# Mientras Dure la Guerra
**Mientras dure la guerra** (released internationally as *While at War*) is a 2019 Spanish-Argentine historical drama directed by [Alejandro Amenábar](https://www.edgepedia.org/alejandro-amenabar) that portrays the writer and philosopher [Miguel de Unamuno](https://www.edgepedia.org/miguel-de-unamuno) during the first months of the [Spanish Civil War](https://www.edgepedia.org/spanish-civil-war). Set in Salamanca in the summer of 1936, it follows Unamuno's initial public support for the military rebellion and his growing disillusionment as the conflict turns bloody, culminating in his visit to General Franco to request clemency for imprisoned colleagues.[1](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2019/sections_and_films/official_selection/7/672591/in) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/while_at_war)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Alejandro Amenábar, co-written with Alejandro Hernández; Amenábar also composed the music[1](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2019/sections_and_films/official_selection/7/672591/in) |
| Release | Spanish theatrical release on 27 September 2019[3](https://www.portalfilm.com/produccion/mientras-dure-la-guerra-2019/) |
| Festival premiere | Official Selection, in competition for the Golden Shell, 67th San Sebastián Festival (2019); 107 minutes[1](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2019/sections_and_films/official_selection/7/672591/in) |
| Lead cast | Karra Elejalde as Miguel de Unamuno, Eduard Fernández, and Santi Prego as General Francisco Franco[4](https://www.movistarplus.es/comunicacion/email/primeras-imagenes-de-mientras-dure-la-guerra-de-alejandro-amenabar-2/) |
| Awards | Five Goya awards at the 34th edition (2020), including Best Supporting Actor for Eduard Fernández[5](https://madridfilmoffice.com/en/production/mientras-dure-la-guerra/) |
| Reception | 64% Tomatometer from 22 critics' reviews and 73% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes; 6.9/10 on IMDb[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/while_at_war) • [6](https://www.justwatch.com/es/pelicula/mientras-dure-la-guerra) |
| Box office | More than two million spectators in Spain, described by Movistar+ as one of the cinematic phenomena of 2019[7](https://www.movistarplus.es/cine/mientras-dure-la-guerra/ficha?id=1744967&tipo=E) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and historical setting
The film opens on 19 July 1936, when troops rebelling against the government of the Second Republic declare a state of war in [Salamanca](https://www.edgepedia.org/salamanca). Unamuno, rector of the [University of Salamanca](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-salamanca) and a leading intellectual figure, publicly supports the uprising against a republic he had once fought for but felt had failed him, hoping it will end the prevailing political chaos.[7](https://www.movistarplus.es/cine/mientras-dure-la-guerra/ficha?id=1744967&tipo=E) • [3](https://www.portalfilm.com/produccion/mientras-dure-la-guerra-2019/) In parallel, General Franco adds his troops to the rebellion and, in the film's account, secretly aspires to take sole command of the war.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/while_at_war)
As the conflict turns bloody and some of Unamuno's colleagues are incarcerated, he begins to question his initial stance. When Franco transfers his headquarters to Salamanca and is named Head of State of the nationalist zone, Unamuno goes to his palace determined to request clemency.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/while_at_war) • [8](https://www.madrid.org/filmmadrid/descargas/rodajes-cam-2019.pdf)
The film's centerpiece is the confrontation of 12 October 1936 in the Paraninfo of the University of Salamanca, in which Unamuno faces General José Millán Astray, a supporter of the coup, with the words "¡Venceréis, pero no convenceréis!" ("You will win, but you will not convince").[9](https://www.rtve.es/television/20251116/mientras-dure-guerra-alejandro-amenabar-miguel-unamuno/16812460.shtml) An IMDb viewer note recorded on the film's page points out one dramatic license: it is not true that Millán Astray bellowed "España Una, Grande, Libre" after the writer's harangue, since that nationalist phrase was at the time used at Falange events rather than state events.[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7818580/)
