Face to Face with ETA: Conversations with a Terrorist (2023)

• Year: 2023
• Released: 15 Dec 2023
• Country: Spain
• Adwords: N/A
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29295010/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/face_to_face_with_eta_conversations_with_a_terrorist
• Metacritics:
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: Spanish
• MPA Rating: TV-14
• Genre: Documentary, Crime, History
• Runtime: 101 min
• Writer: Adrià Attardi, Julia Badenes, Silvia Merino
• Director: Marius Sánchez, Jordi Évole
• Cast: Guy Richardson, Francisco Ruiz Sánchez, Josu Ternera
• Keywords: basque country, spain, eta terrorist group, terrorism, cold blooded killer, spanish history, domestic terrorism,

6.4/10

Face to Face with ETA: Conversations with a Terrorist Storyline

An exclusive interview with one of the key figures of ETA: Josu Urrutikoetxea, better known as Josu Ternera. Led by Jordi Évole, the documentary offers a hitherto unseen look at the inside of the terrorist outfit and addresses some of the decisive moments until it was disbanded in 2018. A tense and exhaustive conversation which has enabled one victim of the conflict to solve some of the mysteries of the attack of which he was a victim almost 50 years ago.

Face to Face with ETA: Conversations with a Terrorist Photos

Face to Face with ETA: Conversations with a Terrorist Torrents Download

Face to Face with ETA: Conversations with a Terrorist Subtitles Download

Face to Face with ETA: Conversations with a Terrorist Movie Reviews

One sided and manipulative

I am not very familiar with the Basque conflict and ETA. I expected to learn something valuable about that but feel disappointed.

The journalist put the Josu U on trial for his actions but what about the Spanish government? He never asked him what he means by suppression from the government. I would have wanted to hear that as an outsider to learn more about the conflict.

The terminology used by the journalist mimics the government’s narrative. He doesn’t show or give even a single example of any actions carried out by the governments and authorities that might have been considered as “suppression “. It was obvious that some people were supporting ETA and so one wants to know why?

Besides, ETA stopped violence in 2011. One wants to see and know whether government policies towards Basque country have changed in a good way. Spanish government used violence and imprisoned many Katalan politicians because they went for a independence referendum whilst the UK allowed Scotland to do the referendum and acknowledged the result. If Spanish people think there are democratic channels to reach political aims, why would imprison Katalan politicians for organising a referendum. As far as I know Katalan people never had an organisation like ETA, but Spanish government still used persecution and suppression. So what would one say if some Katalan responds with violent means? Would it be only their faults?

The documentary puts this guy Josu U on trial, this is fine, but never asked the policeman about what he thinks of Franco dictatorship and working as his police officer or as a guard for his unelected mayors. The policeman says Josu U did not feel regret. Does he also regret working for a well known dictator? He might feel regret but the journalist did not even intend to ask him. This is the point I am trying make and so I think this documentary is one sided and manipulative.

I gave 3 out 10 because I think at least Josu U could handle this journalist in an effective way, at least a viewer can see what Josu U really thought. He ignored the provoking and accusatory language used by the journalist professionally and calmly.

Anyways, I think considering that ETA has been dismantled and there is no violent conflict, the ball is the government’s field. Violence should never come back. The way to do that is that Spanish government needs to take actions to ensure there are democratic channels for every political cause including pro independence movements and therefore must release all political prisoners and past ETA members to close the chapter of conflict and open a chapter to long lasting peace for all parties.

A poor, very poor view, as always

Documentary that is based on a biased reality and a story of the Spanish side versus the Basque side. Jordi Évole is deceitful and tries, in his timid, very timid way, to manipulate the reality experienced in Euskalerria.

As part of those pro-independence citizens who believe in the legitimate freedom of their people, I believe that it is more of the same within the Évole publishing house, a publishing house that plays a somewhat dirty game, speaking only of one part of the violence exercised in this case by E. T. A. But it does not talk about the violence exerted by the repression of the Basque people through the repression of state forces, state terrorism… its culprits seem to be from his point of view, the only existing victims: those of the Franquist and Unionist sides.

It is a real mistake to tell biased things from a single point of view, with an official story that the Spanish state wants to maintain. Évole’s work and his publishing house, are once again, completely failed for a Basque Country that is growing in gaining independence positions, once we are at peace; Neither he, nor his people realize that his story here is already very tiring.

That E. T. A., It no longer exists and they continue talking about her, but what about the Franquism that we suffer here?? Nothing is said about that, they can say that because it is not relevant. But that is not the case, what does not interest the Évole team is that the two realities are told as they should make into a documentary. That is why this man seems to me to be a pretensionist and a manipulator, lukewarm and timid, but he is part of the state apparatus that denies Franquism and the suffering and deaths that his 40 years left behind.

You have to tell him also that the police officer he interviewed was at that moment escorting a dictator installed by another in a town that had not voted for him, and that he was executed by the organization. And only Josu Urrutikoetxea refers to this, Évole doesn’t even flinch, for him and his people there will continue to be only one side that they insist on continuing to show, but they don’t realize that in Basque Country they are doing to us independentists ,a tremendous favor. Continue with your pseudodocumentaries telling a biased part of the reality that interests them, because the longer they continue at it, the less we will see them, the stronger we will become and above all we will pay less attention to them, because they are tiresome.

3 stars out of 10.