I was expecting to hate this, not because I condone the atrocities of ETA, but because the de-politization of art has become a dangerous and ever-increasing trend in the last 10 years or so. Post-crisis Europe is slowly creeping towards to a callous hybrid of feudal-capitalist authoritarianism (some would argue, it's already there) and Spain is no exception. Art can awaken or can pacify. "Fe de etarras" definitely belongs to the the latter category. Nobody will be bothered by this film, not even the Basques. But I do believe it has a saving grace. It shows how most people just want to live a normal life, be safe, fall in love and eat good food. Radicals tend to forget the power of wanting to belong and be normal. The film addresses this issue with zero arrogance (something that would have been easy under the present circumstances: the victory of the Spanish State and the disarmament and dissolution of ETA) and at times even reaches moments of subtlety. Yet, the utter lack of political criticism is very alarming in a time of media and cultural homogenisation.
Review of Bomb Scared
