Far Far Away
Since childhood, Lucio (Juan José Ballesta) has grown up watching how unequal the world is and how inconsiderate banks can be. When his father was on his deathbed in 1942, he requested money from the…
Far Far Away
Since childhood, Lucio (Juan José Ballesta) has grown up watching how unequal the world is and how inconsiderate banks can be. When his father was on his deathbed in 1942, he requested money from the bank (against their future harvest), but he was denied any help. From then on, Lucio realized how the bourgeoisie would never care for the working class, even when they were on their deathbed. After his father's death, he wanted to move to Paris with his sister, but she insisted he join the military, and after serving his nation, he could contact her to live in Paris. Lucio was reunited with his sister, Satur (Ana Polvorosa), after he fled from his post in the military in 1952. He explained that he was involved in smuggling goods, which was quite a success. Unfortunately, someone ratted on his team, and they were kept locked up in a military prison. Lucio managed to escape, and he was certain that his team would curse him for leaving them to face the consequences. While Satur believed Lucio must return to his service and take responsibility for his actions, Lucio was not ready to do so. Satur's husband, Patrick (Fred Tatien), who worked at the mint, helped Lucio find a bricklayer job. Lucio dedicated himself to the work he was assigned, and the older workers found it difficult to keep up with his pace. Later during their break hour, they discussed how Lucio's nature was that of an anarchist. Lucio was intrigued by their suggestion, and he was asked to join the Constituent Assembly of the Clichy Anarchist Association. He learned that money was the biggest evil in society and that the anarchists believed in living without a government and money. He also learned how banks exploit their workers and are responsible for creating inequality in the world. Lucio was impressed by the ideology and looked forward to an anarchist world. It was on this day that Lucio learned about Quico Sabate (Miki Esparbe), the legendary anarchist and urban guerrilla of the Francois post-civil war period. Sabate was known for conducting bank heists and distributing money among the needy. Lucio's display of resistance to authority impressed the group, and he was offered the responsibility of sheltering Quico Sabate. Quico was impressed with Lucio; he could sense that Lucio was a rebel just like he was. Their first dinner together was spent discussing how bankers and priests were equally untrustworthy. After his first attempt at robbing a bank to buy his father morphine, Lucio was back at it again, this time with Quico by his side. They were responsible for making sure that the money was expropriated, and they must not feel guilty about doing the right thing. They went on to successfully rob a bank the second time, and Lucio was gradually gaining confidence. He was now certain that the work that they were doing was to build the society that they dreamed of. Quico would split the loot into 3 parts. 1 part for the local anarchists, 1 for the families of friends in prison, 1 part for the ones who did the work. Upon hearing the description of the robbers, Inspector Costello (Alexandre Blazy) was confident that the men were Spanish anarchists. The police ambushed their meeting and captured Lucio. The bank manager confirmed that Lucio was one of the men who robbed the bank. The police were unable to find any evidence that would indicate that Lucio was the robber, so they had to let him go. But Inspector Costello was certain that Lucio was the one responsible. Lucio was not entirely on board with Quico's plan of bringing revolution by robbing banks and factories of munitions. He believed that they needed the masses by their side, and that could only be achieved through words and not weapons. Quico was unimpressed by Lucio's suggestion of starting a printing press. But for Lucio, this, too, was a form of action and contribution. Quico announced that he would return to Spain and fight the fascists instead of hiding and distributing pamphlets. While Lucio idealized Quico, he believed that was not the route he wanted to take. After bidding Quico farewell, Lucio focused on building a printing press. They approached a bank for a loan, but as expected, they were denied one. The news of Quico's demise further angered Lucio, and he decided to rob a bank and pay tribute to him. With the money robbed from the bank, Lucio and Asturiano (Luis Callejo) bought a printing press to start with their mission. At the printing press, Lucio met Anne (Liah O'Prey). She was a college student who had come to collect pamphlets. She invited Lucio to the college strike, and he was quite taken by her boldness. Anne spoke about the