The Endless Trench

In 1936, a newly married man who has criticized the Nationalist army goes into hiding to avoid reprisal killings. His wife Rosa helps by sheltering him beneath the floor of their house. Falangists soon search the home, marking the start of their long hiding ordeal.

A neighbor betrays them, exposing the hiding place. They dig a trench under the kitchen to conceal his presence more securely. The hiding setup shifts from floorboards to a deeper, more permanent concealment.

The couple endures a period of confinement as pursuers close in. They cling to a fantasy that the Republicans will win the war, even though the outcome is uncertain. The fear of exposure dictates every move and sound.

As conditions worsen, Rosa is arrested, yet she refuses to betray the hiding place. Her detention heightens the danger and risk for Higinio. She endures interrogation while protecting him.

Higinio remains isolated in the cramped trench, cut off from the outside world. Rosa becomes pregnant, raising questions of paternity and safety. She sometimes leaves to give birth, keeping the family secret from the world.

Two gay men start staying in the house, and Higinio forms a cautious friendship with them. Their presence adds an unexpected social dynamic to the hiding situation and expands his small world. The small community around him becomes more than just his immediate fear.

Higinio feels increasingly cut off from the world, seeing only through curtains and hearing muffled sounds. He struggles to maintain a sense of normal life while clinging to fragments of news from radio and occasional TV glimpses. The walls of the hiding place seem to close in around him.

The birth of their son, Jaime, changes the calculus of survival. Higinio begins to question whether he can remain hidden while his family grows. Rosa hints that the family needs his help beyond keeping a secret.

Rosa and Jaime challenge the continued concealment, arguing that no one is actively seeking him anymore. Neighbors become aware of his presence and gossip spreads. Yet Higinio remains habituated, finding life outside difficult to imagine.

Higinio realizes it may be time to come out. In 1969, Franco's amnesty declares pardons for political offenses. Despite the government’s grace, the years of hiding have reshaped him into someone who hardly knows how to rejoin society.

Official pardons arrive, but leaving the trench proves difficult. The three decades of isolation have become his normal life. Rosa’s patience wears thin as she faces uncertainty about their future.

Rosa threatens to leave if he does not rejoin life above ground. He ultimately manages to come out of the hole, joining a broader community of other 'moles' who start to reveal themselves again. The film closes on a note of tentative reintegration into society.