Even the Rain (2010)

Rarely have i been so hesitant on how to judge a movie - it seems at the same time exceptionally good and rather weak, both with respect to it artistic form and its political content.

Regarding the content, as mentioned by several commentators, a guiding theme of the movie is to make you feel and understand in which ways not much changed about the oppression of the South of the world by the North and of First Nations by immigrants to the new world; and even more importantly, that for bettering this, it's not enough for the average European to just be good and help the poor, because that merely leads to the paternalistic and condescending behaviour shown by the film's protagonists towards their indigenous workers. In short, the depiction of the dialectics of oppression, privilege and solidarity - in particular the voluntary, cheap, incomplete kind of solidarity - is relentless and far above average.

On the other hand, the supposed topics of the movie are hardly even touched: I learnt a lot more about the Cochabamba water war from the user comments here on IMDb than from the film itself, it doesn't really explain what that war was all about. There is a bit more material about Columbus, De las Casas and their time, but it's all fragmentary, symbolist, and doesn't form a coherent picture, as it would be needed to really understand anything about history.

Regarding the artistic form, i'd call this "Epic Theatre" in the Brecht'ian sense, as flabbergasting as that may seem in our post-modern times: Not only by the fact that the plot of the movie is "turning a movie", but by many other details as well, the spectator is frequently made aware the s/he is watching a play. To name just one example: People read from historical letters, then actually go on to comment why they read from those letters, and propose interpretations of the text, just like Brecht's chorus. Or imagine, in a movie, actors telling the stage director: "There are more important things than turning a movie" - and walking away from the scene. Fragmentation techniques, interruptions, contrast and contradiction, all these defamiliarizing elements of Epic Theatre abound, and even elements of the typical simplistic and abstract scenic design can be found in some parts of the movie in the movie. The overall effect is intense, this is certainly exceptionally artful, very unusual and worth seeing.

Unfortunately, there are several artistic defects as well. Most of the characters are rather schematic and not very convincing, in particular in their change and development, and some turns of the plot seem contrived and artificial. Even worse, the Epic elements are not used for their proper purpose, which is making the audience think, deeply understand the social conditions at hand, and critically reflect them. Sure, the alienating effect is sufficient to make you aware that you are watching an explicitly political movie - but as i said, information is missing to really understand and reflect the alleged topics. You are merely left in diffuse indignation about the injustice of the world, with some equally vague hints that it's both possibly to individually oppose and collectively fight injustice. That alone is not news, really; the depiction of both options is neither very convincing nor in any way specific.

Altogether, i deem the movie far from perfect as a work of art; but it is so diverse in its content and form that there are certainly many ways to view it, and more than one a

Fmovies: I really enjoyed the film "Even in the Rain" because the movie had two stories going side by side. It was like a movie inside a movie, which was one thing that I really enjoyed about the movie. Overall the movie was very easy to understand. There might have been one scene that was not that clear to me but I got the general idea of it anyways so it was not really a big problem. If this was an American film the problem would have been solved in the movie, so it different from American films. To my understanding the problem was not resolved in this film. This film taught me how people in other parts of the world are living today and that people do not have the things that we take for granted all time. Also this film sort of taught us about the past which I taught was very interesting. It showed us how the British were treating the Natives. If was the director of this film I would have made it so at the end of the film everyone had water.

Even the Rain (2010)

There are so many stunning, powerful, dramatic, believable moments to this hard hitting film, you wish so much that there weren't a few unreasonable gaffes to the plot and characters. It's frustrating when a film is almost amazing, because you are reminded of what it was not.

But also what it is, which is pretty thrilling and clever.

First, the contemporary setting is based quite closely on the true events of local Bolivians in the third largest city of the country, Cochabamba, fighting for rights to their own water supply. A private (Euro-U.S.) firm has cornered water rights and when the locals try to use their own handmade supply system the police come and interfere. It's maddening to the point of anger on both sides of the screen. In a way, this local uprising against injustice is the movie, the core of the events.

But what makes it actually fabulous is the way it told through the eyes and cameras of a large film crew working on a movie about Christopher Columbus arriving on the shores of America and mistreating the natives. Yes, a parallel that is obvious but handled with dramatic aplomb. There are many moments showing the shooting of the film, and it transports the viewer instantly and beautifully to the Columbus events, which are epic in their own way. But the characters are part professional actors from other countries and part local (and underpaid) extras, some of whom are involved in the water protests when not filming.

So there are several layers of action, tightly interwoven. The disdain and fear of some of the outsiders is believable (the man playing Columbus, Karra Elejalde, is amazing, world weary and tough, taking both sides as needed). Some of the circa 1500 history of resistance by the natives and even the brave defense of the natives by a Spanish priest is inspiring. And the way it still applies 500 years later (500 years!) is depressing. And energizing.

