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= Lame, Crummy.
= OK, Watchable.
= Good.
= Very Good.
= Great, Classic.
Costa Rica ~
Las Honduras ~
Nicaragua ~
Panamá ~
El Salvador
COSTA RICA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Defenders of Life (Defensores de la vida)
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Esmerelda (Eylin Esther Jimenez Gonzales) is a Ngäbe girl who lives with her grandmother, Doña Carmen (Carmen Romero Palacios), the
leader of her community. As soon as Esmerelda starts menstruating, the elderly Don Claudio (Francisco Rodriguez Atencio) asks Doña Carmen
for permission to marry her. Revolting as the prospect seems, Doña Carmen consents, because Claudio is a respected elder who is preserving
the traditions of the Ngäbe community that Carmen is fighting for. Beatriz is a young, idealistic anthropologist living with Carmen and
studying the Ngäbe, but her
cultural relativism screeches to a halt when she finds out that Esmerelda is pregnant by Claudio. She tells the police, but they can only
act if Carmen files a complain. When Beatriz confronts Carmen, all of the grandmother's resentment towards white people comes to the
surface. Their friendship collapses and Beatriz gives up her years of anthropological work on the community. Defenders of Life is
a very interesting film that does not seem to take sides; the viewer is left to decide whether tradition or modern ethics is greater. The
film features indigenous actors essentially playing themselves and shows many aspects of Ngäbe culture--their clothing, crafts, the
puberty ritual, and of course the marriage proposal. The director based the story on real events she learned of while working with
indigenous communities for the United Nations.
Sinopsis en español:
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ÍNTIMA RAÍZ
(Intimate Root)
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Often mistakenly referred to as a documentary, Íntima raíz is a poetic, meditative film about an unidentified culture in Costa
Rica in 1502, when the first Spaniards came. The unnamed heroine (played by Nandayure Harley, with a voiceover by Xinia Sanchez) reflects
on her life with the tribe as the camera pours over beautiful scenes of the rainforest, rivers, and wildlife. The scene then switches to
a lone, lost Spaniard and his own reflections on the indigenous people he has encountered so far. He regards them as savages and wonders
if they have souls. The simple story has scenes of hunting, cooking, basket weaving, storytelling, sex, childbirth, playing, living. It
would be great to see a Criterion-style restoration of this beautiful film, with subtitles (which the online version doesn't have).
Available on Vimeo: vimeo.com/ondemand/puertopadre/306280982
Sinopsis en español:
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PUERTO PADRE
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Daniel is a 16-year-old living on the island of Chira in the Gulf of Nicoya with his grandmother. With no jobs on the island, his
grandmother urges him to go to the mainland and look for the godfather of his deceased mother. Daniel finds that the godfather is also
deceased, but the brother, a controlling, misanthropic man, offers him room and board at his hotel in exchange for work. A rather slow
but intriguing film; the main attractions are the cinematography and the incredibly handsome lead actor, Jason Pérez.
Facebook page: facebook.com/Puerto-Padre-150536715037077/
Sinopsis en español:
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LAS HONDURAS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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MOSQUITO COAST
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A cranky inventor, Allie Fox, is disgusted with American greed and
materialism. He abandons civilization and moves his family to the Honduran jungle. But
Allie's idealism gradually becomes an obsession that turns his family into captives in
his mad quest. Indians only play a small role in the film: the Miskito Indians help
the Foxes build a new village, Jeronimo, and they live there with them. Later in the
film, Fox ventures deeper into the jungle to introduce ice to some completely
unassimilated Indians, who are described (in the book) as being either the Paya
or Twahka (Tawahka) Indians. Fox's growing obsession is comparable to that of
Aguirre, and of course the ice theme echoes Fitzcarraldo.
Allie is played by Harrison Ford in one of his first "serious" roles after his campy
Han Solo and Indiana Jones characters, and Ford has singled out Allie Fox as the
role he is most proud of. Based on the 1982 novel by Paul Theroux (the movie is great,
but the book is even better!).
Sinopsis en español: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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NICARAGUA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LA INSURRECCION (The Uprising)
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As in the above movie, this story is set during the Sandinista Revolution,
which overthrew the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza Debayle, who ruled Nicaragua in the
sixties and seventies. A young man joins the National Guard in order to
earn money and receive training, but in doing so he has alienated his
father, who supports the Sandinistas. Gradually the son's views change
and he realizes he must side with his family and his people. But the
government has invested much time and money in training the young man,
and they are willing to tear apart the family and even the whole town to
get him back. La Insurreccion was made by the Versatile German-born director
Peter Lilienthal, whose family emigrated to Uruguay in 1939. The family
conflict that arises from the son's military service is reminiscent of the
later Colombian film, Primera noche (not reviewed on this site).
