"Still one of the best loved of all Spanish films, Welcome, Mr. Marshall! tested the limits of Spanish political censorship at the time and helped open the door for greater personal expression in the cinema. In a poor Castillian town, the mayor learns that the representatives of the U.S. Marshall Plan are visiting Spain, and will probably come through his area. Hoping to impress the delegation-and thus lure some much-needed aid to the region-the townspeople work to turn the village into a postcard version of folkloric Spain, complete with conquistadors, bullfighters, and gypsy singers. Despite the fact that it was denounced at the time by the U.S. Embassy as 'anti-American,' Welcome, Mr. Marshall! has far less to say about U.S. aid programs than it does about the naive vision of 'traditional Spain' promulgated by the Franco regime." -Richard Peña