There are some other small problems, maybe the result of editing down too much later, such as the inclusion at the start of black and white video footage, a documentation of the filming, that you think will then become news footage (or not) but then it just disappears as a component of the film, completely, for no reason. And then the tumult of the last half hour with riots and roadblocks is great stuff, really well done, but so highly improbable you have to just write it off to generous screen writing. We aren't really able to believe the wholehearted change of attitude of the producer (played with intensity by Luis Tosar), but it makes for great interpersonal (and sympathetic) dramatics. And finally the director of the movie within the movie is played by the ever beautiful Gael Garcia Bernal, but in fact he's too weak and thoughtful a type to be directing this sprawling and frankly unmanageable movie about Columbus.

But these objections actually only came up for me later, thinking back. While immersed, I was really immersed and impressed. It's an ambitious, smart, and pertinent movie, with great and enjoyable complexity.

Even the Rain fmovies. I found it very easy to identify with all of the main players thanks to some great performances from all involved and also a really nicely written script. It's really well shot with nice big, easily legible subtitles (more like this please foreign filmmakers!). It was interesting to see a film set in that region, we don't see very much from that part of the world. There are also some historical facts about the conquistadors that I wasn't aware of and so it even educated be a little! I love the way it slowly dawns on the crew that the mistakes made 500 years previously are still being made today! Over all, I found it well worth a look and it's one I would certainly look at again sometime.

SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 8.3/10

You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.

As a director named Sebastian (Gael Garcia Bernal)and his crew formed by his executive producer named Costa (Luis Tosar) and actors realize a controversial film about Christopher Columbus (Karra Elejalde) Bartolome De Las Casas (Raul Arevalo) , Montesinos (Carlos Santos) in Cochabamba , Bolivia, local people rise up against schemes to privatize the water supply . Spain Conquered the New World for Gold 500 Years Later, Water is Gold Not Much Else has Changed. Costa has chosen this place because the budget of the film is tight and extras are cheap , as he hires a rebel native (Iduviri) . The only thing that matters to him is his professional pride as a producer that the film is made on time and within budget.

This is an interesting and thought-provoking film dealing with actual and past deeds as the first explorations and the way the Spaniards treated the Indians at the time, the Cochabamba revolts , being well interwoven by screenwriter Paul Laverty and director . Top-notch main cast such as Gael Garcia Bernal as a good , idealist filmmaker and Luis Tosar as a selfish producer who wishes hire supernumeraries, local actors and extras on the cheap . Very good cinematography by Alex Catalan . Emotive and sensitive musical score by Alberto Iglesias .

The real events in which this brooding movie are based result to be the following : The Cochabamba protests of 2000, also known as the "Cochabamba Water Wars", were a series of protests that took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia's third largest city, between January 1999 and April 2000 in response to multinational participation in the infrastructure and management of the city's municipal water supply. Demonstrations erupted when Aguas del Tunari imposed a large rate increase, reportedly to finance a Dam project, a week after taking control of the Cochabamba water supply system. In a country where the minimum wage was less than US$70 per month, many dwellers were hit with monthly water bills of $20 or more. Starting in early January 2000 massive protests in Cochabamba began with Oscar Olivera among the most outspoken leaders against the rate hikes and subsequent water cut-offs. The demonstrators consisted of peasant Irrigators who entered the city either under village banners, or carrying the Wiphala; they were joined by retired . Young men began to try to take over the plaza and a barricade across incoming roadways was set up. Soon they were joined by pieceworkers, sweatshop employees, and street vendors . Anarchists from the middle-classes came from the University of Cochabamba to denounce the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and neoliberalism. The strongest supporters of the demonstration were drawn from the city's growing population of homeless street children .Protesters were able to halt Cochabamba's economy by holding a general strike that shut down the city for four straight days. A ministerial delegation went to Cochabamba and agreed to roll back the water rates; still the demonstration continued.On February 4, 2000, thousands marching in protest were met by troops and law enforcement . Almost 200 demonstrators were arrested; 70 protesters and 51 policemen were injured.Throughout March 2000 the Bolivian hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church tried to mediate between the government and the demonstrators. In the meantime, the Coordinadora made their own referendum and declared that out of fifty thousand votes, 96% demanded the contract with Aguas del Tunari be cancelled. The government's reply under Hugo Banzer was that "There i

EVEN THE RAIN, directed by Icíar Bollaín, is a compelling film which attempts to explore the history of global economics using a kind of cinematic metaphor. Bollain's film focuses on a multinational movie crew that travels to Bolivia to make a film about Christopher Columbus, and examines his agenda of religious, cultural, and monetary exploitation of The New World. The production company hits a snag when locally violent demonstrations breakout against corporate ownership of indigenous water rights, and threaten to make the completion of the film impossible. The movie shows that the issues of wealth, ownership, and power are just as contentious today as they were five hundred years ago. Corporate giants of our era employ the same greedy strategy in an attempt to steal wealth, power, and access from the uninformed and defenseless. Although the ethical issues in the film are sometimes presented in a slightly heavy-handed manner, by the end of the feature, it is evident that the application of rapacious economic policy hasn't changed much since monarchs ruled the world.