A little over a year ago, when the No fiction the first part of the documentary will be released And faran a homeit was obvious that a continuation would be needed. The film critic Àlex Gorina, who appeared among the witnesses to explain the abuse he suffered during his military service, said: “I can’t believe that I’m the only one”. After him and all the interviewees who participated, many more have come, with stories that make people shudder and with one element in common: the events happened already in the democratic stage. The documentary prioritized four cases, in which the young protagonists died in very serious and never-explained circumstances while serving in the military. The deep pain and helplessness of the relatives remembering the events was heartbreaking.
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The documentary softened the cruelty of the stories with a leisurely pace that respected the grief of the witnesses. The realization was careful, looking for symbolic images that represented the emotions expressed by the witnesses. The impunity of the Spanish army and the opacity of the institutions was a constant throughout the No fiction. The desire to visually emphasize the loneliness of the documentary maker, Montse Bailac, was particularly significant, as she requested access to official files and reports that would help clarify the circumstances of some deaths. The answers demonstrated the lack of institutional transparency and the reminiscences of a dictatorial regime.
The allegations of the two editions ofAnd faran a home they are neither isolated cases nor an anomaly of the past: it is a state scandal that points to the military, political and judicial structures of the democratic period. These systematic abuses, mistreatment and deaths under the responsibility of the army cannot be relegated to simple uncomfortable accounts of a prime time striking television that are then shelved. The institutional and political indifference is outrageous. And here emerges a historical evidence that we have already seen too many times: the documentary preaches in a space where the story does not surprise, because it fits perfectly with an already assumed memory of structural abuse. In Catalonia, this type of revelation does not come to us as a traumatic novelty, but as the confirmation of a pattern we already know. The impact of the documentary seems to be confined to the area of TV3. From Spain, the state’s capacity for interpellation is neutralized. What does not happen in the major Spanish media circuits does not require any response. The severity of the events depends on the chain that explains them. It is inevitable to ask, out of simple democratic responsibility, if key figures in the State of that period, such as the former Minister of Defense Narcís Serra, have seen the documentary or if someone has suggested that they do so. It would be interesting to hear if he has anything to say about it. The problem is not only the absence of an institutional response but the normalization of this absence. This is also a form of symbolic violence: when the work of historical memory has no consequences. Hopefully this time could be different.
Aiko Tanaka
Aiko Tanaka is a combat sports journalist and general sports reporter at Archysport. A former competitive judoka who represented Japan at the Asian Games, Aiko brings firsthand athletic experience to her coverage of judo, martial arts, and Olympic sports. Beyond combat sports, Aiko covers breaking sports news, major international events, and the stories that cut across disciplines — from doping scandals to governance issues to the business side of global sport. She is passionate about elevating the profile of underrepresented sports and athletes.
