The best Manuel Zarzo’s war movies

World War 2 - a British commando squad is tasked with attacking the "secret" German airfield from which German fighters have been attacking bombers which are trying to stop German tanks from reinforcing the D Day defences.

In Laos, 1954, eight days before the french defeat in the Indochina war, the 317th platoon – four french soldiers and 41 laotian combatants – has been ordered to leave its outpost and to retreat for the plains of Diên Biên Phu, where the french army is getting stucked. Led by the inexperienced and idealistic sous-lieutenant Torrens, fresh out of the military academy, and by adjutant Willsdorf, a WWII veteran of the Werhmacht, the group must cross 150 kilometers of jungle. But dripping rainwater, hostile nature, and the Viêt-minh ambushes expose them to constant danger.

Hypocrisy and betrayal are the two dramatic pivots in this effective, emotionally gripping tragedy about the life and death of Paco (Antonio Banderas), a Spanish peasant who had been fighting against the feudal landowning system that kept farmers impoverished. Paco's life is told in flashbacks by a priest (Antonio Ferrandis) who is seen officiating at an anniversary mass attended by three wealthy landowners and no one else. The priest recalls Paco's baptism, his communion, his marriage ceremony and then his work for the peasants as he advocated and led them in a land-reform movement. The rest of the story will rest heavy on the priest's conscience, as he looks out at his empty church.

During the Spanish Civil War, a command takes the night to reach an advanced position, surrounded by the enemy, to protect the ford of a river. The next day, soldiers from both sides arrange a truce for fishing trouts and exchange cans and cigarettes. But foreign forces relieve the besiegers during the night and kill an unsuspecting soldier who was waving to return to fishing. While the position is strengthened, a soldier escapes to the nearby village to see his family.