Parents' Guide to

The Endless Trench

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Man hides from fascists for decades; language, sex, rape.

Movie NR 2020 147 minutes
The Endless Trench Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • The Endless Trench Movie: Antonio de la Torre
  • The Endless Trench Movie: Scene 2
  • The Endless Trench Movie: Scene 3

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

In THE ENDLESS TRENCH, Higinio (Antonio de la Torre) is a Republican, a patriot in 1930s Spain, trying to fight encroaching fascism in his country as embodied in Generalissimo Francisco Franco, who would eventually overthrow a democratically-elected regime and rule that country until 1975. Neighbors inform on neighbors, including Gonzalo (Vicente Vergara), who blames Higinio for his brother's death and nurses a vengeance for decades. The Civil Guard soldiers come for Higinio and other dissidents in the middle of the night. Higinio runs for the mountains. He's shot in the process and returns to his wife Rosa (Belen Cuesta). They've created a hiding place in their tiny home where he stays, protected by Rosa for years. Rosa is raped as Higinio observes from his hiding place. He kills the rapist, demonstrating how war sometimes requires people to do terrible things in self defense. When a drunken and aging Gonzalo remains certain Higinio is in hiding, he brings the police. What will happen to Higinio and his family?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

The beauty of The Endless Trench is in its complex and patient examination of the way humans justify and rationalize their actions of the moment. In early scenes, the hidden Higinio asks for political books and ardently objects to Franco's fascist policies. But after decades of hiding in a small space, dependent on a wife and son for protecting and feeding him, he reads fantasy novels and is more interested in the logistics of keeping his space clean and functional than in the world outside. Decades into his exile from humanity, he urges a young starry-eyed dissident to spend the time he has on truly important things like being a husband and a father, giving and taking love, rather than trying to change the world.

The movie is long and early scenes shot through a hole in the floor into a dark room certainly reproduce the limitations of being in hiding, but squinting is not the best way to watch a movie. As Higinio's world opens up to include his wife and son, and as the emphasis moves to the changing family dynamics and the toll his hiding takes on his wife and child, the movie blooms into a tense but profound tragedy about the effect of politics on individual lives.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the way the meaning of hiding changes through the movie. At what point does managing the difficulties of long-term hiding in a small space start to become more important to Higinio than the political views that put him in the hiding place?

  • How does the burden of hiding her husband for decades change the wife's feelings for her husband?

  • What does this movie say about the passage of time and its effect on relationships? How does time color our views of the importance of certain political and moral views?

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate