the desired aim: that is, to give a voice to Franco’s sincerity of Ascensión Mendieta. The connection
victims in the laborious and sometimes thankless that we feel with these old women in their struggle
task of fighting for truth, justice and reparation in should encourage us to watch the film without
a country whose transition to democracy was not wondering about other issues of a more technical
accompanied by a clear break with the dictatorial or narrative nature. Through the perseverance and
regime that preceded it. Perhaps it is a case of dignity of María Martín and Ascensión Mendieta, the
the classic dichotomy between the scientific and historical memory movement can only be reinforced.
the non-specialist, and in this situation the only And this is memory in its purest form – not data,
assessment available to us is a subjective one in not clinically exact accounts, but the transmission
which each individual can decide what is more of a past history for which closure will only be found
important – whether to be radically faithful to the when amends are effectively made. And as part of
truth or, whether, without distorting it, to customize a collective process, the attainment of this goal
it in order to increase its impact. Undoubtedly, there inevitably enhances the value of memory as a means
will always be detractors of one or the other option. for ensuring that justice is done. All this, always,
The fact that the film prioritizes the
from the present and into the future.
sentimental over the documentary
is corroborated by the directors
themselves. In the many interviews
granted by Almudena Carracedo and
Robert Bahar, they talk of their main
objective: to place the focus on the
human element, on small personal
stories rather than on large-scale
quantitative data. This vision is
potentially accurate as long as it
manages to reach the public, arousing
a personal empathy that transcends
abstract discourses and, thus, perhaps,
penetrates the collective account.
Can an individual reaction of
empathy and solidarity with the
victims of the documentary arouse
interest in a specific social movement
such as the campaign for historical
memory? Is the “sentimental”
vision the directors bestow on the
documentary justifiable? The answers
to these questions depend on how we
respond to their strategy. We return
once more to the field of subjectivity.
In my humble and subjective opinion,
it is impossible not to empathize
with María Martín and her reflections
on human injustice, just as it is
impossible not to be moved by the
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