## Production
Amenábar wrote the screenplay with Alejandro Hernández and composed the original score. The film was produced by Movistar+, MOD Producciones, Himenóptero, K&S Films (Argentina), and Mientras dure la guerra, A.I.E., with Fernando Bovaira as executive producer, and was distributed in Spain by Buena Vista International Spain, with international sales handled by Film Factory Entertainment.[1](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2019/sections_and_films/official_selection/7/672591/in) • [4](https://www.movistarplus.es/comunicacion/email/primeras-imagenes-de-mientras-dure-la-guerra-de-alejandro-amenabar-2/)
It was Amenábar's first Spanish-language feature since *Mar adentro* (2004), the Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film in 2005.[4](https://www.movistarplus.es/comunicacion/email/primeras-imagenes-de-mientras-dure-la-guerra-de-alejandro-amenabar-2/) Cinematographer Álex Catalán shot the film digitally on the ARRI Alexa Mini with ARRI/Zeiss Master Anamorphic lenses in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.[11](https://www.alexcatalan.com/dure-la-guerra/) Filming took place partly in the [Community of Madrid](https://www.edgepedia.org/community-of-madrid), including locations in Madrid, Aldea del Fresno, Chinchón, and [El Escorial](https://www.edgepedia.org/el-escorial), as well as in Toledo and Vizcaya.[5](https://madridfilmoffice.com/en/production/mientras-dure-la-guerra/)
The cast is led by Karra Elejalde as Unamuno, Eduard Fernández, and Santi Prego as Franco, with Nathalie Poza, Patricia López Arnaiz, Luis Bermejo, Tito Valverde, Inma Cuevas, Luis Zahera, Luis Callejo, and others in supporting roles.[4](https://www.movistarplus.es/comunicacion/email/primeras-imagenes-de-mientras-dure-la-guerra-de-alejandro-amenabar-2/) • [7](https://www.movistarplus.es/cine/mientras-dure-la-guerra/ficha?id=1744967&tipo=E)
## Reception and awards
The film competed for the Golden Shell at the 67th San Sebastián Festival in September 2019, one of three Spanish films in competition that year alongside *La hija de un ladrón* and *La trinchera infinita*.[1](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2019/sections_and_films/official_selection/7/672591/in) • [12](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2019/noticias/1/8061/es)
At the 34th [Goya Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/goya-awards) (2020) the film won five prizes: Best Supporting Actor (Eduard Fernández), Best Production Direction (Carla Pérez de Albéniz), Best Art Direction (Juan Pedro de Gaspar), Best Costume Design (Sonia Grande), and Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Ana López-Puigcerver, Belén López-Puigcerver, and Nacho Díaz).[5](https://madridfilmoffice.com/en/production/mientras-dure-la-guerra/) • [13](https://www.premiosgoya.com/34-edicion/articulos/ver/mientras-dure-la-guerra-goya-a-mejor-maquillaje-y-peluqueria/) It also received the Audience Award for Best Spanish Film at the Fotogramas de Plata 2020.[14](https://2021.spff.palace.pipelabs.dev/films/while-at-war)
Critical response was divided on emphasis rather than direction. Spanish critics praised its restraint and intelligence: Carlos Boyero of *El País* called it "a good, contained and also risky film, narrated with brain and heart," while Oti Rodríguez Marchante of *ABC* noted that the warfare happens elsewhere and that what matters occurs inside Unamuno and inside the general.[15](https://www.sensacine.com/peliculas/pelicula-260991/criticas-prensa/) English-language reviews were cooler: Variety's Dennis Harvey found it insufficiently moving as a character-driven piece and lacking the urgency to make larger events vivid, while Fionnuala Halligan of *Screen International* described it as "a complex, steady, deeply intelligent film with a chilling resonance today" and a departure in tone from Amenábar's earlier work.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/while_at_war) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 64% Tomatometer from 22 reviews and a 73% audience score.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/while_at_war)
