User reviews

This is a movie about the lost if innocence in cinema, in theatre... in art. Alfredo, the main character, is just a boy who loves theatre, he doesn't want to become a big movie star, nor a stage star. He doesn't want even to make money by acting. So he decides to create an independent street theatre company with some of his partners from the Art School. The movie isn't based on a true story, but it certainly looks like it was (We can see all the characters 30 years after the company was created, talking about it. Just like if it was a documentary). It does not matter that much if the performances of Alfredo and his crew aren't too brilliant because that's not what this film is about. You don't have to live in Spain to comprehend the point of this movie (as the previous commentator suggests). Just take a look around and see how everything in art's been prostituted. That's what this film is about. About not giving in, about fighting the establishment. Although the final sequence clearly shows us that the establishment cannot be beaten. Sad but true.

Noviembre is one of the more brilliant Spanish films that I've recently seen. I highly recommend you to watch it. Nevermind if you're Spanish, north-American, or German...

I adored this movie.I saw it in Annecy,France in April 2004.It was a Spanish movie festival.Of course,i had already taken 6 or 7 years of Spanish at the time so I had a pretty broad comprehension of what the movie was about and what the actors were saying...We are now in 2006 and I still to this day have not seen a better movie than this one. "Noviembre" has caused many things to change in my brain and my way of thinking about art. Art should be something that people express freely and in any kind of form or way they want.I thought the scenes in the streets, when they were acting were incredible. The end of the movie is very rough and harsh. If you ever see it,be prepared to cry in the end or at least be very touched by the meaning of it. If you have not lived in European countries it is more difficult to understand it. In fact,all the bad comments that I have read about this movie were made by non Hispanic and/or non European people.So please all of you,just open your mind to new and different things.

Make sure that you think twice about the true meaning of this movie before you say plenty of bad things about it.To me, everything was great,realistic for the way Spain was at the time and entertaining.

Just caught this on HBO-Latino. My Spanish is very limited so I couldn't understand that much either. But I don't think it's helpful to say it's "definitely an artsy masturbation job". I would urge readers to pay more attention to the fact that 150 people gave it a vote of 8 out of 10. Even the 1st reviewer gave it an 8. SEE THIS FILM! I thought it was very provocative -- an indie that deserves the name in the best of the tradition. Even if it is pretentious or self-important, or whatever 'artsy masturbation' means, this film goes well outside the dull, predictable, mainstream -- at least in its ambition if not farther. But not in a Warhol kind of way. It had something to say. Perhaps the message was, as Ben Harper sings, "You have to fight, Fight, FIGHT.......for your mind", i.e., fight conformism, fight indoctrination, fight regimentation, fight bourgeois control of the mind space. And enjoy the freedom you obtain thereby.

Just my $0.02

This is one of the most surprising films I have ever seen and the acting is just amazing.

The story of the idealistic Spanish street theater group "November" is really touching and a mixture of fiction and documentary.The scenes of street theater in Madrid are wonderful, the actors turn metros and shopping streets into a playground for their acts and I enjoyed the idea of interaction of with the audience.

Furthermore, the message of the film will make you think about the meaning of art: a business, a hobby, a life style... and about the extremely individualistic and materialistic society that the film reflects. Only by watching it you will understand that art is a way of changing this world and that youth is not passive.

I strongly recommend "November" because is that kind of films that helps you to understand yourself and the world. And I like to finish with the last sentence of the film said by one of the actresses: "We wanted to change the world, we failed miserably. Now I just try to not let the world change me"

I walked into this film 10 minutes late, saw it without subtitles, and only realized afterward that the commentators were the actors thirty years later. Even so I enjoyed the film immensely and it left me thinking about how much is too much. Because of the language problem (I live in Mexico but have enough hearing loss that movie sound doesn't come through well to me), most of the effect of the movie came through the outstanding cinematography and pacing. Spain is a country that has a recent history of atentados (political murders) so I wonder what Spaniards think of Noviembre. As an outsider, besides the plot and texture of the movie, I welcomed the shots of Madrid but what I liked most was the portrayal of the young energy of the street theater company. After seeing the film I felt older, wiser, and wish I could see it again.

First of all I am an actress. All over the world, it is so hard to live out of arts ( if you are not so famous). In today's world, you can be famous if you are on magazines. in old times when there were no television and stuff, to become famous, you had to be very successful on your job. if you were making shoes, and doing it so good, you were getting famous all over the world without media, TV and internet. this means being famous was depending on being the best on your field.

this movie shows the problems of all art work and artists, talking on theatre actors. on IMDb, the movies that includes guns, serial killers gets 8,9 grade but such an important movie is 7,4. this is what the movie tells about actually.

they wanted to change the world.did they? by this film i clearly understand that believing something or to have a hope is more vital than to accomplish it.to believe is the first and last thing in any of the story.since everyone exists in this story no matter who is actor who is watching.maybe meaning of the life is to understand that believing and challenging for any idea or a belief.death is the only perfect stage for Alfredo and actually for all of us. And no matter when it comes.Alfroda i saw,you change the world.sleep in peace. yes,finally all of us will die?will we? i believe in you i believe in we i believe in la ilahe illallah.

