Carlos Saura’s “Ay, Carmela!” is the gently stirring story of Carmela’s political awakening once she, Paulino and Gustavete (Gabino Diego), the mute boy who is their third wheel, fall into enemy hands. With a nod to the humor of Ernst Lubitsch’s “To Be or Not to Be,” Mr. Saura’s new film, which opens today at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, tells of theatrical performers trying to maintain their independent spirit while also placating Fascist supervisors, in this case an Italian lieutenant (Maurizio di Razza) with show-business pretensions and a soft spot for Carmela’s wiles. Carmela’s matronly loyalty to her husband does not mean she will stop short of much in trying to advance their cause.

Miss Maura, known in the United States for her films with Pedro Almodovar (whose “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” was conceived with her in mind), gives a warm, substantial and much less giddy performance this time. A generosity of spirit colors her every gesture. Not having lost her comic touch, Miss Maura is also capable of flouncing ludicrously as she struggles with the huge, impossible train of a flamenco gown, or of wiping her mouth daintily on the back of her hand after a hearty meal. (“If the Fascists always eat like this, we’ve lost the war,” she sighs, after dining on spaghetti with Italian soldiers.) The strength and sympathy that Miss Maura embodies make Carmela a force to be reckoned with and “Ay, Carmela!” more affecting than it might otherwise have been.