Bolivia (Argentina)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: C-     Film: B-

 

 

Racism is everywhere.  There is this politically correct myth that only “white people” can be racist because everyone else is not as empowered somehow.  Unfortunately, this never takes into account that hate is universal and to believe that myth (not to mention bigotry, reverse racism, and that anyone can commit a hate crime) and takes a huge amount of denial to get to work even remotely.  It also ignores civil wars in other countries and history in general.  Without any civil war raging, especially opening with a focus on something as social and “fun” as sports, Adrian Caetano’s Bolivia (2001) has gone over well with those who saw it.  The title refers to the immigrant who sets the film in psychological motion.

 

The events of 9/11/01 may have hurt it profoundly as more serious fare was paradoxically more desired and more ignored afterwards, but now, New Yorker has put the film out on DVD and it is an interesting work about the racial differences in a poorer part of a well-known country.  The clever approach at the beginning of the film is that, like we hear too often, people begin talking about their differences without celebrating them.  Slowly, this degenerates into trouble and exposes some major problems unaddressed.  If the subject of racism is not openly discussed and exposed, plus differences not recognized for the greatness and variety they offer, then it is no surprise when damage that cannot be undone strikes.  The Politically Correct crowd tries to tell us we are all the same and do not recognize differences, then the world just gets worse and worse.

 

Of course, you could say it is only extremists on the right who cause the trouble, but that would be another stereotype and miss the entire point of this film.  There are those who would love for you not to see this film and you would rarely see anything like it made in The United States.  Though it is not as long as I would have liked, Caetano is on to something and could become a major cinematic voice if he just stays the course.  Bolivia was produced and released a year before A Red Bear (reviewed elsewhere on this site) and he got a bit better with the next film, but under the budgetary limits, this may still be his best work to date.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1/16 X 9 image was shot in modern black and white film, which is not rich in darkness, but has plenty of grain.  This is a really good transfer of that material and the look cinematographer Julian Apezteguia brought to the film: gritty without overdoing it.  That is nice, though some viewers may not be used to color drained images that are actual monochrome.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has Pro Logic surrounds and this was a Dolby theatrical release.  The only extras are trailers for this and four other New Yorker titles, plus deleted scenes from this film that are interesting.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo