The Little Spanish Soldier

The Little Spanish Soldier (Soldadito español) is a 1988 Spanish tragicomedy film directed by Antonio Giménez-Rico from a screenplay by Giménez-Rico and Rafael Azcona. It underpins a criticism to the compulsory military service.

Plot
The film follows the mishaps of a young man born to a family closely connected to the military estate who does not want to join the compulsory military service.

Production
According to Giménez-Rico the original idea for the story came to him upon a meeting of his promotion of university militia, with the screenplay later penned in tandem with Rafael Azcona. A Penélope production, the film had a reported budget of 150 million Pts. Shooting locations included Alcalá de Henares. The Spanish Little Soldier constitutes an early film depiction of the insubordination to military conscription in Spain.

Release
The film was released theatrically in Spain on 7 October 1988. It also screened at the 9th Mostra de Valencia. It grossed 38,372,395 Pts (107,098 admissions).