorship collapsed, and Spain embraced democracy; however, change came slowly for the people of Torre Baró.
Years of neglect by both the Franco regime and the new government precipitated Vital’s act of lone protest. By 1978, the year the film is set, the town still lacked access to hot water and public transportation.
Weighed down by other concerns, the fledgling Spanish democracy ignored the demands of the working-class neighbourhood.
During one of his work shifts, Vital, fighting against inaction, commandeered the number 47 bus driving to Torre Baró instead of his customary route. Bus passengers and locals joined the popular protest as Vital coaxed the bus up the winding roads.
Directed by Marcel Barrena, Fernández shines as the unlikely hero of this feel-good film, revisiting the wounds of Spain’s violent history.
Clara Segura as Carmen, Vital’s wife and a former nun, and Zoe Bonafonte as daughter, Joana, provide excellent performances.
But it is Fernández, as the everyman fighting the system, that steals not only a bus, but also our hearts.
Palace Cinemas. For details of the Spanish Film Festival visit spanishfilmfestival.com
Review by Kathryn Keeble