Contemporary Latin American Cinema

This month sees the release of Chilean film No, starring Gael Garcia Bernal, about the role of advertising in their 1988 national plebiscite. I for one think that it will prove to be as novel yet distinguished as the nation’s wine. So, in the spirit of Hispanic cultural flavour, I will give you a taste of today’s Latin American cinema, which has a mature yet unique body.

Introduction

Most of the best work has so far been from Mexico and Brazil, really coming into fruition in the last decade or two. Filmmakers such as Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Ińárritu, Guillermo del Toro and Walter Salles have been consistently producing critically acclaimed and high-grossing pictures. Some have even hit the Western mainstream, like City of God, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Motorcycle Diaries. There are some common thematic and stylistic elements which tie this area of cinema together, rendering it both inimitable and numinous. 

Ernesto 'Che' Guevara before his career on middle-class T-shirts

Themes

Some profound themes are explored in Latin cinema, but often in a restrained and understated fashion. This is the antithesis of Hollywood’s blockbuster style, which will be further explored later. The filmmakers serve us a slice of reality, stuffed with insight and thought, a dish which is designed to give the viewer a taste of life and its contents.

All of life’s problems are investigated. Kids battle to escape from poverty (Linha de Passe), violence (City of God) and conservatism (Behind the Sun), all with realistic trouble. We watch as circumstance, death and injustice bare down on everyone in existence, the reactions of the victims proving an interesting ethnography.

Death is a frequent topic. Ińárritu even made a Death Trilogy (Amores perros, 21 Grams, Babel). It haunts many Latin films, with numerous leading characters being unceremoniously claimed by cancer, accident, murder, bad luck. In Behind the Sun, a young man is next in line to avenge his brother’s murder by a rival family, and thus be killed by his victim’s brother. The constant, lurking threat actually enhances the realism: after all, the only certainty in life is death.

Poverty is obviously an inescapable reality for many in Latin America. It is not surprising, then, that crushing monetary and material deficiency is a frequent topic. Sometimes it forms an inescapable web like prison for the characters to attempt an escape from (Linha de Passe), at other times it simply exists as a fact of life (Central do Brasil). No simple blame is dished out, nor are shallow romantic images thrown at the viewer, instead poverty is presented in all its forms.

Rio's Aristocracy

On a more metaphysical level, maturation features often. In the controversial Y Tu Mamá También, two Mexican kids take a bored Spaniard on a road trip, an excuse for filmmaker Cuarón to explore their delinquency and approach to life for an hour and a half. As the many children of today’s films get older, we witness their dealings with the wider world, and the effect that it has on them.

Growing up

An interesting, if unobvious, strain that runs throughout is the monotony of life. This idea of a realistic presentation of life extends to the endlessness of existence, where things keep turning and nothing changes. The cyclical nature of many films exacerbates this feeling. Behind the Sun starts with the never ending turning of a farm machine’s cogs, the driving oxen walking round and round in circles. The end of Linha de Passe leaves us in largely the same situation as the beginning. Even in an action-packed flick like Che, substantial amount of time is spent watching him ride donkeys around the jungle in circles.

On occasion, broader political themes can dealt with deftly and appropriately, like revolution (Che, The Motorcycle Diaries), political change (background in Y Tu Mamá También), or The Spanish Civil War (Pan’s Labyrinth). The penchant for realism serves the historical accuracy of these events well.ll.

Style

The style of today's Latin American cinema is often contemplative, sombre, majestic. The landscapes and cityscapes are silently observed in moments of tranquillity and thought. The films are pausing to highlight the beauty and tragedy of life for the audience, with cinema being a mode of viewing the world as it is, not as someone has dreamt it to be. The antithesis of Hollywood’s grand, escapist blockbusters, Latin Cinema exposes the awesome complexity of existence by witnessing the ordinary rather than laying on anything supernatural. Unknown actors are often used, as if plucked straight from the street which is being filmed. Rough locations like impoverished favelas and decrepit farms are more often the sets than glamorous scenes are. Watching a film like Behind the Sun or Linha de Passe is a melancholy and actually quite depressing experience, precisely because of the solemn vision mixed with the morbid thematic content.

The filming techniques compliment the themes of ordinary life and domesticity. Jaunty angles, imperfect camera use, lack of high definition, and little in the way of CGI or special effects all add to the coarse immediacy of the scene.

When action is called for, it tears through the story in brief bursts of overwhelming brutality, searing the passivity of the prior situation. Thus the violence is sharper and more moving. For example, in 21 Grams we see an assassination, bank robberies, a few dog fights and a major automobile collision. Placed between drawn out images of people sat at home, talking or even thinking, they emotionally place the viewer more effectively into the shoes of those involved.

Relaxing

Chatting

Contemplating

CRASHING

Recognisable Success

Do not for one second think that this is some niche genre, watched only by Guardian readers in independent cinemas: the effects have been felt globally. Despite the fact that many actors are amateur, or star with no prior experience, some faces have become recognisable worldwide. Benicio del Torro acts with Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem* appears in the Bond franchise, and Gael García Bernal is identifiable without jumping on Hollywood’s blockbuster gravy train. Latin American cinema can also draw in big names: Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Kate Blanchett being prime examples. The Hispanic filmmakers have even managed to get their hands on notable Western productions. Ever heard of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Paris je t’aime, On the Road? All of these have been directed by Cuarón and Salles. It should be exciting to see what vintage is round the corner.

*OK, he's Spanish, but there is a crossover due to the shared lingua franca.

Che, during his T-shirt modelling phase

Recommended filmography (under the title with which they were released in the UK):

21 Grams (A car crash links a Christian ex-con, a terminally ill academic and a former junkie housewife)

Amores perros (Another car crash links a dog-fighting youth, an unfaithful publisher and his model girlfriend, and a tramp assassin)

Babel (3 unrelated stories set in Morocco, Japan and USA/ Mexico)

Behind the Sun (A young man is forced into an ancient family feud which will surely kill him)

Biutiful (A single parent struggles with his conscience over recent events and his terminal illness)

Central do Brasil (Exploring the relationship between a lost boy and a disillusioned middle-aged woman)

Che (Two-part chronicling of Guevara's role in The Cuban Revolution, and the failed Bolivian attempt)

City of God (Winding epic about gang violence in the Rio favelas)

Linha de Passe (Four half brothers struggle to escape a favela's poverty through football, religion, work/ theft and bus driving, while their pregnant mother tries to continue living)

The Motorcycle Diaries (Charts Ernesto 'Che' Guevara's youthful trip across the continent as he witnesses poverty and injustice)

Pan’s Labyrinth (Fantasy horror set in the Spanish Civil War)

Y Tu Mamá También (Two youths and a Spanish woman go on a road trip, finding out more about themselves than the Mexican countryside)