An acceptable and passable film chronicling the tragedy of barbaric slaughter in the Spanish Civil War. Ariadna (Laia Costa) discovers that her grandfather has been searching for the remains of her father, who disappeared in the Civil War, for a long time. Determined to help him, she travels to Burgos, where they are exhuming a mass grave in which he might be buried. During her stay there, she will learn the story of Antoni Benaiges (Enric Auquer), a young teacher from Tarragona who before the war was her grandfather's teacher. So she discovers the story of an idealistic young teacher from Tarragona. Later on , Ariana meets an old man (Ramón Agirre) from the area that also hopes to find those of Antoni Benaiges, his teacher, there. Another story concerning a good man by means of flashback, a sympathetic teacher using an innovative pedagogical method, Antoni Benaiges inspired his students and made them a promise: to take them to see the sea.
Here a superb Enric Auquer (La Vida Padre) gives life to the idealistic Republican teacher Antoni Benaiges in this emotional biopic set in the Spain of the pre-war and during the outbreak of the civil war based on the homonymous book written by Francesc Escribano. The film unites two separated stories by 75 years, the first one deals with Ariana decides to travel from Barcelona to Monte de la Pedraja, in Burgos, to find out if the remains of her great-grandfather are in the mass grave that is being excavated and the second one about a adorable and likeable teacher. Although the real story of the teacher is adequately fitted, explained and dramatized, its reflection in the present is weaker, functional and, of course, less dramatically constructed. Auquer does a work of touching delicacy and tenderness playing a man who taught the children the value of knowledge and made them a promise: to take them to the sea. A very sad and terrible story, a very agreeable film.
¨The Teacher Who Promised the Sea¨ turns out to be an intense drama with historical and biographical elements ; including awesome performances and adequate set design . ¨El maestro que prometió el mar¨ results to be other of the innumerable stories to deal with dramatic deeds regarding the Civil War background. A familiar theme about the global horrors of a fratricide war , impossible to forget to our cinema . The movie is attractive enough, but I prefer the much better ¨La lengua de las mariposas (Butterfly, 1999)¨ by Jose Luis Cuerda, starring Fernando Fernán Gómez. An agreeable at the same time downbeat story with plenty of enjoyable moments , moving feelings and tragic finale .
Filmed in usual formal and stylistic scholarship , without leaving a trace the thought-provoking issues , in terms of dramatic and narrative excitement. The flick can be defined as a realistic tragedy-drama, a story in search of one's own roots , a historic fresco and a socio-political fable . The main problem has to face , beyond not being able to avoid falling into the politic pamphlet is precisely derived from the coldness of its staging , some slow-moving scenes and extreme manichaeism. Because the story needs a vibration more real than the one offered in this sometimes joyful as well as sad flick , though also contains humorous and charming moments when the children are gathered and play and enjoy with the teacher, and of course the strong and moving ending.
The motion picture was professionally directed by filmmaker/script supervisor/writer Patricia Font at her third feature film. She has also directed Pared con pared y Gente que viene y bah. And various TV episodes, such as: The Red Band Society, La templanza, Citas, Moebius, among others. The drama has just opened in Romania, Italy and Russia and will do so briefly in Austria and Alemania. The film was nominated for the 2025 Goya Awards for: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Costume Design and Best Original Music. Rating: 5.5/10.
