Libertarias de Vicente Aranda. La memoria controvertida y polémica entre utopía y feminismo

From the Transition to the present day, the recovery of the historical memory of the Civil War has been the privileged subject of an abundant literary, essayistic and documentary production in Spain; however, in peninsular cinema the topic has not had the same success. Vicente Aranda's film Libertarias (1996) is one of the few works that deals with the war, foregrounding the beginning of the revolution in July 1936, the libertarian utopia and the role of anarchist and militia women. However, the director's declared ideological orientation and the rebellious feminism of his heroines sparked long controversies and condemned the film to denigration. The article attempts to summarise the controversial aspects of the evocation of memory in the movie, especially those concerning the role of women.