While at War

Spanish-Argentine war drama film

While at War

Theatrical release poster

Spanish| Mientras dure la guerra
Directed by|

* Alejandro Amenábar

Written by|

* Alejandro Amenábar
* Alejandro Hernández

Produced by|

* Fernando Bovaira
* Domingo Corral
* Hugo Sigman
* Alejandro Amenábar

Starring|

* Karra Elejalde
* Eduard Fernández
* Santi Prego
* Luis Bermejo
* Tito Valverde
* Patricia López Arnaiz
* Inma Cuevas
* Carlos Serrano-Clark
* Luis Zahera
* Ainhoa Santamaría
* Mireia Ruiz
* Luis Callejo
* Dafnis Balduz
* Jorge Andreu
* Nathalie Poza

Cinematography| Alex Catalán
Edited by| Carolina Martínez Urbina
Music by| Alejandro Amenábar

Production
companies

Movistar+
MOD Producciones
Himenóptero
K&S Films
Mientras Dure La Guerra A.I.E.

Distributed by| Buena Vista International

Release dates

* 6 September 2019 (2019-09-06) (Toronto)
* 27 September 2019 (2019-09-27) (Spain)

Running time

| 107 minutes
Countries|

* Spain
* Argentina

Language| Spanish
Box office| $13,475,475[1]

While at War (Spanish: Mientras dure la guerra) is a 2019 Spanish-Argentine[2] historical drama war film directed by Alejandro Amenábar.[3][4] Set in 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, the plot tracks the plight of philosopher and writer Miguel de Unamuno (performed by Karra Elejalde) in Salamanca, a city controlled by the Rebel faction.

## Plot

[edit]

Some footage was shot at Salamanca's Plaza Mayor.[5] The buildings of the university also appear in the film.

During the Spanish coup of July 1936, Nationalist troops occupy Salamanca. In the process, the city's Socialist mayor is arrested. Revered author Miguel de Unamuno (Karra Elejalde) convenes with two colleagues, Protestant priest Atilano Coco Martin[6] and leftist Salvador Vila Hernández; they discuss the coup briefly, after which Unamuno leaves for an interview to publicly support the coup. During the interview, the mayor's wife interrupts to ask him to intervene regarding her husband's imprisonment; Unamuno offers monetary assistance instead, which she rejects.

Meanwhile, in Spanish Morocco, a German delegation meets with General Francisco Franco to pressure the formation of a single Nationalist leader following the death of General José Sanjurjo. Franco maintains that the junta in Burgos holds power, even as his colleagues pressure him to take leadership. Back in Salamanca, Unamuno is removed from his position as rector at the University of Salamanca by the government of the Second Spanish Republic in response to his support of the coup. Unamuno meets with Coco and Salvador again, with the meeting culminating in a heated argument from which Coco leaves. Unamuno later goes to Coco's residence to speak with him, only to find that he is not there. Elsewhere, General José Millán-Astray meets with Franco in Cáceres, while the junta in Burgos reinstates Unamuno as rector of the university, where he finds that he has been prompted to write a manifesto supporting the coup, a task he rejects. Unamuno attempts to meet with Coco - his wife reveals that he had been taken into Nationalist custody days prior. Unamuno meets with Salvador, who attempts to convince him of the fascist nature of the coup.

Meanwhile, Millán-Astray urges Franco to relieve the Siege of the Alcázar in Toledo, but is rebuffed on strategic grounds – to relieve the siege would delay the war's end by years. Millán-Astray pressures Franco to assume leadership, a proposal Franco once again rejects. Later, Franco replaces the Republic's flag on his headquarters with the old monarchist flag, stirring discontent within the junta. The junta then arrive in Salamanca to meet with Franco and his generals, with whom Unamuno is called to meet. Unamuno attempts to plead for Coco's release, and is told that his case will be reviewed. Unamuno is then quietly confronted by Millán-Astray about his unwillingness to sign the manifesto, leaving Unamuno to make a decision. The junta leave to hold a vote on the leadership question, during which Millán-Astray exhorts his colleagues to vote for Franco. At the same time, the administration of the University of Salamanca meet regarding the manifesto. Unamuno assents and signs, while Franco is voted in as commander-in-chief. While leaving the meeting, Unamuno is met by Coco's wife, who presents him a letter testifying to her husband's innocence. Meanwhile, Franco visits a cathedral, where he is inspired by an image of El Cid to relieve the siege of the Alcázar, earning more fervor for his cause.

Unamuno meets with Salvador in the countryside, with whom he debates regarding the war. During the walk back, Salvador is accosted and arrested by Falangists, leaving Unamuno to walk back alone in the rain. He slips into a delirious state for several days, after which he attempts to make a personal appeal to Franco and his wife to have his colleagues released; the attempt fails, and Unamuno, anguished, informs Coco's wife. Meanwhile, Millán-Astray confronts Unamuno once again and informs him that he will be taking Franco's place in a Nationalist event at the university the following day. At the event, Unamuno initially refuses to speak, though he changes his mind after reading Coco's wife's letter. He presents a speech criticizing the nationalists, causing the crowd to turn on him, thereby forcing him out. An epilogue details the fates of several of the figures in the film.

