F.E.N.

F.E.N. is a 1979 Spanish drama film directed by Antonio Hernández. Its cast is toplined by Héctor Alterio, Joaquín Hinojosa, José Luis López Vázquez, Chema Muñoz, Luis Politti, and Laura Cepeda. The plot explores education during the Francoist dictatorship.

Plot

Taking advantage of a school vacation, two former students kidnap their school teachers to enact revenge by submitting them to the same vexations they were subject to when they were children with the complicity of a maid. The nature of the role reversal relationship between students and teachers is not explained in the beginning of the film.

Release

F.E.N. premiered at the 24th Valladolid International Film Festival, running 13–21 October 1979. It also received a screening at the 30th Berlin International Film Festival in February 1980. The film was released theatrically in Madrid on 22 February 1980. The theatrical release in Andalusia was sabotaged through vandalism and bomb threats by right-wing groups in cities such as Almería and Seville.

Production

The film was written by Antonio Hernández in tándem with his brother Avelino. Shooting locations included the Colegio Calasancio in the district of Salamanca, Madrid.

Reception

Jesús Fernández Santos of El País assessed that Hernández achieves the goal of beginning his film career with a "personal style, a tone and quality uncommon in early works".