Generally, the present-day situation in Spain is largely discussed here. Thus, according to the author of the article, Almodóvar has warned of an increasingly violent mood in his recession-hit country, as he throws his weight behind a popular movement determined to stop banks evicting vulnerable people who can no longer pay their mortgages. It should be mentioned that the film director himself is of the opinion that everyone should react, but in the most peaceful way possible. Like many other Spaniards, Almodóvar is also frustrated with a double-dip recession that started four years ago: it’s necessary to note that the crisis has hit young people hard, with unemployment for those aged under 25 running at 57%. In this connection, Almodóvar speaks for new laws badly needed to protect the vulnerable, while any delay is fraught with serious consequences. One more fact commented in the article is, for instance, that 80 Spanish families a day are having their homes repossessed in a country where four out of five people live in homes owned by their family, while campaigners complain that a new law going through parliament only permits that in rare cases. In the director’ opinion, the country is socially conservative, and this worries him a lot, for he cannot stay indifferent.
There is no mention about Giles Tremlett’s own point of view, but it’s made quite clear, for he evidently shares the one of Almodóvar and criticizes the government’s passiveness and unwillingness to solve acute social problems. I have never been to Spain and haven’t seen if local people are really suffering, but I’m quite sure such troubles are almost the same in different parts of the world. Besides, I wonder if Pedro Almodóvar has ever been to Russia, for I believe living conditions the Spaniards consider unbearable are regarded as very favourable in our country.
Excellent!
ReplyDelete