The spooky opening of “Más allá” (The first television series in Spain that was devoted to the supernatural.) brings us Jiménez del Oso telling the legend of one of the most well known haunted buildings in Madrid; The House of the Seven Chimneys. Complete with alleged photographic evidence of the long lost ghost of Elena pining for her husband. Only it was Irene’s face on camera.
The team is made to watch this super intellectual series for two reasons: a reminder to avoid leaving any physical evidence of their tinkering -leading to a segue that even without cameras people will notice things like a man riding a motorcycle with a monk during the time of the inquisition and folks will use the available medium of the day to record the event. (Everyone may glance at Alonso who did a quick shift from “Who me?” to “damn that is kinda awesome.” You have to admit, it was.) Because when this happens it means having to send in another team to fix that issue. Salvador is like a parent doing endless laundry, trying to keep up -only it is the hand of man in time that leaves constant stains and more piles to sort through.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvc4lNbdwE8?rel=0
And Irene was haunting that building trying to track down a very important piece of paper: the receipt to Picasso’s painting Guernica. It is missing and a certain museum in the US is making noises about it. The intelligence shows there were three places where it might be found. Sometimes the life of a ministry official is just trying to track down paperwork. There is one very keen volunteer: Velázquez (who is less concerned about the receipt and more focused on his superfan desire to meet Picasso.) but Salvador sends the trio to the first place the receipt might be: Republican Spain in 1939.
Just as they are about to execute a simple in and out plan to grab the documents; everyone is rushed into the basement as another air raid is about to begin. Alonso and Amelia are introduced to modern warfare and the collective trauma it brings to everyone (especially civilians). Julián has to explain what the bombing is and does to the people, and the other two are horrified and disgusted. For Alonso it is a question of honor in how one fights -a soldier should do it face to face. This isn’t war to him. (It is important to note that these bombings (carpet bombing) were a practice run by the Condor Legion for what the Luftwaffe would later do during WWII.)
This is an interesting scene because for Alonso and Amelia it is their first step in understanding the legacy of Franco’s rule and the shaping of modern Spanish identity. They have studied/observed aspects of modern Spanish life (and taken to some of it with great enthusiasm.) but they haven’t entirely understood what this dark period did to the people. History becomes reality. And through a great coincidence there is a “fire” in the room where the receipt would be. How convenient. Now to try and chase the receipt to 1981. (Getting it from Picasso’s will was impossible because there were too many exes and children and lawyers to deal with. Kinda like Lope de Vega. A sweet burn right there from Julián .)
But first an interlude where Velázquez meets with Amelia and explains his desire to meet Picasso, whom he considers the greatest artist to ever live. Yes even greater than Goya. She is surprised at his lack of ego but sees his passion in his position (which is truly one of the most beautiful ones from a character who is usually known for providing comic relief). She promises him that if she has the power to make such a meeting happen, she will try. Amelia who has a talent for placating erratic male behavior; is also sympathetic admirer of art, language and culture. She knows what it means to be in the presence of a creator.
Then it is to Julián and his cool leather jacket wearing parents discussing the shifting tide of time and nostalgia over a birthday drink. Obviously his parents were pretty hip back in the day and they maintain that cool cat status but at heart they are still a mother and father who recall with fondness their little boy, and ask after his job (as they know it) at the hospital and its security.
The team are about to go to 1981 and pick up a briefcase with documents. (Are they time travelers or are they just couriers?) I always adore their response to various clothes. Julián finds himself looking like his father, Alonso can’t make sense of the hard-rock look given to him (he views all 20th century clothing as looking alike and it doesn’t impress him.) Amelia on the other hand is experiencing the pleasure of a kickin’ wig and make-up. Yes sometimes dress up IS fun.
Every single character on this show has their own set of rules and life around the fluidity of time and we are introduced to one of Irene’s. She warns Julián that a girlfriend of hers might show up at the safe house where the trio are going to be staying at while they wait for instructions. Yes she is married to a woman and she was once married to a man but there is this window where she wasn’t technically married so when she is “in town” (so to speak) that is where she has fun. She has her own rule that if her wife wasn’t born yet, it isn’t technically cheating.
