Bicycles Are for the Summer

Bicycles Are for the Summer is a 1984 Spanish war drama film directed by Jaime Chávarri and based on the homonym play by Fernando Fernán Gómez. It is about the life of a family during the Spanish Civil War. The photography started in July 1983 and it was distributed by Incine. It was shot in Madrid. Plot In Madrid, the family of Don Luis, his wife Dolores and their children, Manolita and Luisito, share the daily life of the Civil War with their maid and neighbours. Despite having failed his exams, Luisito wants his father to buy him a bicycle. However, the situation forces them to delay the purchase and the delay, like the war itself, is to last much longer than expected. It was drawn from, show how daily life was conducted during the war. Unexpected things happen, but people find ways to survive. Above all, it is a story of survival and adaptation: the bicycle symbolises Luisito's innocence disappearing as at the beginning he wants a bicycle to hang out with his friends and meet girls but by the end due to the horror of the war Luisito had to grow up and become the man of the house and his bike symbolises responsibilities he has to have for his family. Cast