ABSTRACT
Proclamaciópublica, a little edited motion picture from April 1931, registers the public enthusiasm that greeted the birth of Spam's Second Republic and forecasts the excitement that would surround cinema in the early Republican years. This silent actuality film, shot in and around the overflowing Plaza del Sol by the Spanish Movie Information Company, depicts government leaders parading in top hats and tails; soldiers marching briskly; citizens waving Republican flags; young people dangling from buildings, cheering; and couples dancing and holding hands. The government's overtly paradoxical relationship with cinema was matched by subtle contradictions within the public conversation about film itself. Santos' view underscored the precise dilemma facing those serious about using film as a tool of reform in Spain. Certainly the cautious hesitation that seemed to mark government actions towards, and public discussion about, film in the Republic can be read as a simple failure to back up strong talk of cinema's transformative powers with resolute action.
