South American Film

South America holds a wealth of artistic innovation. To me, I feel that the Latin-American literature boom of the 20th Century is carrying over into the best South American films.

First up is the fantastic ‘drug-crime’ pairing of City of God and Elite Squad which put Brazil on the 21st century film map.

Argentina won Academy Award acclaim with The Secret in Their Eyes featuring Ricardo Darin, the star of Argentinian film. I’d also recommend the brilliantly hilarious Wild Tales (also starring Darin) to add to your Argentine collection.

With films like Embrace of the Serpent, Colombia is also making headlines. And don’t forget Chile, a country bolstered by Pablo Larrain, one of South America’s most promising directors (see Neruda for evidence).

With a world of film at your fingertips, South America is a fantastic place to start your film quest! Find the best South American films below, or click on a country below to go somewhere particular:

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela

Los Hongos (The Mushrooms)

Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Los Hongos follows some cool-ish kids who like to skate and paint. We follow them around Cali in Colombia as they move around the city meeting up with friends and family. This is like spending a bit of time with friendly tour guide in Colombia. This is a sneak peek into life in Cali. (At least I think it is! Please comment if director Oscar Ruiz Navia gets it wrong).

Why watch Los Hongos?

To experience Colombia without the expensive plane ticket (and language problems).
Coming-of-age films! I’m a fan!
For some infectious vibrant colours to make you forget the overcast weather outside.
To see an old man singing ballads in the shower!

Los Hongos opens with a night-time close up of a paint roller covered in red paint being dragged across a chain of posters of political candidates. Is this a political act? Next the protagonist paints a red blotch on the wall. Rebellion? Probably not, for our protagonist is revealed to be Ras, just a young adult figuring out life. He tries to skate on a small bar on the roof of his house until the cockerels start singing before slumping on his bed. His brief moment of peace is broken five minutes later as his mum’s alarm wakes her up and the morning begins.

By this point there had been no dialogue, but I already wanted to know more about Ras. Who was this guy and what gave him the determination to stay up until dawn skating and painting?

We later meet his mate, Calvin, another guy like him who lives with and takes care of his Nana. He gives us a tour of the neighbourhood and Colombian culture by taking him to visit his Dad who takes them to the local cafe where we hear local music, see (and can almost smell) local food, and hear conversation about local politics. It’s like a Lonely Planet 101 to Colombia. That’s what I love about some simple films like this one; they immerse you in another country for an hour or two.

In addition, the cinematography is great. The vibrant colours paint the city to life so you start wanting to be there too. Plus the editing and camera framing and movement is beautiful. For example:

Tracking shots of the characters skating or biking (ie. where the camera alongside them).
Shots of characters in mirrors.
The medium-long shots of characters or scenes gives the film a relaxing rhythm, allowing you to soak in everything. (In contrast with the effect of long shots in Androids Dream and The Lobster).
One beautiful shot of Calvin’s Nana. She is telling Ras and Calvin about a story from years ago and when she finishes her face is shot in close up with Ras slumped asleep on the bed on her right and Calvin asleep to her left. The camera follows the movement as she looks to her right and then to her left. She sees that they have both fallen asleep during her story and she looks directly at the camera which then cuts to a picture of her as a girl. The direction beautifully captures her strong nostalgia and her recognition of her age and closeness to death.

Don’t worry though, because this is not a depressing or sad film. This is a film that rolls with the flow of life and fills your spirit. For a chance to be a kid in Colombia for an hour and a half, choose Los Hongos.

Lane 4 – Spain/Latin American Competition – SBIFF

In Lane 4, Amanda is most comfortable in the water. Lacking her parents’ attention at home, swimming is the only thing she has. But she’s not alone in the pool. Priscila, the star of her swim team, becomes her friend and rival in the pool and in life.

The film starts with Amanda completely still, floating underwater in the fetal position in a swimming pool. By comparing the swimming pool to a womb, the opening image shows Amanda’s desire to return to the womb, to escape all the stresses of her daily life (see Freud’s Thanatos Instinct). In the pool, she can escape from her parents who don’t understand her, the social pressures of maintaining a ‘cool’ image, and her own growing pains. However, unfortunately for her, she cannot stay underwater forever. Eventually she has to surface for air. When she breaks from the fetal position and swims to the surface, it’s symbolic of her second birth. It’s her rebirth as a woman and a world full of expectations for her.

