Los Chicos (film)
Date: 1959
Region: Europe
Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion
Medium: Film Video
Artist: Marco Ferreri (1928 - 1997)
Confronting Bodies: Spanish censors under Franco's dictatorship
Date of Action: 1959
Location: Spain
Description of Artwork: Ferreri's film Los Chicos (The Boys) is about the lives of four lower-middle class Spanish boys coping with the effects of the Spanish Civil War. The film depicts an inhospitable urban environment, conflict between male and female adolescents, and an atmosphere of social imperfection.
The Incident: Los Chicos recieved negative reviews from parents, politicians and religious groups who believed that the film could have a detrimental impact on adolescents. The censors found the film pessimistic, unhealthy, hostile to the Franco regime and a bad influence to urban youth.
Results of Incident: Los Chicos was never shown commercially, there was only one public viewing in Barcelona in 1963. Ferreri, an Italian working in Spain, had his residency permit cancelled and was forced to leave Spain.
Source: Censorship, A World Encyclopedia, ed. D. Jones