Sunday night at the movies

02.09.2004

Dragged myself out of bed after a long night, then met up w/ M in Calacoto, and headed up to downtown for coffee & a movie.

Finally saw El atraco, the new Bolivian film by Paolo Agazzi. I missed the "premier" in La Paz (the film actually premiered two days earlier in Santa Cruz). No regrets; the premier was invitation-only (few tickets for sale) and included speeches by Mesa & others.

The film was a great crime-mystery story. Based on true events, it tells the tale of a 1961 highway robbery of millions in miners' salaries — planned & executed by two police officers, w/ the support of some high government officials. When it comes time to investigate the crime, a straight-laced, by-the-book detective is assigned to the case, along w/ a rough-around-the-edges detective — who just happens to've been the heist's leader. In the end, the film's not so much about the heist itself, as about corrupt institutions.

I enjoyed Agazzi's El día que murió el silencio, which was the first time I'd seen "magical realism" interpreted beautifully & believably on film. Like Silencio, Agazzi's El atraco featured Latin American & Spanish actors. I think the inclusion of foreign actors helps, since all-Bolivian productions (like Los hijos del último jardín) often suffer from mediocre acting.

After the film, we ran into some friends of M's and went out for dinner at a chifa (a Chinese restaurant) in Sopocachi. It wasn't until after we were leaving the restaurant & saying our goodbyes that I realized Mechum was the brother of Newley Purnell — a fellow blogger who also writes for Southern Exposure. What a small world.

Posted by Miguel at 04:49 PM

Comments

I saw the movie, I think it was great!, much better than "Dependencia Sexual" (eventhough they're very different films). Image, and specially sound, sets new standards for bolivian films to come. I really think that the participation of foreign actors was paramount in this movie, I hope the whole industry benefits from this experience.

Posted by: Daniel at February 12, 2004 04:03 PM