AllMovie

The director of this film, Fernando Arrabal, himself an exile from Spain, tells a story which takes place during the time of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). A woman nearly suffers rape by the nephew of the local nobleman but is rescued by the man's son. The boy is an artist whose works are too modern and rebellious, even blasphemous, for his conservative countrymen. After fighting for some time with the Republican cause, both of them are arrested by the Franco faction. The boy is tortured and disfigured by his captors, but his love for the woman restores him to full life.