Released。in。France。as。La。Kermesse。Heroique,。Carnival。in。Flanders。is。set。during。the。long-ago。war。between。the。Dutch。and。Spanish.。A。tiny。village。in。Flanders。is。invaded。by。Spanish。troops.。The。townsfolk。have。heard。of。Spanish。cruelties。in。other。towns,。and。decide。to。deflect。the。vanquishers。by。playing。dead.。This。isn't。terribly。effective。(you。have。to。take。a。breath。once。in。a。while),。so。the。wife。of。the。burgomaster。tries。to。soften。up。the。invaders。with。a。lavish。carnival.。So。successful。is。this。venture。that。the。Spaniards。allow。the。village。to。escape。being。decimated,。or。even。taxed.。An。award-winner。many。times。over,。Carnival。in。Flanders。was。banned。in。Germany;。evidently,。Goebbels。caught。on。that。director。Jacques。Feyder。and。scenarists。Bernard。Zimmer。and。Charles。Spaak。were。drawing。deliberate。parallels。between。the。Spanish。and。the。then-burgeoning。Nazis.