¡Ay Carmela!

¡Ay Carmela!
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Carlos Saura
Written by	Rafael Azcona, José Sanchís Sinisterra (play), Carlos Saura
Starring	Carmen Maura, Andrés Pajares, Gabino Diego
Music by	Alejandro Massó
Cinematography	José Luis Alcaine
Edited by	Pablo González del Amo
Distributed by	Prestige Films
Release date	1990 (1990)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish

¡Ay Carmela! is a 1990 Spanish comedy-drama film directed by Carlos Saura and based on the eponymous play by José Sanchís Sinisterra. The film stars Carmen Maura, Andrés Pajares, and Gabino Diego as a trio of travelling players performing for the Republic, who inadvertently find themselves on the nationalist side during the closing months of the Spanish Civil War. The film was selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 63rd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Carmela, Paulino, and Gustavete - who is mute as the result of an explosion - are a trio of travelling vaudeville performers. Amidst the chaos of the Spanish Civil War, they are in the town of Montejo, entertaining republican troops with their variety show. They are survivors who are motivated, not exactly by patriotism, but by a desire for self-preservation. Their show consists of four acts. It begins with Carmela singing and dancing a traditional song. The audience is enthusiastic during her performance, but the mood changes completely when the sound of approaching nationalist planes is heard.

As the planes fly overhead, Paulino reads a poem by Antonio Machado which introduces a note of patriotic fervour in accordance with republican feeling in 1938. The seriousness of the moment is followed by a comic routine in which Paulino twists himself into a variety of ridiculous postures in an attempt to break wind. The fourth and final act is a 'tableau vivant' in which Carmela represents justice while Paulino brandishes the republican flag and they sing a song of freedom.