## Historical treatment and legacy
Academic commentary has treated the film as part of the ongoing cinematic reckoning with the Civil War and the postwar period. Igor Barrenetxea Marañón of the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, analyzing *Mientras dure la guerra* and *La trinchera infinita* in *Cuadernos Republicanos*, argues that cinematographic representation must not be confused with historical truth, even though cinema remains an important visual document of how societies confront their own past.[16](https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/7248853.pdf)
The film has remained in circulation on Spanish streaming platforms, available on Movistar Plus+, and continues to be used in educational settings and public discussion of the war's memory.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/es/pelicula/mientras-dure-la-guerra) • [17](https://www.pedagogie.ac-aix-marseille.fr/upload/docs/application/pdf/2021-12/exploitation_pedagogique_mientras_dure_la_guerra.pdf) Amenábar has described the film as part of a recurring concern in his work with freedom of conscience, alongside his films on euthanasia and on [Hypatia](https://www.edgepedia.org/hypatia).[18](https://www.huffingtonpost.es/life/cultura/amenabar-no-asegurando-cervantes-fuera-homosexual-explorando-hipotesis-aparecia-libros-historia.html)
## References
1. [Mientras dure la guerra / While at War, San Sebastián Film Festival, Official Selection 2019](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2019/sections_and_films/official_selection/7/672591/in)
2. [Mientras Dure La Guerra, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/while_at_war)
3. [Mientras dure la guerra (2019), PortalFilm](https://www.portalfilm.com/produccion/mientras-dure-la-guerra-2019/)
4. [Primeras imágenes de "Mientras dure la guerra" de Alejandro Amenábar, Movistar+ Comunicación (13 June 2019)](https://www.movistarplus.es/comunicacion/email/primeras-imagenes-de-mientras-dure-la-guerra-de-alejandro-amenabar-2/)
5. [While at War, Madrid Film Office](https://madridfilmoffice.com/en/production/mientras-dure-la-guerra/)
6. [Mientras dure la guerra (2019), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/es/pelicula/mientras-dure-la-guerra)
7. [Mientras dure la guerra (2019), Movistar Plus ficha](https://www.movistarplus.es/cine/mientras-dure-la-guerra/ficha?id=1744967&tipo=E)
8. [Mientras dure la guerra, Film Madrid rodajes 2019](https://www.madrid.org/filmmadrid/descargas/rodajes-cam-2019.pdf)
9. ['Mientras dure la guerra', de Amenábar: maestría y controversia en la figura de Miguel de Unamuno, RTVE (16 November 2025)](https://www.rtve.es/television/20251116/mientras-dure-guerra-alejandro-amenabar-miguel-unamuno/16812460.shtml)
10. [While at War (2019), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7818580/)
11. [Mientras dure la guerra, Álex Catalán (director of photography)](https://www.alexcatalan.com/dure-la-guerra/)
12. ['La hija de un ladrón', 'La trinchera infinita' y 'Mientras dure la guerra' competirán por la Concha de Oro, Festival de San Sebastián (19 July 2019)](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2019/noticias/1/8061/es)
13. [Mientras dure la guerra, Goya a Mejor Maquillaje y Peluquería, Premios Goya](https://www.premiosgoya.com/34-edicion/articulos/ver/mientras-dure-la-guerra-goya-a-mejor-maquillaje-y-peluqueria/)
14. [While at War, Moro Spanish Film Festival 2021](https://2021.spff.palace.pipelabs.dev/films/while-at-war)
15. [Críticas de prensa para la película Mientras Dure la Guerra, SensaCine](https://www.sensacine.com/peliculas/pelicula-260991/criticas-prensa/)
16. [Igor Barrenetxea Marañón, "El pasado incómodo: una reflexión sobre la II República, la Guerra Civil y la sociedad española a través del cine", Cuadernos Republicanos n.º 102 (2020)](https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/7248853.pdf)
17. [Exploitation pédagogique: Mientras dure la guerra, Académie d'Aix-Marseille (2021)](https://www.pedagogie.ac-aix-marseille.fr/upload/docs/application/pdf/2021-12/exploitation_pedagogique_mientras_dure_la_guerra.pdf)
18. [Alejandro Amenábar interview, HuffPost (2024)](https://www.huffingtonpost.es/life/cultura/amenabar-no-asegurando-cervantes-fuera-homosexual-explorando-hipotesis-aparecia-libros-historia.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › War and historical films (individual works) › Historical dramas and epics › Titles M to Z › Titles M to Sa*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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