MOVIE REVIEW: EVEN THE RAIN
Feb. 15th, 2012 12:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jenni_blogEVEN THE RAIN (Tambien La Lluvia)
Stars:
Luis Tosar: Costa
Gael Garcia Bernal: Sebastian
Juan Carlos Aduviri: Daniel
Milena Soliz: Belen
A film within a film, 'Even The Rain' starts with a movie company arriving in Cochabamba, Bolivia, to begin shooting a movie about Christopher Colombus arriving in the Americas. The film company wants to use the natives of Bolivia to be the 'Taino', the people Colombus first came across in the New World, even though the Bolivian Indians are 'Quechua', totally different. But it's all in the interests of saving money, which is key to the plot. They post a casting call for the local people to fill parts in the movie, both big and small parts, and it's at this open 'tryout' that the executive producer (Costa) and the director (Sebastian) meet Daniel, who becomes a star of the movie, as well as an activist for the cause of his own people.
During the course of the filming, trouble arises in Cochabamba when the local government decides to privatize the water supply. The resulting rise in taxes will be more than what the residents can afford. The 'extras' on the movie set are only being paid $2 per day from the movie company. Daniel tells Costa that they want to tax 'even the rain', which is where the movie's title comes from.
The peoples' resistance is so strong that it disrupts the filming. Daniel is thrown in prison before he finishes filming a critical scene. There is rioting in Cochabamba and the army arrives to restore order. Daniel's daughter gets caught up in the rioting and gets hurt, separated from her parents. She is only a child of 11 and will die unless she can get to a hospital, but she is cut off from safety and remains in the riot area.
The actors in this movie are incredible. In fact, the movie is carried by the acting, even though the location and action shots are really well done too. And there is a nice parallel drawn between the European exploitation of the natives and the movie company's exploitation of them by paying them slave wages.
One of the beautiful things this film draws out is the relationship that develops between Costa and Daniel. At first Costa cannot stand him, and thinks Daniel is nothing but trouble and a huge pain in the butt. But by the end he loves Daniel and will do anything for him, even risking his own life. And no, it's not a gay relationship at all. XD
I highly recommend seeing this film. It's in Spanish with English subtitles. I watched it on Netflix. It had premiered at the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2010 and was also shown at the Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Panorama Audience Award. It's won other awards too, and was the official Spanish selection for the Academy Awards 'Best Foreign Film'.
Trailer:
Some pics from the movie:
Stars:
Luis Tosar: Costa
Gael Garcia Bernal: Sebastian
Juan Carlos Aduviri: Daniel
Milena Soliz: Belen
A film within a film, 'Even The Rain' starts with a movie company arriving in Cochabamba, Bolivia, to begin shooting a movie about Christopher Colombus arriving in the Americas. The film company wants to use the natives of Bolivia to be the 'Taino', the people Colombus first came across in the New World, even though the Bolivian Indians are 'Quechua', totally different. But it's all in the interests of saving money, which is key to the plot. They post a casting call for the local people to fill parts in the movie, both big and small parts, and it's at this open 'tryout' that the executive producer (Costa) and the director (Sebastian) meet Daniel, who becomes a star of the movie, as well as an activist for the cause of his own people.
During the course of the filming, trouble arises in Cochabamba when the local government decides to privatize the water supply. The resulting rise in taxes will be more than what the residents can afford. The 'extras' on the movie set are only being paid $2 per day from the movie company. Daniel tells Costa that they want to tax 'even the rain', which is where the movie's title comes from.
The peoples' resistance is so strong that it disrupts the filming. Daniel is thrown in prison before he finishes filming a critical scene. There is rioting in Cochabamba and the army arrives to restore order. Daniel's daughter gets caught up in the rioting and gets hurt, separated from her parents. She is only a child of 11 and will die unless she can get to a hospital, but she is cut off from safety and remains in the riot area.
The actors in this movie are incredible. In fact, the movie is carried by the acting, even though the location and action shots are really well done too. And there is a nice parallel drawn between the European exploitation of the natives and the movie company's exploitation of them by paying them slave wages.
One of the beautiful things this film draws out is the relationship that develops between Costa and Daniel. At first Costa cannot stand him, and thinks Daniel is nothing but trouble and a huge pain in the butt. But by the end he loves Daniel and will do anything for him, even risking his own life. And no, it's not a gay relationship at all. XD
I highly recommend seeing this film. It's in Spanish with English subtitles. I watched it on Netflix. It had premiered at the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2010 and was also shown at the Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Panorama Audience Award. It's won other awards too, and was the official Spanish selection for the Academy Awards 'Best Foreign Film'.
Trailer:
Some pics from the movie:
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no subject
Date: 2012-02-15 10:37 pm (UTC)I have read about privatisation the water supply! I don't get it. Imagine all rivers and lakes and all other water resources would be in private hands.... One day it will be this way all over the world :(
Companies will own the water, fill in into bottles and sell it for much money...
You can do NOTHING against it but die!
no subject
Date: 2012-02-15 11:43 pm (UTC)And for sure, some company will find a way to charge for the rain. I never thought they would do it with water, but they have done it! :((((
I love to see people fighting back and not just accepting the shit that is thrown at them. :/
no subject
Date: 2012-02-16 12:42 am (UTC)