When Silence is Loud

Omission, Affect, and Memory in Cría cuervos

Abstract

This paper explores how Cría cuervos (1976) portrays authoritarianism not only as a political regime but as something lived and felt within the intimate space of the family. Through the perspective of Ana, a child navigating grief and confusion in late-Franco Spain, the film reveals how power operates quietly through everyday communication: through silence, emotional restraint, and the authority to decide what is true. Drawing on discourse theory and affect theory, I argue that authoritarian control seeps into the household, shaping not only what can be said, but what can be remembered and understood. Silence in the film is not empty; it is structured and atmospheric, producing fear and uncertainty. At the same time, the film’s nonlinear structure resists the regime’s desire for narrative closure. By blending memory, imagination, and present experience, Ana creates a space where the past refuses to stay contained. Ultimately, Cría cuervos suggests that while authoritarianism disciplines everyday life, it can also be quietly unsettled through alternative ways of speaking, remembering, and imagining.