## Cast

[edit]

* Karra Elejalde as Miguel de Unamuno
* Eduard Fernández as José Millán-Astray
* Santi Prego [es] as Francisco Franco
* Nathalie Poza as Ana Carrasco
* Patricia López Arnaiz as María de Unamuno Lizárraga
* Luis Zahera as Atilano Coco [es]
* Luis Bermejo as Nicolás Franco
* Inma Cuevas as Felisa de Unamuno
* Mireia Rey as Carmen Polo
* Tito Valverde as Miguel Cabanellas
* Luis Callejo as Emilio Mola
* Carlos Serrano-Clark as Salvador Vila Hernández [es]
* Ainhoa Santamaría as Enriqueta Carbonell[7]
* Itziar Aizpuru [es]
* Pep Tosar [es] as Enrique Pla y Deniel
* Miquel García Borda as General Kindelán
* Dafnis Balduz [es][8]
* Jorge Andreu[8]

## Release

[edit]

The film had its world premiere on September 6, 2019, at the Toronto International Film Festival.[9] The film was also included in the Official Section of the 2019 San Sebastián International Film Festival.[10]

Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through their Buena Vista International distribution label, the film was released in cinemas in Spain on September 27, 2019.[11]

## Millán-Astray controversy

[edit]

The Plataforma Patriótica Millán-Astray (Millán-Astray Patriotic Platform), an organization of veterans of the Spanish Legion, accused the script writers of plagiarism of the 1941 work Unamuno's Last Lecture by Luis Portillo, a text the organization claims is defamatory towards José Millán-Astray, founder of the Spanish Legion. The accusation was based on the content of the official trailers.[12] The organization demanded the return of the public funds received for the making of the film.[13]

## Reception

[edit]

### Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 64% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10.[14] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 55 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[15]

Dennis Harvey of Variety gave it a mixed review and wrote: "This is a worthy enterprise that errs on the side of caution, carrying the slightly stale whiff of awards-bait cinema in which greatness is frequently signaled but inspiration somehow lacking."[16] Jonathan Holland of The Hollywood Reporter called it "Ambitious in scope, carefully crafted and featuring several fine performances" but was in the final impression felt that the film had been limited by its faithfulness to the book.[17]

### Accolades

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Category | Nominee(s)  | Result | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

2020 | 25th Forqué Awards | Best Film | Nominated | [18][19]
Best Actor | Karra Elejalde | Nominated
7th Feroz Awards | Best Actor (film) | Karra Elejalde | Nominated | [20]
Best Supporting Actor (film) | Eduard Fernández | Nominated
Best Original Score | Alejandro Amenábar | Nominated
Best Trailer | Rafa Martínez | Nominated
12th Gaudí Awards | Best Actor | Karra Elejalde | Won | [21]
Best Supporting Actor | Eduard Fernández | Nominated
75th CEC Medals | Best Film | Nominated | [22][23]
Best Director | Alejandro Amenábar | Nominated
Best Actor | Karra Elejalde | Nominated
Best Supporting Actor | Eduard Fernández | Won
Best New Actor | Santi Prego | Nominated
Best Original Screenplay | Alejandro Amenábar, Alejandro Hernández | Nominated
Best Cinematography | Alex Catalán | Nominated
Best Editing | Carolina Martínez Urbina | Nominated
34th Goya Awards | Best Film | Nominated | [24]
Best Director | Alejandro Amenábar | Nominated
Best Actor | Karra Elejalde | Nominated
Best Supporting Actor | Eduard Fernández | Won
Best Supporting Actress | Nathalie Poza | Nominated
Best New Actor | Santi Prego | Nominated
Best New Actress | Ainhoa Santamaría | Nominated
Best Original Screenplay | Alejandro Amenábar, Alejandro Hernández | Nominated
Best Cinematography | Alex Catalán | Nominated
Best Editing | Carolina Martínez Urbina | Nominated
Best Art Direction | Juan Pedro de Gaspar | Won
Best Production Supervision | Carla Pérez de Álbeniz | Won
Best Sound | Aitor Berenguer, Gabriel Gutiérrez | Nominated
Best Special Effects | Raúl Romanillos, Juanma Nogales | Nominated
Best Costume Design | Sonia Grande | Won
Best Makeup and Hairstyles | Ana López-Puigcerver, Belén López-Puigcerver and Nacho Díaz | Won
Best Original Score | Alejandro Amenábar | Nominated
29th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actor in a Leading Role | Karra Elejalde | Won | [25][26]
Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role | Nathalie Poza | Won
Inma Cuevas | Nominated
Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role | Eduard Fernández | Nominated
7th Platino Awards | Best Director | Alejandro Amenábar | Nominated | [27][28][29]
Best Actor (film) | Karra Elejalde | Nominated
Best Screenplay | Alejandro Amenábar, Alejandro Hernández | Nominated
Best Original Score | Alejandro Amenábar | Nominated
Best Cinematography | Alex Catalán | Nominated
Best Art Direction | Juan Pedro de Gaspar | Won
Best Sound | Aitor Berenguer, Gabriel Gutiérrez | Nominated

