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Obsessive idealist Sebastián has sworn to direct a film about one of the world s most iconic figures, Christopher Columbus. He is determined to overturn the myth of the arrival of Western Civilization in the Americas as a force for good. His film will show what Columbus set in motion: the obsession with gold, the taking of slaves, and the terrible violence visited on those Indians who fought back.
The brilliant actor playing Columbus constantly challenges the director, accusing him of hypocrisy and cheap manipulation. Costa, Sebastián s friend and producer, doesn t give a damn. All that matters is that the film comes in on time and within budget. Costa decided they will shoot in Bolivia, the cheapest, most Indian of Latin American countries.
While the shoot progresses in and around the city of Cochabamba, civil and political unrest simmer, as the entire water supply of the city is privatized and sold to a British/American multinational. Violence increases daily until the entire city explodes in the now infamous Bolivian Water War - a war which actually took place in April 2000. 500 years after Columbus, sticks and stones once again confront the high-tech weaponry of a modern army. David against Goliath. Only this time the fight is not over gold, but the simplest of life-giving elements - water.
Awards and Accreditations:
Berlin International Film Festival, Panorama Audience Award 2011
From the Back Cover
Spanish with English subtitles
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Films about films don't always engage with the viewer. Historical films can also be hit and miss on occasions. So why not tell a historical story through modern day lenses using the device of making a film on location in Bolivia. Quite a feat of imagination, and one that on the face of it would be difficult to pull off. But Spanish director Iciar Bollain, with the help of her talented scriptwriter Paul Laverty has made something that is imaginative, thought provoking and perceptive. A real tour de force of film talent and ability. The film within the film is based largely on the Dominican priest Padre Antonio Montesinos, who spoke out in March 1511 against the might of the Spanish empire. His denunciation of the mistreatment and murder of indigenous peoples by the Spanish conquerors was a lone voice crying out in the wilderness. His words carry great resonance today, and as such are ideal for a contemporary setting. It is worth quoting him here. "Look into an Indian's eyes. Are these not men? Do they not have rational souls? Are you not obliged to love them as yourselves". Brave words that probably pronounced his own death sentence. A story worth telling!
Luis Tosar plays the opportunistic executive producer Costa, who exploits the indigenous people of Bolivia by only paying them a 2 dollar pittance for a days work. All part of cutting the costs! Gael Garcia Bernal plays the Mexican film director Sebastian. Accompanied by a cast and crew they arrive in Cochabamba, Bolivia to make a film about the arrival of Columbus in the New World, particularly highlighting their cruel and exploitive treatment of the local Taino indian population, which lead to their eventually extermination. Tosar's behaviour of course echoes this.... Read more ›
Luis Tosar plays the opportunistic executive producer Costa, who exploits the indigenous people of Bolivia by only paying them a 2 dollar pittance for a days work. All part of cutting the costs! Gael Garcia Bernal plays the Mexican film director Sebastian. Accompanied by a cast and crew they arrive in Cochabamba, Bolivia to make a film about the arrival of Columbus in the New World, particularly highlighting their cruel and exploitive treatment of the local Taino indian population, which lead to their eventually extermination. Tosar's behaviour of course echoes this.... Read more ›
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning Tale of Slavery, Columbus and Water Privatisation in Bolivia!
30 Aug 2012
By Tommy D
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
Set in Bolivia, this Spanish film stars Gael Garcia Bernal (`Amores Perros', `Bad Education' and `Rudi y Cursi') as film director Sebastian. He is making a film in the Cochabamba region with his exec producer Costa (Luis Tosar - `Cell 211', `Mr Nice' and `Miami Vice'). They have chosen the area because they are on a limited budget and know they can hire local extras for next to nothing.
At auditioning a feisty Indian, Daniel kicks up a fuss about not getting a screen test, Sebastian decides to take him on. They are shooting a film about Columbus set in 1511, and they want to use contemporary accounts as much as possible to keep it accurate. They are also keen to show how the Indians were exploited by the Spanish Empire and show a few good men who stood up for the Indians and the tyranny of the Church.
Things go well at first and the historical scenes are absolutely brilliant - would make an excellent film in itself to be honest. But then they discover that Daniel is a leading activist against the privatisation of water or more accurately the theft of water, which is referenced in the title of the film. The local police enforce the foreign privately owned water companies policies and as water means life, it is only inevitable that the Indians will fight back.
So as filming rolls on, the five hundred year old events start to have a strange resonance with what is actually taking place in the present, and the parallels with the Conquistadors is only too obvious.
This then is a truly brilliant piece of cinema; you almost get two films in one or three if you include the people making a documentary of the making of the film. Yes it sounds complicated but it really works.... Read more ›
At auditioning a feisty Indian, Daniel kicks up a fuss about not getting a screen test, Sebastian decides to take him on. They are shooting a film about Columbus set in 1511, and they want to use contemporary accounts as much as possible to keep it accurate. They are also keen to show how the Indians were exploited by the Spanish Empire and show a few good men who stood up for the Indians and the tyranny of the Church.
Things go well at first and the historical scenes are absolutely brilliant - would make an excellent film in itself to be honest. But then they discover that Daniel is a leading activist against the privatisation of water or more accurately the theft of water, which is referenced in the title of the film. The local police enforce the foreign privately owned water companies policies and as water means life, it is only inevitable that the Indians will fight back.
So as filming rolls on, the five hundred year old events start to have a strange resonance with what is actually taking place in the present, and the parallels with the Conquistadors is only too obvious.
This then is a truly brilliant piece of cinema; you almost get two films in one or three if you include the people making a documentary of the making of the film. Yes it sounds complicated but it really works.... Read more ›
By Towcan
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
A powerful film that overlaps historical facts with modern day
power of the state and multi-national companys - with the local
populations paying the price.
Great acting - well produced film
A moving, emotional film.
power of the state and multi-national companys - with the local
populations paying the price.
Great acting - well produced film
A moving, emotional film.
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a layer cake of entwined stories sung in the key of anti-imperialism. Cinematographically gorgeous to boot. Treasure it.
By Mary
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
A moving but sometimes harrowing juxtaposition of Spanish exploitation of the Indians with the Water War in Bolivia. several strong characters with conflicting interests. Several scenes which will stick in the mind ,especially the raising of the huge cross and the defiance of the Indians against forced conversion .
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This film gripped me from the very beginning. In a clever mirroring of historical Spanish subjugation of indigenous peoples, a Spanish film crew arrive in Bolivia to make a film about Columbus' arrival in the 'New World' because they can make it cheaply there. In the midst of filming, the Water Wars break out in Cochabamba, adding a third layer of exploitation which mirrors Columbus' extraction of gold hundreds of years before. As the film progresses, the idealist (the director, played by Gael Garcia Bernal) and the realist (the Producer, the brilliant Luis Tosar) gradually change places as events change their stances. A thought I was left with after watching this film is that I wish they had made the Columbus movie for real - from the glimpses you see it looks like it would have be a corker!!
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