In math during middle school, I remember quite vividly
becoming frustrated when we began one year learning all the exceptions to rules
we’d learned the previous term. Similarly, history is taught to adolescents in
broadly defined strokes, with little time for more than one or two supporting
anecdotes, and certainly little contrasting evidence. It wasn’t until high school
— and then likely discovered on my own — that I learned about the “flyboy” volunteers of World War I, and
other niche stories of history, tales to me far more fascinating in their
call-to-arms specificity and identification than the solemn recitation of battle
and treaty dates.
Documentary title Into
the Fire concurs with this line of thinking, casting a light back to the origins
of the Spanish Civil War of 1936, when right-wing military officers led by
General Francisco Franco attempted to overthrow the newly elected, democratic
government, with both Hitler and Mussolini lending vocal support to the
uprising. In response, nearly 80 American women joined over 2,700 of their
countrymen in a fight to beat back fascists, volunteering in direct defiance of
the American government. The women were part of the International Bridgade’s
40,000 volunteers, a group made up of individuals from more than 50 countries
who came to fight for democracy in
In this meticulously researched and very specifically
sketched yet still interesting documentary, not to be confused with Jonathan Hock’s fellow non-fiction flick Through the Fire, 16 of these brave and idealistic
nurses, writers and journalists share stories of courage and commitment to a
just cause. Most of the women were previously uninvolved in politics, and some
of the nurses had never done more than put a band-aid on a cut. Nevertheless,
they quickly demonstrated their courage and resolve, throwing themselves
wholeheartedly into “La Causa.” Back at home, their efforts were largely
unacknowledged, and Into the Fire,
subtitled “American Women in the Spanish Civil War,” vividly reveals this
forgotten history, artfully weaving together archival materials with words from
the likes of Dorothy Parker and Eleanor Roosevelt. Director Julia Newman worked
as a freelance journalist and television producer in advertising for over 20
years. Though a neophyte filmmaker, she has served as executive director of the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives since 2002, and worked on this flm for much of
the 1990s. Though it runs only an hour, the movie still feels packed with
revelation simply because these are stories that haven’t really been heard
elsewhere. This is a movie about action, moral purpose and duty, and its subject-matter freshness makes it a winning exploration of those themes, particularly
for mid-century history buffs.
Into the Fire
comes housed in a regular Amray case, and presented in full screen. DVD bonus features
include an introduction from Newman and a short biography, the short film Archives of Activism, and an archival photo
gallery and historical timeline. For more information, click here. B (Movie) C+ (Disc)