Even The Rain

 A Spanish movie crew has traveled to Bolivia to make a film about Christopher Columbus. The producer (Luis Tosar) is bragging on the phone to his American financiers about how cheap it is to film there and how they are only paying the extras $2.00 a day. One of the natives (Juan Carlos Aduviri) glares at him. He spent some time in the U.S. working construction so he understands a little English. He knows that he and his fellow Indians are being taken advantage of, but in Chochabamba work is scarce. His people have been trampled on ever since Columbus got there so why expect things to be any different now? Daniel, as an actor, is standing in as Hatuey, a Taino chief who led a rebellion against the Spanish. When casting, his lean frame did not fit the bill, but there was something powerful in his eyes. Daniel won the role and his eyes are now staring down Costa.
 
Costa, the producer is embarrassed by his words and knows what he is doing is wrong. He’s had his producer’s hat on for so long that he has become callous to the exploitation of others. The look in Daniel’s eyes has convicted him and he begins to see things in a new way. As he watches the movie about Columbus being made, he realizes that for the Indians nothing much has changed in the last 600 years.
 
Gael Garcia Bernal plays Sebastian, the director of the film, and he has been trying to get this story told for years. He wants the focus of the movie to be on Bartolome de las Casas, a priest who advocated for the natives and fought for their rights as subjects under Spain. Many consider him the father of international law. And then there’s Juan de Montesinos, another priest who criticized Spain from the pulpit. His fiery sermons denounced the treatment of the Taino and inspired many to action including Bartolome de las Casas. The irony here is that Sebastian is so focused on making his movie that he is oblivious to the injustice going on right under his nose.
 
In 2000, in Chochabamba, Bolivia, the government moved to privatize water. This drove up the cost by 300% and prevented the natives from drawing from their own wells that they themselves dug. This ended in a peasant’s revolt and Daniel, like his counter-part in the film, became a leader in the uprising. To Sebastian, the riots and following siege were only a disruption to his film, without realizing that his attitude was now mirroring Christopher Columbus. In his zeal to get his film made he missed the fact that history was repeating itself.
 
In this modern time, water has become more precious than gold and those who control water, control life. This film works on so many levels because it illustrates how the powerful still manipulate the weak. By viewing this concept through history, revisionist history and contemporary examples, we come away with such a richer understanding. Our producer, Costa, becomes our eyes and experiences the biggest change. You will also be haunted by the character of Daniel, a small man with the heart of a warrior.
 
I loved this film, was moved by it, and like some of the characters, even changed. The rich jungle settings populated by authentic Indians and Spanish actors brought Columbus’ exploits to life. Columbus, played by Karra Elejalde, shows us an alcoholic washed–up actor who transforms, not into a monster, but into a driven man using the natives as his own private work force. Karra Elejalde has some wonderful scenes humanizing Columbus and giving us insight into the man. Columbus was not so much a villain, but a man of his times. It is a wonderful movie and should be seen.

Rating: Must See Not much has changed in 600 years