Saw this film in Barcelona without subtitles and with only my somewhat pitiable Spanish skills. It's definitely an artsy masturbation job, but I enjoyed the earnest of the actors and the filmmakers. Part of the new wave of films that use "documentary" and "reality TV" type devices to motivate plto.

I thought I didn't get the fact that the older people were the grown-up younger actors telling their story at first because of my language skills, but I asked several native speakers and they were as bemused.

The street scenes of street theater in Madrid are really the best moments and worth experiencing if not anything else.

The movie shows how far a group of youngsters can push the boundaries of social norms in street performances.

We learn also that we may change of prospectives with time , our ethics and principles are not always firm in the same point. Even though we wish it not to be so.

It's definitely worth watching this movie not just because of the ending, which is quite unexpected. But also for the uniqueness of the story.

The movie brings you back to the years nineties in the streets of Spain, where people is not too conservative. But yet, the actors go far behind the line of societal acceptance for what can be performed in public.

A few times, the group of players reach dangerous points.

Never read anything about this film, so when it showed on cable, I decided to see it. The idea of making theatre in the streets seemed an interesting idea. To bring drama to the masses, in that environment, is to be commended.

Approaching Achero Manas' picture, without having any background to the history behind it, doesn't make much sense to an ordinary viewer. Maybe to audiences in Spain, it might resonate, or at least, given the publicity surrounding some of its most daring pieces, they could bring a proximity, which to me, seemed illusive, at best.

First of all, the group, as I gathered, was active in Madrid in the past. We see Alfredo organizing his troupe of actors, then we are given glimpses of some of their work in the center of the city. The director brings another dimension by adding an explanation as to why things worked, or didn't, and its ultimate demise, by presenting actors, mostly in their 50s or older, talking directly to the camera telling us about their experiences when they were young. If we are to believe them, it would have put the action as having taken place in the 60s, in a Spain where Franco still dominated and most of the actions of the Noviembre group would not have occurred, and not in the recent past. If the director wanted to add this sort of device, he would have achieved more reality by presenting the same actors we see, throughout the film, as part of the Noviembre group, doing the explanations.

Some of the Noviembre theater pieces aren't even interesting! One wonders what was the big deal about them. Maybe the fact that it was never done in Spain? In other western countries, where street performances happen on a daily basis, these performances they did, seem very tame and pointless. Only their piece about the assault to apparently innocent bystanders have any real punch, the rest, doesn't amount to much.

Unfortunately this Spanish film seems to have been made for only a few, that knew the in joke, not for the rest of us outside of Spain.

Interesting interpretation on the creative freedom. The enormous Spanish tradition of the spectacle in the street has been truncated time and time again by the successive powers that always have seen in the theater a disturbing element of the well-thinking society. It is why it has been always persecuted and prevented the free expression. More,in spite of it, always moved away groups of commercial the circuits and for that reason prostituted, that have preferred the proximity with the public, true adressee of the representations have existed, shaking the consciences to wake up them of the sleepiness collective who undergoes that customary society to the easy televising programs or truculent,violent, unreal, manipulating and cheating films of the majority and overwhelming American cinema. And to the aim the tribute that must pay that exercise of free expression in this furious world by the idea of the security, on the one hand, and the absurd terrorism that are not another thing that the two faces of the same currency. What matters is to restore the fear to the freedom. And when this it does not exist or the money does not corrupt it, it is had to shoot on the pianist.

I have zero interest in street theater, guerilla or otherwise, and so I found the movie to be unengaging, dull and uninspiring to no end. That's not to say the movie was very badly made however, it seemed basically okay in that department I guess. But it was a real slog to get through, and there was little in it to pique interest. There's not much to shout about other than the message. It is the kind of movie that documents events that happens, rather than tells a dramatic story. As such, it feels too linear, and it plods along at a stultifyingly slow pace. The plot isn't very interesting, not to me anyway.

I am interested in finding out where (online preferably. that ships internatioanlly as I am based in Manila, Philippines) I can purchase the DVD of this movie (Noviembre by Achero Manas). I have emailed the producers/distributors in Spaon and I haven't received any replies. Help! I am not particular whether the DVD has English subtitles or not (as I speak and understand Spanish). I would like to have a Spanish subtitled option though, as I plan to study the dialog of the movie. Any comments/suggestions or just pointers would greatly help. I donot believe in nor do I practice the downloading of movies via the net, so please, only legitimate suggestions are appreciated. Thank you.

It felt a bit heavy-handed with all talk of doing theatre for free and that it somehow has more value because they are doing it solely for the art. But there are some good performances in this and ultimately I don't think the message was bad, it just felt a bit on the nose. The music was quite enjoyable but overall I don't really recommend it.