Mourir à Madrid

is a film history of the Spanish Civil War put together from newsfragments and other authentic film material. The film provides a chronological description of the background, further development and aftermath of a Civil War that was focused on by the eyes of the entire world. The facts and impressions collected by Rossif are accompanied by a carefully considered commentary. In the meantime we see impressions of authors that were involved in the tragedy (viz. Antoine de Saint Exupéry) and Spanish poets such as Frederico Garcia Lorca. Many of the documents were shot in the thick of the battle, by cameramen that were risking their lives to record the moments at which innocent people were randomely killed. Due to the nature of the material, is not a smooth compilation but a harsh, emotional and committed stream of brutal registrations of the chaos. By using news fragments, Rossif places the Spanish Civil War in a broader historical context. As a result, the subject of the film seemed far more topical than it actually was.