importance of the cultural and social revolution, and even with men making lewd comments, she managed to engage with the crowd gathered around her. Lucio interacted with her after she delivered her speech and tried to convince her to join his group of anarchists. Anne felt a growing attraction towards the stranger. Anne was a university student studying biology; her father owned a business and did not support his daughter's beliefs. While the police had hoped to catch Lucio in action, all they witnessed was his romance with Anne. Even though Inspector Costello was not yet ready to give up on Lucio, he was instructed by his superior to stop his obsessive and inconclusive pursuit. When the news of America's attempt to bring down the revolution in Cuba gained momentum, Lucio wanted to take action to help Cuba win the war. Jeanne proposed that they could use the printers to print something more effective than leaflets-they could use them to forge documents and even passports. Lucio decided that they were going to forge dollar bills. They sought Patrick's help, who once worked at the mint. They were successful in forging dollars and tested them by exchanging them at the bank for Francs. The dollar bills looked authentic enough to pass the scrutiny of the banker. In 1962, Lucio visited the Cuban embassy in Paris to propose that they start spreading the fake dollars that would eventually impact the American economy. The embassy asked him to meet Che Guevara (Michel Noher), who would be passing through France on his way to the Soviet Union. With a few minutes in hand, Lucio was called upon to meet Che in secrecy. He discussed his plan with Che, but Che believed that with only fake dollars, they would not be able to fight a war that big. On his way out, Lucio realized that the police had spotted him. To escape and give away the dollars, he created chaos by throwing them in the air. As the crowd gathered, he tried to escape, but the police caught him in the end. He had to spend months in prison, and during that time, Anne gave birth to their baby girl. With the support of his lawyer, Lucio managed to get conditional bail and was finally united with his family. After staying in prison for months, Lucio chose to stay out of trouble and worked as a builder for the next 8 years. But he was soon intrigued when he was handed a traveler's check. He was informed that with that check, he would be able to withdraw money from any bank. Lucio realized its utility after using it at a supermarket and proposed forging it for his anarchist group. While Patrick believed that messing with an American bank would be an extreme risk. After several unsuccessful forgings, they were finally able to achieve the perfect ones. Lucio went to the bank, and to his delight, he was able to cash the check. He gathered the anarchists in the city and distributed 20 checks to each pair, asking them to cash them in different cities at the city banks right at noon. It was important to reach the banks at the same time so that the numbers on the checks were not tested, and by the time the checks reached the headquarters, and they figured out the fraud, it would be too late. They decided to do this once every month, and with the money collected, they funded the movement, provided for the prisoners' families, and kept a third for their expenses. The First National City Bank in New York was shaken by the large-scale fraud, and they pressured the French police to make arrests for the crime. Inspector Costello knew that Lucio must have been the mastermind, though he denied any involvement with it. Anne was disappointed upon finding out that Lucio was back to risking himself and his family. Anne proposed that they shift to Bolivia to join the cause of the Doctors of the World and contribute to bringing change to the world as they had always dreamed of. Lucio was not ready to give up on his plan, but Anne was determined to join the project. Due to the heavy fraud, most places were denying cashing out traveler's checks. Lucio decided to sell the checks to a bigger player and, for one last time, earn money to contribute to their cause. He contacted Charlie, a friend he made in prison, and set up a meeting with an American black marketeer, Tony Greco. They agreed to a deal (to sell fake checks worth $3 million for $1 million) and decided to finalize it on the same Saturday that Anne and Juliette would be traveling to Bolivia. With the police following every member of the group, they decided to stop contributing to the movement, and only Asturiano remained by his side. On the day of the transaction, Lucio managed to drop the police car that was tailing him, but even after doing so, he was arrested the moment he walked up to Tony Greco. Lucio's lawyer informed him that it was Patrick who informed the police about the place Lucio and Tony would meet. He