## See also

[edit]

* List of Spanish films of 2019
* List of Argentine films of 2019

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Mientras dure la guerra (2019)". The Numbers. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
2. ^ Rivera, Alfonso (20 September 2019). "Review: While at War". Cineuropa.
3. ^ Silvestre, Juan (13 June 2019). "'Mientras dure la guerra': Tráiler y fecha de estreno de la nueva película de Alejandro Amenábar". Fotogramas (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 August 2019.
4. ^ "Así es 'Mientras dure la guerra'". El País (in Spanish). 14 June 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
5. ^ González Valdés, Sergio (30 May 2018). "Amenábar y la República toman la Plaza Mayor de Salamanca". Cadena SER.
6. ^ "Atilano Coco". www.satucket.com. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
7. ^ Albertus, Ramón (3 December 2019). ""El mayor premio es seguir trabajando"". El Correo.
8. ^ a b "Tráiler final de 'Mientras dure la guerra' de Alejandro Amenábar". Fotogramas. 24 July 2019.
9. ^ "While at War". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
10. ^ "'La hija de un ladrón (A Thief's Daughter)', 'La trinchera infinita (The Endless Trench)' and 'Mientras dure la guerra (While at War)' to compete for the Golden Shell at the 67th edition of the San Sebastian Festival". San Sebastián International Film Festival. July 19, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
11. ^ "'Mientras dure la guerra' debuta en lo más alto del ranking de taquilla y se convierte en el tercer mejor estreno español del año". Audiovisual451. 30 September 2019.
12. ^ Rábade, Ricardo (28 July 2019). "Los veteranos legionarios solicitan que Amenábar devuelva la subvención por su película". El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). Salamanca: Vocento. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
13. ^ Rábade, Ricardo (24 August 2019). "Los veteranos legionarios denuncian a Amenábar por plagio". El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). Vocento. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
14. ^ "Mientras Dure La Guerra". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
15. ^ "While at War". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
16. ^ Harvey, Dennis (6 September 2019). "Film Review: 'While at War'". Variety.
17. ^ Holland, Jonathan (5 September 2019). "'While at War' ('Mientras Dure La Guerra'): Film Review | TIFF 2019". The Hollywood Reporter.
18. ^ "Premios Forqué 2020: de 'Dolor y Gloria' a 'La trinchera infinita', todos los nominados". El Confidencial. 21 November 2019.
19. ^ "Consulta la lista completa de los ganadores de los Premios Forqué 2020". ¡Hola!. 12 January 2020.
20. ^ "Premios Feroz 2020: la lista completa de ganadores". HuffPost. 16 January 2020.
21. ^ "'Els dies que vindran', film guanyador dels XII Premis Gaudí". VilaWeb. 20 January 2020.
22. ^ "'Dolor y gloria' encabeza las nominaciones en la 75ª edición de las Medallas del Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos". Audiovisual451. 3 January 2020.
23. ^ "'Dolor y gloria' logra cinco Medallas del Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos". audiovisual451. 21 January 2020.
24. ^ "Mientras dure la guerra". Premios Goya. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
25. ^ Silvestre, Juan (11 February 2020). "XXIX Premios de la Unión de Actores y Actrices: Lista completa de finalistas". Fotogramas.
26. ^ "Los repartos de 'Dolor y gloria' y 'Estoy vivo' triunfan en los 29º Premios de la Unión de Actores y Actrices". Audiovisual451. 10 March 2020.
27. ^ "Premios Platino 2020: Todas las nominaciones". Otros Cines. 18 March 2020.
28. ^ Martín, Cynthia (18 March 2020). "Nominaciones Premios Platino 2020: 'La Trinchera Infinita' lidera las nominaciones". Fotogramas.
29. ^ "'Dolor y gloria' y 'La casa de papel', las grandes triunfadoras de los Premios Platino 2020". ¡Hola!. 29 June 2020.

## External links

[edit]

* While at War at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Alejandro Amenábar

Films directed
and written|

* Thesis (1996)
* Open Your Eyes (1997)
* The Others (2001)
* The Sea Inside (2004, also produced)
* Agora (2009, also produced)
* Regression (2015, also produced)
* While at War (2019)
* The Captive (2025)

Films produced|

* For the Good of Others (2010)

TV series directed
and written|

* La Fortuna (2021)

* v
* t
* e

Miguel de Unamuno

Novels|

* Peace in War (1897)
* Mist (1907)
* Abel Sánchez: The History of a Passion (1917)
* San Manuel Bueno, Mártir (1930)

Miscellaneous|

* Nivola
* While at War (2019 biopic)

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