''La vaquilla'' (English: ''The Heifer'') is a 1985 Spanish comedy film written and directed by

Luis García Berlanga Luis García-Berlanga Martí (12 June 1921 – 13 November 2010) was a Spanish film director and screenwriter. Acclaimed as a pioneer of modern Spanish cinema, his films are marked by social satire and acerbic critiques of Spanish culture under t ...

. It was the first comedy made about the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

and the highest-grossing Spanish film in Spain at the time surpassing ''

Los santos inocentes ''Los santos '' or ''The Holy Innocents'' is a Spanish drama film directed by Mario Camus, based on famous Miguel Delibes' novel of the same title. The movie stars Alfredo Landa and Francisco Rabal, who both won the Best Actor Award at the 1984 C ...

''.

Plot

During the

on the Aragón frontline the speakers of the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

troops announce a

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

in a nearby village which includes a bull run and religious procession. A group of

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

soldiers infiltrate the Nationalist side to steal the animal for two reasons; to ruin the holiday for the Nationalists and because their food stores are low.

Characters

Brigada ''Brigada'' (russian: Бригада), also known as ''Law of the Lawless'', is a Russian 15-episode crime television miniseries that debuted in 2002. It became very popular in Russia and ex-Soviet countries as well as Eastern Europe, but recei ...

Castro (

Alfredo Landa Alfredo Landa Areta MML (3 March 19339 May 2013) was a Spanish actor. Biography He was born in Pamplona, Navarre, Spain. He finished his pre-university studies in San Sebastián. He then began university studies on Law, where he began to wo ...

), a professional Republican soldier. * Mariano (

Guillermo Montesinos Guillermo José "Willy" Montesinos Serrano (born 10 January 1948) is a Spanish actor who has appeared in more than 50 films in his career. Biography Montesinos graduated in Dramatic Art in 1969 from Madrid. He made his acting debut in 1975. H ...

), a Republican soldier coming from a village across the frontline, where his girlfriend Guadalupe remained. * Limeño ( Santiago Ramos), a Republican soldier who was a

bullfighter A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activity ...

before the war. Chosen to kill the heifer, he is actually afraid of bulls. * Lieutenant Broseta (

José Sacristán José María Sacristán Turiégano (born 27 September 1937), better known as José Sacristán, is a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor. At Gijón International Film Festival in 2015, he received the Nacho Martinez, Nacho Martinez Awar ...

), a Republican officer who was a hairdresser before the war. He longs for his profession and threatens to punish failure with a complete head shave. * Priest ( Carles Velat), a Republican soldier who almost became a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

. He still remembers many mannerisms. * Republican Colonel (

Eduardo Calvo Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese footb ...

) * Guadalupe ( Violeta Cela), daughter of a Republican and girlfriend of the absent Republican Mariano, she is dating a nationalist Alférez. * Nationalist Commander ( Agustín González), has to deal with his troops and the local aristocrats. * Juana (

María Luisa Ponte María Luisa Ponte Mancini (21 June 1918 – 2 May 1996) was a Spanish actress. She appeared in more than 130 films and television shows between 1952 and 1995. She appeared in the 1977 film ''Black Litter'', which was entered into the 27th ...

), mother of Guadalupe, has to hide her Republican husband. *

Alférez In medieval Iberia, an ''alférez'' (, ) or ''alferes'' (, ) was a high-ranking official in the household of a king or magnate. The term is derived from the Arabic ('' al-fāris''), meaning "horseman" or "cavalier", and it was commonly Latinise ...

(

Juanjo Puigcorbé Juanjo Puigcorbé (born 22 July 1955) is a Spanish actor. He has appeared in over 100 films and television shows since 1977. He starred in the 1993 film '' The Window Over the Way'', which was entered into the 44th Berlin International Film Fes ...

), a Nationalist officer courting Guadalupe. * The marquis (

Adolfo Marsillach Adolfo Marsillach Soriano (January 25, 1928 – January 21, 2002) was a Spanish actor, playwright and theatre director. He was born in Barcelona. He was known for his collaborations with playwright Alberto Miralles. He is the father of a ...

) is the local aristocrat. He tries to convince the commander to push the front so that all his enormous estate (currently divided by the frontline), falls in the Nationalist side. His "inherited"

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intens ...

forbids him to walk.

Location

The film was shot mainly in

Sos del Rey Católico Sos del Rey Católico (in Aragonese: Sos d'o Rei Catolico) is a historic town and municipality in the Cinco Villas comarca, province of Zaragoza, in Aragon, Spain. History Located on rocky and elevated terrain, this important border town serv ...

with many locals as extras. In 2009 the village homaged the surviving artists.

References

External links

Image gallery

File:LaVaquilla1.jpg, File:LaVaquilla2.jpg, File:LaVaquilla3.jpg, 1985 films 1980s Spanish-language films 1980s war comedy films Films directed by Luis García Berlanga Spain in fiction Spanish Civil War films Films with screenplays by Rafael Azcona Spanish war comedy films 1980s Spanish films {{SpanishCivilWar-film-stub