was in debt and needed money to survive. Meanwhile, Asturiano and Jeanne were granted bail, but Lucio was in big trouble. The City Bank wanted compensation for the fifty million dollars that they lost, and they wanted Lucio to remain imprisoned for at least 20 years. His lawyer was able to find transcription errors and demanded bail until the errors were fixed. When Lucio was released, the media and public celebrated him as the new Robin Hood. Meanwhile, after confronting Patrick, Lucio learned that he was not the one who betrayed him. Turns out, Tony Greco was a police officer, and Charlie was threatened by the police to cooperate in delivering the plan. Lucio started to receive death threats, and even though Inspector Costello had been after him for twenty years now, he too disapproved of the American method. With the secret service and the French police involved, the City Bank wanted Lucio to be imprisoned without the possibility of bail. Lucio was determined to teach the Americans a lesson, so he decided to print more of the traveler's checks and distribute them among the anarchists, who cashed them in Germany, the Netherlands, Mexico, and Belgium. Facing further losses, the City Bank realized that they were up against an impossible challenge. When Lucio made a phone call to Anne, the police were able to arrest him by tracking his call. After his arrest, he wanted to talk to the City Bank representative, Mr. Barrow (Ben Temple). Lucio offered a deal, but he made it clear that the bank was not ready to negotiate. Lucio continued to explain that even though they managed to arrest him, they did not have the printing plates. Without the printing plates, there was no guarantee that the forgery of the traveler's check would come to an end. Lucio demanded that, in exchange for the plates, the bank get rid of all the charges against him and provide him with generous compensation. Mr. Barrow was furious; he could not believe Lucio's guts. The City Bank ultimately accepted his deal, and in exchange for the printing plates, Lucio was compensated with money. Lucio joined his family in Bolivia. No one knew how much money he claimed for the anarchist cause from the City Bank. After the check forgery, banks started to develop alternative methods of cash withdrawal that ultimately led to the emergence of cards and ATMs in the mid-80s. Even after separating, Anne and Lucio remained friends for life.
Far Far Away
Comedy,Romance
Film Details
Since childhood, Lucio (Juan José Ballesta) has grown up watching how unequal the world is and how inconsiderate banks can be. When his father was on his deathbed in 1942, he requested money from the bank (against their future harvest), but he was denied any help. From then on, Lucio realized how the bourgeoisie would never care for the working class, even when they were on their deathbed.
After his father's death, he wanted to move to Paris with his sister, but she insisted he join the military, and after serving his nation, he could contact her to live in Paris. Lucio was reunited with his sister, Satur (Ana Polvorosa), after he fled from his post in the military in 1952. He explained that he was involved in smuggling goods, which was quite a success.
Unfortunately, someone ratted on his team, and they were kept locked up in a military prison. Lucio managed to escape, and he was certain that his team would curse him for leaving them to face the consequences. While Satur believed Lucio must return to his service and take responsibility for his actions, Lucio was not ready to do so.
Satur's husband, Patrick (Fred Tatien), who worked at the mint, helped Lucio find a bricklayer job. Lucio dedicated himself to the work he was assigned, and the older workers found it difficult to keep up with his pace. Later during their break hour, they discussed how Lucio's nature was that of an anarchist.
Lucio was intrigued by their suggestion, and he was asked to join the Constituent Assembly of the Clichy Anarchist Association. He learned that money was the biggest evil in society and that the anarchists believed in living without a government and money. He also learned how banks exploit their workers and are responsible for creating inequality in the world.
Lucio was impressed by the ideology and looked forward to an anarchist world. It was on this day that Lucio learned about Quico Sabate (Miki Esparbe), the legendary anarchist and urban guerrilla of the Francois post-civil war period. Sabate was known for conducting bank heists and distributing money among the needy.
Lucio's display of resistance to authority impressed the group, and he was offered the responsibility of sheltering Quico Sabate. Quico was impressed with Lucio; he could sense that Lucio was a rebel just like he was. Their first dinner together was spent discussing how bankers and priests were equally untrustworthy.
