William Martin (film)
| William Martin | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Richard Jordan |
| Produced by | Richard Jordan Carmelo Crespo |
| Written by | Richard Jordan |
| Starring | Carmelo Crespo Manuel Palomo Pró Andrés Suárez Antonio Gómez |
| Music by | Jesús García |
| Cinematography | Ricardo Juárez Jiménez |
| Edited by | Richard Jordan |
| Distributed by | Offshore Videos S.L.[1] |
Release date | 2017 |
Running time | 15 minutes |
| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
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William Martin is a 2017 Spanish short film written and directed by Richard Jordan.[2] [3] [4] [5] Set in 1943, it focuses on four Spanish fishermen who find the corpse of fictitious British officer Major William Martin in Operation Mincemeat, a British deception in World War II. The film was shot at the same location as the historical corpse of William Martin was found.
Plot[edit]
A short introduction, presented in the style of a Spanish No-Do newsreel, provides the audience with key information concerning the Allies imminent invasion of Scilly during World War II and the British deception of Operation Mincemeat. The latter consisted of planting fake documents on the corpse of a fictitious British officer, Major William Martin, and releasing it from a submarine off the coast of southern Spain. As Francoist Spain was sympathetic to the Axis powers, it was hoped by British intelligence that the documents would find their way to the German Abwehr. The newsreel segues into the release of the corpse from a British submarine just before dawn off the coast of Huelva. The body of William Martin is found by four Spanish fishermen, and pulled aboard their boat. Believing that the officer's briefcase may contain money, they open it, only to find the fake documents planted by British intelligence. One of the fishermen, Roberto, is sympathetic to the Allies, and believing that the documents are important, wants to throw them overboard (which is precisely what British intelligence do not want to happen!). Another member of the fishing crew, José, fought with the Francoist army, argues that the documents should be handed over to the gendarmes in order to help the Germans. A Brechtian argument ensures, touching on the role of government, the meaning of democracy, Franco and Hitler. A key moment in the play of the World War II is now in the hands of four simple Spanish fishermen. Finally, they decide that they will throw the documents overboard and take the body ashore. Luis is about to throw the briefcase into the water when a shout from a detachment of gendarmes on the beach arrests him. He puts the briefcase back on the corpse and the fishermen begin to row ashore; the skipper of the boat swearing them to silence over what has just taken place. After the credit sequence, a pseudo-documentary shot shows four elderly men stood by the real grave of Major William Martin in the Nuestra Señora cemetery in Huelva.
Reception[edit]
The film premiered at the Pendance Film Festival in Toronto, Canada on 15th December 2017, where it was nominated for Best Picture.[6] The festival's magazine, Pensare Films Magazine, described it as: "Pitch-perfect acting" and "a masterclass in writing by Richard Jordan".[7]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
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