One review of this charming film was titled “When
Paradise was Called Switzerland” because a lot Spaniards went there to find
work. Actor Carlos Iglesias turns
début writer-director to tell this story of his childhood, when thousands emigrated
to Northern Europe to escape unemployment and poverty in Franco’s Spain. In
1960, Martín (director Iglesias) and Marcos (Gutiérrez) leave behind their
families in Madrid to seek a wage to send home. Switzerland confounds their
expectation, with its freedoms and its open, bright spaces. Despite the
inevitable cultural misunderstandings, they find work and settle in to enjoy
their new lives. As beautiful and as prosperous as life is for him and his
family in Switzerland he longs for his home in Madrid, “Daría lo
que fuera por estar en la Gran Vía tomándome una caña y viendo pasar gente” (I’d
give anything to be on the Gran Via having a beer and people watching).
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