Patrick J. Thurston and Dr. Dale J. Pratt, History
Notwithstanding its emphasis on entertainment, film is a highly political art. All movies, even those intended as entertainment, directly or indirectly transmit messages about politics and society. While the majority of motion pictures reinforce the socio-political status quo, various others powerfully protest perceived political injustice, oppression and despotism. This type of political cinema has played an especially important role as a weapon against dictatorship in Spain and Chile, as during the past twenty-five years, many Spanish and Chilean film makers have used film to depict and denounce the tyrannical rule of Francisco Franco (1936-1975) of Spain and Augusto Pinochet Ugarte (1973-1990) of Chile.
The principal purpose of these and other politically-oriented motion pictures involves generating social change through the portrayal of socio-political injustices, evils and problems. The development and transmission of these movies respective messages occurs primarily through the use of cinematic elements such as theme, plot, color, sound, lighting, editing and other technical tools. The effective use of these elements also cultivates aesthetic qualities that qualify the films as works of art instead of mere propaganda. Also unlike propaganda, political cinema seeks to question the issues without attempting to guide the viewer through a predetermined path or solution, thus leaving the viewer with the responsibility to formulate an effective solution. Political cinema, therefore, relates to social change in two ways: (1) it helps the viewers to understand the historical, political and social forces which affect them, and become more aware of who they are both individually and nationally, and (2) it seeks to emotionally prod the viewers to analyze the situation and their personal relationship with it, but not to prescribe a definite solution to the problem. In this respect, as Colombian film maker Jorge Silva observed, “[O]ne film does not make a revolution…. Each film is just a small part, but an important one, of the larger task to be accomplished with the collaboration of the people themselves.”
An analysis of the Spanish films La cava/The Hunt (1965) by Carlos Saura, El espíritu de la colmena/The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) by Victor Erice, and Los santos inocentes/The Holy Innocents (1984) by Mario Camus and the Chilean films Hijos de la guerra fría/Children of the Cold War (1985) by Gonzalo Justiniano, Imagen latente/Latent Image (1988) by Pablo Perelman and Historias de lagartos/Lizards’ Tales (1989) by Juan Carlos Bustamante reveals six film makers approaches to and application of political cinema as a weapon against dictatorship. While many general thematic and cinematic similarities exist between these films, each film maker adapts his film’s respective theme(s), use of cinematic elements, and overall intentions in order to depict and protest specific conditions and issues peculiar to his respective country.
The themes developed in these films provide the most obvious parallels and differences existing between them. For example, La caza and Imagen latente condemn the brutal violence and repression which accompanied the rise and rule of both Franco and Pinochet, but focus on different issues: La caza criticizes the savage legacy of the Spanish Civil War won by Franco, while Imagen latente deplores the kidnapping, torture and murder of many leftist Chileans by Pinochet. Similarly, Los santos inocentes, La caza and Hijos de la guerra fría all denounce the socioeconomic order dominated by the upper and middle classes which thrived under both Franco and Pinochet, but concentrate specifically on class oppression and conflict in Spain, and the indifference of Chile’s middle class to the evils of dictatorship, respectively. And although El espíritu de la colmena and Historias de lagartos both illustrate the sense of isolation and desolation which existed under Franco and Pinochet, the former centers on the decay of Spanish society while the latter portrays pitiful the state of “internal exile” which affected Chileans.
All six of these films rely upon many cinematic elements to develop and accentuate their respective themes, but vary in their use of them according to the nature of each film. For instance, Los santos inocentes, Imagen latente and La caza all develop their themes and criticisms in a very outspoken manner by employing such direct elements as plot and dialogue. Fl espíritu de la colmena, Hijos de la guerra fría and Historias de lagartos, however, utilize metaphorical parallels to present their respective themes and accusations. As a result, these three films depend upon more subtle cinematic elements such as lighting, setting, color, sound and music, and the use of both symbols and the juxtaposition of ideas achieved through editing to present their messages.
In accordance with political cinema’s goal realize social change by helping people to identify and understand the historical, political and social forces affecting them, these six films seek to identify and portray individual factors which produced certain adverse sociopolitical conditions existing under Franco and Pinochet. For example, the Spanish films La caza and Los Santos inocentes blame the oppressed, impoverished condition of poor on the ignoble, greedy nature of the upper classes, while El espíritu de la colmena attributes the overall decay of Spanish society to Franco’s civil war won. Similarly, the Chilean films Imagen latente and Historias de lagartos impute the deterioration and isolation of Chilean society to the oppressive, violent dominion exercised by Pinochet, and Hijos de la guerra fría ascribes the existence of Pinochet’s regime to both the United States’ Cold War-era foreign policy and the general apathy of the middle class. It is important to note that none of these films proposes a solution to the problems they identify and depict.
Overall, the efficient combination of thematic and cinematic elements with the filmmakers’ respective intentions allows these films to both achieve their purpose of calling for social change and retain their classification as art. For this, they can all be considered effective examples of political cinema.
Reference
- Julianne Burton, ed. (1986). “Cinema and Social Change in Latin America: Conversations with Filmmakers.” Austin, TX: University of Texas Press 32-33.