More on Latin American films I have had the chance to see - several really interesting for their focus on themes to do with the tension between modernity and tradition (especially in indigenous settings), and inscribing political And/or environmental concern and critique. In addition to the incredible El abrazo de la serpiente (see Last Friday's blog):
****Ixcanul volcano Dir. Jairo Bustamante, Guatemala/France 2015. See trailer.
A powerful and intimate drama of 17-year-old Maria who lives with her family in a tiny indigenous community on the side of a live volcano, betrothed by arrangement (to her father's boss and owner of their house). which explores the tension between the claustrophobia of tradition and modernity and themes of socio-economic and gender power relations and exploitation. Maria's pregnancy (by her hapless boyfriend) poses a catastrophic risk to the family's stability (rejection by her fiance and the threat of eviction). The vulnerability of poor, rural inigenous communities to exploitation and a potentially fatal snakebite endangering her life precipitates a series of ev, when Maria is encouraged to use the mystical powers associated with pregnancy to solve the problem of snake The intimacy of their relationship and conversations provides a focal point for exploring the and the- beautiful tightly focused sequences of her mother dressing her for the betrothal meeting, etc.
**Guaraní - Dir. Luis Zorracaín. Drama. Argentina Paraguay 2015. See teaser. See Variety review.
Quirky river-cum-road-cum-bus/train movie as steadfastly mono-lingual guarani grandfather travels with his 14-year-old granddaughter, Lara, to Buenos Aires to bring her pregnant mother back to their riverside home so that his only grandson be born a Paraguayan and to ensure he learns the native language and traditional fishing methods as expected of male members of the community. The greater importance he gives to passing this on to a male heir adds further cultural and generational tension to his relationship with Lara who, until that point has been his close companion and already acquired these traditional skills. The journey to B A is also the process,of their developing an even closer bond based on greater understanding of their respective perspectives.
****El botón de nácar o/ The Pearl See trailer and review.
Documentary which explores the relationship between water and the cosmos and its significance in Chile's culture and history from pre-Columbian cultures to the Spanish conquest through to political repression under the Pinochet odictatorship. The discovery of a pearl button resting on an iron railway track on the seabed reveals horrorific truths of its regime of terror and repression.
***Tierra y sombras
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