Espoir, Sierra de Teruel

This is the final sequence of the film Espoir, Sierra de Teruel (1938-1939) codirected by André Malraux and Boris Peskine. It was largely based on a chapter in L’Espoir [Man’s Hope] (1937), a novel that was inspired by Malraux’s experience as volunteer in the International Brigades. At the time, the writer was already a popular figure in the French literary scene and was also known for his leftist sympathies. During the Second World War, he joined the French resistance, in which he played a very minor role. In the postwar years, he became one of Charles de Gaulle’s righthand men and served as France’s first Minister of Culture (1959-1969). 

Peskine was a Russian-born French engineer and filmmaker. When he began his collaboration with Malraux, he had just completed his first film, a documentary entitled Sur les routes d’acier (1938). During the Second World War, he became involved with the French resistance and was arrested twice and deported to Dachau – fortunately his captors did not know he was Jewish. After the war, he worked as an engineer. Sierra de Teruel was his last film. 

The plot follows a platoon of Republican soldiers’ attempt to bomb a bridge near Linás de Marcuello, just north of Zaragoza. Commander Peña, Captain Muñoz, and their men eventually succeed in their mission. However, the airborne commando is ambushed by Nationalist planes and one of the crafts crashes in the mountains. The final scene features the survivors being rescued, and, along with the remains of the only fatality, carried to the neighbouring village by an impressive procession. This sequence marks Sierra de Teruel as a powerful instrument of communication. The raised fists and the sullen faces hint at widespread support for the Republicans in the rural parts of northern Aragon. The scene mixes revolutionary and Catholic aesthetics, as the long line of people of all ages paying tribute to the soldiers evokes religious symbolism. 

Malraux’s testimony should be taken with a grain of salt, as most scholars agree that he was a pathological liar. Nonetheless, he unarguably played an important part in the sale of fighter aircraft to the Republicans and apparently fought courageously and was wounded twice. However, his superior officers were not impressed with his performance, as he had never seen action before and did not know how to fly a plane. In late February 1937, Malraux went on a North American tour to raise funds for the Republican cause and started work on Sierra de Teruel. While some of the film was shot in Spain, it was impossible for the crew to operate near Teruel. Thus, most of the scenes were shot in Catalonia and France. 

Not surprisingly both the novel and the film were banned under Vichy France and Francoism. Besides, all but two copies of the film were destroyed by the Nazis in occupied France. Aside from a few sporadic viewings in 1939, the movie was only publicly released in the spring of 1945. 

AB-V