Uploaded by GeorgeAyoub on Feb 22, 2010
Bolivia (2009) 104 min. Directed by Toshifumi Matsushita
On Bolivia's inland salt sea (the Salar de Uyuni), 13-year-old Kunturi and his family cut bricks of salt by hand, which they use to barter for goods. The Quecha people have lived and worked close to the land for centuries (the term Pachamama means Mother Earth). It's not an easy life, but still rich with friends and family. When Kunturi's grandmother falls ill, his father decides to take his son on the almost four-month journey along the salt trail (the Ruta de la Sal). Their first stop is the Potosi mine to find a friend's long-absent father. As tragedy and joy commingle, Kunturi is forced to confront the complexities of adult life, including death, suffering and, most sweetly and powerfully of all, first love,
Director Toshifumi Matsushita's fresh approach to the coming-of-age story is helped immeasurably by actors whose open faces and fundamental honesty can't help but shine forth. As father and son, and their huge herd of llamas, make their slow way into the mountains, the accumulation of many small details adds up into something altogether absorbing. A bit of bartered honeycomb, grief spun into song, dreams and nightmares--all are beautifully caught and the cumulative effect is powerful. There is deep warmth to Pachamama, a quality that insinuates itself gently, and with almost no self-consciousness. When they reach their final destination (Bolivia's famous Tinku festival) Kunturi feels the giddy euphoria of first love...
On Bolivia's inland salt sea (the Salar de Uyuni), 13-year-old Kunturi and his family cut bricks of salt by hand, which they use to barter for goods. The Quecha people have lived and worked close to the land for centuries (the term Pachamama means Mother Earth). It's not an easy life, but still rich with friends and family. When Kunturi's grandmother falls ill, his father decides to take his son on the almost four-month journey along the salt trail (the Ruta de la Sal). Their first stop is the Potosi mine to find a friend's long-absent father. As tragedy and joy commingle, Kunturi is forced to confront the complexities of adult life, including death, suffering and, most sweetly and powerfully of all, first love,
Director Toshifumi Matsushita's fresh approach to the coming-of-age story is helped immeasurably by actors whose open faces and fundamental honesty can't help but shine forth. As father and son, and their huge herd of llamas, make their slow way into the mountains, the accumulation of many small details adds up into something altogether absorbing. A bit of bartered honeycomb, grief spun into song, dreams and nightmares--all are beautifully caught and the cumulative effect is powerful. There is deep warmth to Pachamama, a quality that insinuates itself gently, and with almost no self-consciousness. When they reach their final destination (Bolivia's famous Tinku festival) Kunturi feels the giddy euphoria of first love...
No comments:
Post a Comment