After his first attempt at robbing a bank to buy his father morphine, Lucio was back at it again, this time with Quico by his side. They were responsible for making sure that the money was expropriated, and they must not feel guilty about doing the right thing. They went on to successfully rob a bank the second time, and Lucio was gradually gaining confidence.
He was now certain that the work that they were doing was to build the society that they dreamed of. Quico would split the loot into 3 parts. 1 part for the local anarchists, 1 for the families of friends in prison, 1 part for the ones who did the work.
Upon hearing the description of the robbers, Inspector Costello (Alexandre Blazy) was confident that the men were Spanish anarchists. The police ambushed their meeting and captured Lucio. The bank manager confirmed that Lucio was one of the men who robbed the bank.
The police were unable to find any evidence that would indicate that Lucio was the robber, so they had to let him go. But Inspector Costello was certain that Lucio was the one responsible. Lucio was not entirely on board with Quico's plan of bringing revolution by robbing banks and factories of munitions.
He believed that they needed the masses by their side, and that could only be achieved through words and not weapons. Quico was unimpressed by Lucio's suggestion of starting a printing press. But for Lucio, this, too, was a form of action and contribution.
Quico announced that he would return to Spain and fight the fascists instead of hiding and distributing pamphlets. While Lucio idealized Quico, he believed that was not the route he wanted to take. After bidding Quico farewell, Lucio focused on building a printing press.
They approached a bank for a loan, but as expected, they were denied one. The news of Quico's demise further angered Lucio, and he decided to rob a bank and pay tribute to him. With the money robbed from the bank, Lucio and Asturiano (Luis Callejo) bought a printing press to start with their mission.
At the printing press, Lucio met Anne (Liah O'Prey). She was a college student who had come to collect pamphlets. She invited Lucio to the college strike, and he was quite taken by her boldness.
Anne spoke about the importance of the cultural and social revolution, and even with men making lewd comments, she managed to engage with the crowd gathered around her. Lucio interacted with her after she delivered her speech and tried to convince her to join his group of anarchists. Anne felt a growing attraction towards the stranger.
Anne was a university student studying biology; her father owned a business and did not support his daughter's beliefs. While the police had hoped to catch Lucio in action, all they witnessed was his romance with Anne. Even though Inspector Costello was not yet ready to give up on Lucio, he was instructed by his superior to stop his obsessive and inconclusive pursuit.
When the news of America's attempt to bring down the revolution in Cuba gained momentum, Lucio wanted to take action to help Cuba win the war. Jeanne proposed that they could use the printers to print something more effective than leaflets-they could use them to forge documents and even passports. Lucio decided that they were going to forge dollar bills.
They sought Patrick's help, who once worked at the mint. They were successful in forging dollars and tested them by exchanging them at the bank for Francs. The dollar bills looked authentic enough to pass the scrutiny of the banker.
In 1962, Lucio visited the Cuban embassy in Paris to propose that they start spreading the fake dollars that would eventually impact the American economy. The embassy asked him to meet Che Guevara (Michel Noher), who would be passing through France on his way to the Soviet Union. With a few minutes in hand, Lucio was called upon to meet Che in secrecy.
He discussed his plan with Che, but Che believed that with only fake dollars, they would not be able to fight a war that big. On his way out, Lucio realized that the police had spotted him. To escape and give away the dollars, he created chaos by throwing them in the air.
As the crowd gathered, he tried to escape, but the police caught him in the end. He had to spend months in prison, and during that time, Anne gave birth to their baby girl. With the support of his lawyer, Lucio managed to get conditional bail and was finally united with his family.
After staying in prison for months, Lucio chose to stay out of trouble and worked as a builder for the next 8 years. But he was soon intrigued when he was handed a traveler's check. He was informed that with that check, he would be able to withdraw money from any bank.