The period they go to is just after Franco is gone. The government is figuring out how to do things, and everyone is reveling in a new freedom. In some ways the Spanish transition reminds me of the restoration of the monarchy during the Stuart period. Where there was a great flourishing of interesting art and new ideas after so many being repressed. Julián references Tino Casal (a rather flamboyant appearing singer) who was part of the La Movida Madrileña, which was Spain’s big counterculture movement (which began in Madrid). Decadence, and queerness were new and intoxicating. It was this libertine artistic and personal response to the traditional and suffocating culture that Franco promoted for decades. And it was co-existing with the more hard rock/metal culture also emerging at the same time. Everyone was waking up and wanting to have all of the fun. It was just a matter of finding your brand of excitement.
They head to the safe house and the streets are incredibly familiar to all three -it spooks Alonso when he realizes he recognizes the safe house. It is the one he lives in -in another time. (First rule of any good ministry that can access different moments in time -buy real estate early.)
As Amelia goes through the dossier, Julián and Alonso watch television and discover that there is a delay in the arrival of documents. Then Amelia notices another newspaper clipping. A man who she saw in 1939 is there in 1981 and has not aged. Salvador is given the news. They discover the mysterious man who was a reporter in 1939 and a diplomate in 1981 to be called Paul Walcott. There are now two tasks at hands that require additional help (and questions about US intelligence having their own time traveler).
The delay allows time for the team to consider identity and symbol of Spain. Julián and Amelia attempt to explain the ideals of democracy, how a painting from another period could mean so much. Alonso is a paradox. Loves motorcycles and other modern details but is unable to grasp the philosophical and political evolution of a nation (one where people have a say in government, and women have more agency). I adore what they take in and view with suspicion and awe -like the weather being reported on the television. The boredom eats at Julián until he decides to go out and wander -with Amelia to keep an eye on him. (She knows too well where his obsessions can take him.)
He is wandering in a landscape that is familiar and ghostly. Telling the futures of neighbors to Amelia. Finally a time that is close to him and it becomes too close when he runs into his wife as a small child. Amelia must remind him not to meddle in the past or future. Unless it is Leño calling. Alonso is captivated by the music, and Julián is enthralled. Amelia finds it overwhelming. She is having an entire modern adolescence in one night. Sneaking out, going to a rock concert, being offered weed and experiencing drama. The drama being Julián seeing his father with another woman who isn’t Julian’s mother. Of course it turns into a whole awkward scene where Julián has to intrude on everything. I wonder if there is medication for manpain™. Because this man has a super bad case of it and it leads him into so much trouble. Amelia has to remind him that he can’t play at being God.
Back at the ministry Velázquez attempts to bribe Angustias with promises of a picture or putting her face in a painting if she can get him in to see Picasso. This man is getting desperate. I feel like he is about three minutes away from offering his right hand. It is interesting that he does not try to find a door and make his way there on his own. He wants someone to provide the introduction.
Everyone arrives to execute the latest plan. Which involves hip uniforms and going up and down escalators in a dramatic fashion. Amelia is floored by the existence of planes and what they can do and where they can take a person with immense speed. I love how she can go from being someone with incredible knowledge to having the sense of wonder like a child and back again. But that must be left for a bit as it is time for distraction and digging through paperwork. (The less sexy side of spy work.) Ernesto and Irene snatch Wolcott away before any officials can meet him. The only discovery is that the seals were broken on the documentation and again… no receipt. At least they do have Walcott. And he doesn’t want to talk (other than to be an insulting piece of trash. I have been watching this show too long. I am team Spain now.) And then he realizes that he isn’t the only time traveler.
Julián decides to tinker with time and his father’s private life. Someone needs to put a tag on this man and keep him from being on the loose in the stream of time.
Back at the office they are discussing the issue of Walcott and how he was obviously hired to prevent any evidence showing that Guernica belonged to Spain. They also explain that Walcott is in the ministry jail… in 1053. That’s right -no wifi, no soft toilet paper, no patatas bravas. The truest form of hell. Everyone is attempting to think of a solution to finding the receipt. Amelia has one idea that she feels is foolish and Salvador is all, “Have you been here?” because this is Spain. She suggest forging the receipt. Which… is not an uncommon way to handle things in the art world. They know what they need to get to make sure it passes the requirements of experts. (signature, the right paper, ink and typewriter)
1899 Barcelona and Oh my sweet Mary Mother of God, Velázquez gets to meet Picasso. And he is psyched and wearing an adorable little suit and bow tie. It is like he is about to go on the greatest date of his life.
