Julio Medem's documentary The Basque Ball explores the ongoing political and cultural struggle between the Basque nationalist movement and the Spanish government with a sprawling, portmanteau approach that informs and incites with equal intensity. Interweaving 100-plus interviews with timely footage of northern Spain's natural loveliness, Medem's dizzying assemblage of colliding dialects and paradigms offers passage into an engulfing conflict. With stylistic similarity, Manuel Palacios' Bars in the Memory annotates Spanish annals with its disquieting disclosure of Franco's secret labor camps that suppressed half a million political prisoners. Through archival film and first-hand intelligence, Palacios fashions an unexpected and extraordinary exposé.