Lucio realized its utility after using it at a supermarket and proposed forging it for his anarchist group. While Patrick believed that messing with an American bank would be an extreme risk. After several unsuccessful forgings, they were finally able to achieve the perfect ones.
Lucio went to the bank, and to his delight, he was able to cash the check. He gathered the anarchists in the city and distributed 20 checks to each pair, asking them to cash them in different cities at the city banks right at noon. It was important to reach the banks at the same time so that the numbers on the checks were not tested, and by the time the checks reached the headquarters, and they figured out the fraud, it would be too late.
They decided to do this once every month, and with the money collected, they funded the movement, provided for the prisoners' families, and kept a third for their expenses. The First National City Bank in New York was shaken by the large-scale fraud, and they pressured the French police to make arrests for the crime. Inspector Costello knew that Lucio must have been the mastermind, though he denied any involvement with it.
Anne was disappointed upon finding out that Lucio was back to risking himself and his family. Anne proposed that they shift to Bolivia to join the cause of the Doctors of the World and contribute to bringing change to the world as they had always dreamed of. Lucio was not ready to give up on his plan, but Anne was determined to join the project.
Due to the heavy fraud, most places were denying cashing out traveler's checks. Lucio decided to sell the checks to a bigger player and, for one last time, earn money to contribute to their cause. He contacted Charlie, a friend he made in prison, and set up a meeting with an American black marketeer, Tony Greco.
They agreed to a deal (to sell fake checks worth $3 million for $1 million) and decided to finalize it on the same Saturday that Anne and Juliette would be traveling to Bolivia. With the police following every member of the group, they decided to stop contributing to the movement, and only Asturiano remained by his side. On the day of the transaction, Lucio managed to drop the police car that was tailing him, but even after doing so, he was arrested the moment he walked up to Tony Greco.
Lucio's lawyer informed him that it was Patrick who informed the police about the place Lucio and Tony would meet. He was in debt and needed money to survive. Meanwhile, Asturiano and Jeanne were granted bail, but Lucio was in big trouble.
The City Bank wanted compensation for the fifty million dollars that they lost, and they wanted Lucio to remain imprisoned for at least 20 years. His lawyer was able to find transcription errors and demanded bail until the errors were fixed. When Lucio was released, the media and public celebrated him as the new Robin Hood.
Meanwhile, after confronting Patrick, Lucio learned that he was not the one who betrayed him. Turns out, Tony Greco was a police officer, and Charlie was threatened by the police to cooperate in delivering the plan. Lucio started to receive death threats, and even though Inspector Costello had been after him for twenty years now, he too disapproved of the American method.
With the secret service and the French police involved, the City Bank wanted Lucio to be imprisoned without the possibility of bail. Lucio was determined to teach the Americans a lesson, so he decided to print more of the traveler's checks and distribute them among the anarchists, who cashed them in Germany, the Netherlands, Mexico, and Belgium. Facing further losses, the City Bank realized that they were up against an impossible challenge.
When Lucio made a phone call to Anne, the police were able to arrest him by tracking his call. After his arrest, he wanted to talk to the City Bank representative, Mr. Barrow (Ben Temple).
Lucio offered a deal, but he made it clear that the bank was not ready to negotiate. Lucio continued to explain that even though they managed to arrest him, they did not have the printing plates. Without the printing plates, there was no guarantee that the forgery of the traveler's check would come to an end.
Lucio demanded that, in exchange for the plates, the bank get rid of all the charges against him and provide him with generous compensation. Mr. Barrow was furious; he could not believe Lucio's guts.
The City Bank ultimately accepted his deal, and in exchange for the printing plates, Lucio was compensated with money. Lucio joined his family in Bolivia. No one knew how much money he claimed for the anarchist cause from the City Bank.
After the check forgery, banks started to develop alternative methods of cash withdrawal that ultimately led to the emergence of cards and ATMs in the mid-80s. Even after separating, Anne and Lucio remained friends for life..