The scenes of Amanda underwater are the corner stones of Lane 4. Each one of them indicate her underlying desires. First, as mentioned above, she’s reborn from a girl into a woman, even though she desires to return to the simplicity of the womb. Secondly, she dives to the bottom of the pool on her own to reluctantly collect a hairband given to her by her mother. This image symbolizes her reluctance to grow up and tie back her hair – something that her mum thinks she should do to show off her ears. The third underwater scene shows her diving towards Priscila’s boyfriend. This scene starts to reveal her desire to assume Priscila’s position as the coolest girl on the swim team which are confirmed in the last underwater scene to end the film. Above water, Amanda is mostly silent and rarely reveals what she thinks, but underwater, she reveals all of her underlying desires and urges.

Lane 4 contains most of the typical coming of age film tropes, such as:

Dealing with absent parents.
Dealing with friends who have grown up before you.
Dealing with a dad that still sees you as a little girl.
Jealousy of the popular girl at school.
Wanting to go out with most attractive boy at school.
Her first period.

As a result, it will feel very familiar to other coming of age films, such as Alba. The main thing that sets apart Lane 4 from other films is that it’s set within a competitive swim club. This environment, and the underwater scenes that reveal her hidden desires, made Lane 4 one of the most memorable films at SBIFF.

A Useful Life – A Uruguayan Ode to Cinema

A Useful life Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

If you love going to the cinema to watch films, find out how they are run by watching A Useful Life. This short film focuses on a struggling art house cinema in Uruguay. It’s an ode to cinema of the past and how it is being forced to adapt to a new digital world.

From: Uruguay, South America
Watch: Trailer, Buy on Amazon
Next: Cinema Paradiso, Hugo, Gloria

The Dead and the Others – Running From Your Destiny

The Dead and the Others Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

The Dead and the Others follows Ihjãc, a 15 year old indigenous Krahô father. After his own father dies, he starts to hear voices and receives a visit from the legendary macaw, a signal of the start of his transformation into a shaman. However, instead of accepting his duty, he runs away to a white Brazilian cowboy town a day’s drive away from his community. It’s here, isolated from his people that he faces the reality of being an indigenous person in contemporary Brazil.

In a way, The Dead and the Others feels like a prequel to Maya Da-Rin’s The Fever. Both films are directed by outsiders filming indigenous people in Brazil, but whereas The Dead and the Others centers on a young person leaving his community, The Fever centers on a middle aged man that has already left his community that starts being drawn back to it through visions and the prejudices he faces in ‘white’ Brazil. Both I believe are two great films to watch to get a glimpse into the indigenous experience in Brazil. However, take this opinion with a pinch of salt as I haven’t had the opportunity yet to watch any indigenous films from Brazil actually told by indigenous people. Please let me know if you have any recommendations!

From: Brazil, South America
Watch: Short Clip, JustWatch, Mubi
Next: Land of Ashes, Zama, A Fever

The Towrope (Colombia) – Can You Hide from the Colombian Civil War?

The Towrope Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Could you escape from the Colombian Civil War? Even in the remote parts of Colombia where The Towrope is set, the effects of the Civil War are unavoidable. It seems like everyone knows someone who has been affected by the conflict. However, the part of Colombia in The Towrope is like another world. Welcome to the grey skies and cold rain you don’t see on the Colombian guide books.

Why Watch The Towrope?

To see more evidence of the beautiful, diverse landscape of Colombia (for more evidence see Colours of the Mountain and Embrace of the Serpent)
See how the landscape becomes an extra character (like the sparse desert landscape of New Mexico in Breaking Bad)
Learn how the Civil War has permeated all parts of Colombia
See what it’s like to live in the remote countryside without electricity

The Breakdown

The Towrope starts with the silhouette of a limp figure hanging from a stake. It’s dawn, and the sky is so grey that it’s impossible to see if it’s a dead person or a scarecrow; either a sign of the civil war or a sign of fertility.

It’s not people, but the landscape that sets the tone of this film. The grey sky and persistent rain is not the sunny, hot Colombia that foreigners probably think of. The lake they live by is empty and quiet and not full of tourists or visitors. The landscape and weather defines the life of the locals. They have to continually fix their houses to withstand the weather and their movement and freedom is limited by the lake.

The gloomy weather compliments the dark backdrop of the Civil War. 19 year old Alicia arrives at her Uncle’s house on the lake after her hometown was destroyed by the Civil War. It’s not clear if her family have been killed or abandoned. Her Uncle reluctantly lets her stay with him but does not offer her much hospitality.

Image result for la sirga

Conclusion

This slow paced film masterfully builds tension. The sound of creaking floorboards and rain and wind battering the sides of the house ominously hint that trouble is nearby. All the signs of Civil War are around, but nothing is explained in any detail. It’s not clear how they have been affected by the Civil War and if danger is nearby. All we can do is keep guessing.