Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Metafilm In The Spanish Post-Civil War Period: Cinematic Self-Reflection In Berlanga’S Bienvenido, Mr. Marshall And Bardem’S Calle Mayor, Lucy F. Lee

The Coastal Review: An Online Peer-reviewed Journal

The focus on the self-referential as a means of destabilizing reality and calling attention to the artificial nature of life may be noted in a number of films of the Spanish post-Civil War period, among them José Antonio Berlanga’s Bienvenido, Mr. Marshall and Juan Antonio Bardem’s Calle Mayor. Through their use of metacinematic devices such as distancing techniques, parody, and the incorporation of performance and cinematic models, the constructed nature of provincial life and Spanish identity is exposed, ushering in a new era of Spanish cinema.