A Man of Action (Un hombre de acción)

This film is inspired by the life of Lucio Urtubia.

Some names have been changed

and some events and characters have been altered or created for dramatic purposes.

"Robbing a bank is a crime, but founding one is even more so."

PARIS AIRPORT

Good luck in there.

ENTRANCE

Hello, my name is Lucio Urtubia.

Shit, shit!

- What's wrong? - I think you got ratted on.

I what?

The police are outside. Do you have the money?

Yes. Oh, shit.

Have you seen this man?

It's Inspector Costello.

Where are you?

- There! - We've been spotted.

- That son of a bitch. - He won't get away again.

Stop!

What do we do? What's the plan?

You! Stop!

I think you're mistaken.

A MAN OF ACTION

20 YEARS EARLIER

Stop, thief!

Oh!

You little bastard!

Lucio!

Lucio!

Papa.

I can't take it anymore, son.

It hurts so much, you have no idea.

Lucio,

do you understand what I'm asking you to do?

Listen, my son, you're the only one that can do this.

The only one that has the balls to do what I need.

Oh, God!

BANK

Hey, Urtubia. How's your father? He better at all?

Soon he'll be dead.

Oh, dear boy.

That's life. We'll all have our moment too.

Tonight, I'll pray.

We don't need more prayers right now, sir.

We need money to buy him some morphine,

so he won't suffer.

You know we'd love to assist you, like I told your mother, it's impossible.

We can't provide money without a guarantee.

You've got plenty of cash here. But 5,000 to buy morphine's too much?

This is a bank, okay? This isn't a charity.

I'll work the harvest during the summer. You'll get every cent we owe.

My father's in so much pain. Please help him.

Sorry, Urtubia, but the promise of a child isn't sufficient.

Especially the son of a republican.

Urtubia...

Just go home now, okay kid?

Take me with you, Satur.

Lucio, no matter what, you can't leave until you've served in the military.

Yeah, but I need to leave.

- I'll go to Paris with you. - Yeah, but it's not a vacation.

- I have to work now. As a maid. - So then maybe I'll work.

Staying here makes us all remain poor, so we'll never be free.

Do your military service, and when you get out of there,

please come see me. Okay?

10 YEARS LATER

- Saturnina! - Lucio?

Wow, look at you!

We used some buckets to smuggle the stuff out of the place.

Blankets, boots too. We grabbed tools... Plenty to steal in the military.

We'd cover everything with food scraps, and we smuggled it with garbage bags.

- You have crazy ideas. - I like crazy ideas.

These ideas make trouble for you.

End up leaving that army with peanuts to go and fight for Logroño.

Screw everyone there. Someone ratted us out anyway.

So the police got my team locked away in military prison.

- But I managed to escape. - Go back to them, please.

No way!

They don't like deserters. I'd be imprisoned, I might be killed.

You could go there and fix things.

No, I'll never go there again. I hate the military.

I hate orders and singing "Cara al Sol" all day.

Darling, it's me.

Hello.

Patrick, this is my brother, Lucio.

Lucio, this is my husband, Patrick.

Pleased to meet you.

He makes the prints at the Mint now.

- Think the Mint would hire me? - Uh...

You have to be a qualified specialist to work there, you know.

But I have a buddy. He works as a foreman.

Can we trust him?

- What'd he ask? - If you're trustworthy.

Yeah, very trustworthy.

- He's my brother. - Alright, well I'll speak to my buddy.

Okay, hey kid. You're making us look bad.

The days are very long. Why don't you slow down a bit?

But a slow pace just makes me tired.

Well at least take a lighter load then.

Understand? What, are you deaf?

No, I hear fine, do you?

Alright, listen. There's rules in this place.

Created by the people here the longest.

Germinal is the oldest one here.

You all can do what you want, I'll do the same, alright?

Republicans, socialists, progressives,

Stalinists, Trotskyists, anarcho-syndicalists...

We couldn't band together at all.

We never stood a chance of winning that war.

I remember when we had that big fight with the PC.

To see who'd keep all that stuff we took.

- Those munitions we grabbed in Mieres! - That's great.

I had many ties to the Catalan Progressives,

the Independent Syndicalists and their party after,

and finally, in the Esquerra.

And you? What're you?

- Hm? - What are you?

Don't know.

You must be something.

Well, communist, I suppose.

Communist, he says.

- You don't like getting ordered, right? - Hm.

You're an anarchist.

Anarchist?

And what's that?

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY OF THE CLICHY ANARCHIST ASSOCIATION

- Time to work! - Go ahead. I'll be there.

Here, comrade. Thank you.

Let's hit it.

Look, Lucio. This is Bakunin.

Along with Proudhon and Kropotkin, he formed the basic ideas of anarchism.

No religion, no state.

Liberty, then work and collectivism.

Here in France, there are some big names like Louise Michel.

She was the key revolutionary in the Paris Commune.

She said, "Power is evil and tyrannical." "That's why I'm an anarchist."

Saturday 30th!

Constituent assembly of the Clichy Anarchist Association!

Sébastien Faure. His mission was to create a society of men

who were free and equal, without government or money.

Money is one of the greatest evils of humanity, Lucio.

Desire for wealth corrupts the world.

- Next Saturday! - Hello, sir. What is this?

- Good day. - Is this yours?

Buenaventura Durruti. He robbed banks.

Banks exploit their workers and cause inequality in the world.

Durruti said direct action would be the only way to end injustice

and have a revolution.

Men aren't like him today.

Well, there is one now. My buddy, Quico Sabaté.

He stole 50,000 pesetas out of a bank in Barcelona.

- Nothing. - Nothing?

Lucio.

If you deny authority and fight against it, you're an anarchist.

- Give me the paper. - It's nothing.

I think you're right. I'm an anarchist now.

More anarchist than all these guys together.

Go away! You don't have to beat us!

Ah.

- Is it bad? - Nah, too hard for those bastards.

Look out!

Chill out! I've driven since I was a kid.

Eh?

Someone tell me what those assholes said.

Lucio, if you want to stay in Paris, you might wanna speak their language.

LANGUAGE SCHOOL MODERN LANGUAGES

How are you, Lucio?

- How was your French lesson? - What?

Oh, nothing.

Will you do me a huge favor?

Yeah, of course, I'll do anything. Tell me what you need.