But first we must pause because Julián is in deep trouble. One for buying a Leño record for his dad. (as it is very much against the rules to bring things from another time back to one’s own time.) AND for leaving his colleagues high and dry. (That is the greater sin.) Julian is a fine example of someone meaning well but his own pile of issues and pain are going to end up causing a heck of a lot of drama at some point. Sir, get thee to a therapist for what you are doing is not helping you or anyone. I like the fact that we are seeing that this is beginning to become a real problem for him. That it isn’t an adorable romantic trait in a character. This is someone in crisis. He is allowed to keep his record and to do better. (Salvador is incredibly forgiving of his staff. Much more than he ought to be.) Irene attempts to give him a little insight and perspective on how one lives with pain, moral complexities in a job like this. She has the perspective to see that life does continue and one has to go with it. She also offers her friendship and a listening ear. If he has any brains he will accept it. It might be his only way towards healing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX2Pnm44ZdE?rel=0
Let’s get all romantic and intense about the Picasso meeting. The two are discussing art, what inspires and where it can take the artist. You can see Velázquez is trying to tame his ego to keep from shouting, “TELL ME I AM THE BEST!” and eventually Picasso does say how fantastic he is and what his work means to him. But it is Velázquez who tells Picasso not to remain stuck in the past. To keep pushing the boundaries of what one can do with art. To embrace new ideas and go to that uncomfortable place. For that is where growth occurs. Be it in one’s personal life or in the creation of great work. Then he gets an autograph. That scene made my heart swell. To meet a hero and to push that hero forward to great heights.
Now to get a typewriter from the 30s. From the smoking room. Smoking is banned BUT there is a door that is a theater’s stage door. No one has to change from their clothes, they just look like they are on a break from rehearsal. This is brilliant and hilarious. Complete with a couple of men in period dress discussing how to make holidays longer and debating football. (the pagan God Messi vs. Iniesta, one of the greatest midfielders of his generation.) The attention the writers give to the practical details of government work makes me swoon. The typewriter is too modern for Amelia and so Julian (taking her dictation) creates the receipt. Everything is sealed and sent to Irene in 1981.
Irene is PUMPED. She is gonna get her swirl on. Because even lesbians need a good night out. A letter arrives! And like any good ministry worker she takes a bit of extra time before getting back to work. Mission completed. And one doesn’t even have to rely on the missionary position. And there might be a receipt in the past, one must stick with the future, and one has to be creative to keep things the same.
Julián brings his dad the record. They have this tender moment. Julián’s loss. And his father’s admission about the other woman he once loved. (Who was the love of his life.) Because Julián messed with things, she called it off. He loved Julián’s mother. Always did. But he still thinks of Raquel. Love is complicated. Just like receipts are complicated. Nothing is linear or straightforward in life.
Julián shares his regret with Amelia and displays more of that vulnerable side by quoting to her from “The Little Prince.” (promising to bring her a copy. All part of her wonderful strange education.) Alonso takes them to gaze at Guernica to see what they saved and to see this symbol of a democratic Spain. Once again Amelia experiences astonishment in the presence of art (comparing it to Goya’s execution paintings.) and is filled with questions. Julián explains the meaning and choices in the painting. He knows it better than most as it was his late wife’s favorite. Alonso finally understands it and the anguish captured on the canvas. Knowing so well what man does to man; and how such pain can be transformed into a symbol of possibility and hope.
Genevieve Jenner
Latest posts by Genevieve Jenner (see all)
- El Ministerio Del Tiempo Season 1: Episode 6 - July 8, 2019
- El Ministerio Del Tiempo Season 1: Episode 5 - July 24, 2018
- El Ministerio del Tiempo Season 1: Episode 4 -Una negociación a tiempo (A deal in time) - May 24, 2018