When he died in 1975, Franco was buried in the mausoleum “The Valley of the Fallen”. Conceived as an expansion of himself, this architectural masterpiece dedicated to the glory of National Catholicism, gathers all the stigmas of Franco's regime. This monument is also the largest mass grave in the country, containing nearly 30,000 corpses, mainly belonging to Franco's fighters, the remaining third coming from the Republican camp. This division between the dead from opposite camps was intended to symbolize the great project of national reconciliation designed to stop the chaos of the civil war.
When the government voted to move the dictator to a more modest mausoleum, controversy was raging in the opposing sides. Because in the current political context of the country, the exhumation of Franco, although a strong gesture, does not solve all the issues. Those who are asking to recover the bodies of their parents or grandparents, which have been buried in the basilica's crypt for over 70 years, or who are requesting the excavation of the pits that still cover the country, struggled to be heard.
By giving a voice to all those who have been forgotten by the democratic transition, this film recounts the story of a Spain that is continually paying for the burdensome past it has tried to exclude.
Direction: Xavier Villetard
Production: Les Films du Sillage, France Télévisions & RTBF