Sinopsis en español:
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PANAMÁ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BURWA DII EBO (The Wind and the Water) (El viento y el agua)
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Machi and Rosy were both born in Kuna Yala, the autonomous indigenous territory
along the east coast of Panama. Machi was raised in Kuna Yala, speaking the native
language and learning the traditional ways of his fishing community. Rosy, however,
grew up in Panama City speaking Spanish, wearing matching pink outfits, and sporting
dreams of becoming a fashion
model. By the time Machi and Rosy are 15, a big development company has
the Kuna Yala territories in its crosshairs. The manipulative company
puts forces in motion to displace the indigenous
population and build resort hotels on their pristine shores. What the
company doesn’t know is that the wind blowing through two very special
coconut trees creates a powerful force in Machi and Rosy that may prove
difficult for the company to defeat. Official site: www.igaryala.org
Sinopsis en español:
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MARE ALBUM (White Sea)
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Igua, An Indian boy in the indigenous Kuna Yala province, dreams of traveling to the big city (Panama) to see the
skyscrapers. One day he and his friend Mani find a package of cocaine. Igua wants to sell it so he can go to Panama, but
Mani tries to talk him out of it. The story is told very nostalgically by Mani narrating as an adult.
Starring Rubén Avila and Arnold de León. The narration is in Spanish; the dialogue between the boys is in Kuna. This
short film is also known as "El soñador de edificios."
Available on Youtube: youtube.com/watch?v=8CTG_pomlVo
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SIGUIENDO LAS ESTRELLAS (Following the Stars)
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Tutu is a young fashion designer who spent all her life in Panama City. Upon the death of her father, she must travel to
her parents' village, where she experiences culture shock from a traditional Kuna life full of myths, taboos and
restrictions. As Tutu begins to change and adapt, she learns of a magical gift passed on by her grandmother.
Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=NpNxHiG_7-Y
Sinopsis en español:
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EL SALVADOR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ROMERO
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Raul Julia stars in this bio-pic of Archbishop Oscar Romero (1917-1980), a timid, bookish
priest who was promoted to the position of archbishop of the country's capital, San
Salvador, because his meekness and political obliviousness were expected to be an asset
to the military dictatorship as they squashed rebellion among the poor. As the killings
get worse and some of Romero's own priests are assassinated, Romero is emboldened to
stand up to the military. The debates between his priests and church officials are stiff
and unsubtle, but their are some powerful moments showing Romero's increasing defiance,
such the scene of the archpriest leading his congregation past a group of armed soldiers
and into the cathedral they are occupying. Romero is also a minor character in Oliver Stone's
film Salvador (1986) which covers similar territory and is probably a better movie.
Romero, however, shows more Indians, though even here they are mostly background
figures. Both films feature Latino actors speaking English with Spanish accents.
Sinopsis en español:
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DIE ODYSSEE DER INDIANER IN MITTELAMERIKA
LA PETACA
SANDINO
SIN VOZ
(Senderos: la odisea de los pueblos indios de América Central)
Leo Gabriel & Michael Verter, 1989
El film narra, a través de dos historias personales, las luchas de los pueblos indígenas de Guatemala y Nicaragua.
La situación política y los conflictos bélicos en que se han visto envueltos ambos países han ocasionado muerte,
desarraigo y desesperación entre los indígenas de esta región.
Gustavo Antonio Molina García, El Salvador, 13 min.
La peche María es una joven que siempre ha soñado ser igual a las demás. Desde que nació cargo en sus espaldas con una
gran joroba. Era discriminada por su familia. Un día su papá Tule decide llevarla donde un sobador para curarla. Para su
mayor sorpresa el sobador únicamente abusó sexualmente de ella. El tiempo paso y los sueños de la peche María se
diluyeron.
youtu.be/NSmcav4iE3U
Miguel Littin, Nicaragua, 1990, 135 min.
The story of revolutionary leader Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino (1895-1934), by the Chilean director Miguel Littin.
Alberto Serra, Panamá, 2018
An Emberá girl escapes abuse by fleeing to the city, where she does not know who to trust. Based on a true story.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/runj-9Zamgo
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