Anne Heche has talked *about* the film before, several times. But I've found no evidence that this film was ever released publically in any form, even on the film festival circuit. Has anybody ever seen this, and if so, where?
Reviews
5 Reviews
Songs of Repression
(2020)
The fallout of abuse, in a small sect and a larger society
1 August 2022
I watched this right after finishing the Netflix documentary series "A Sinister Sect: Colonia Dignidad", and the "Songs of Repression" was the perfect followup. Its focus is how the current inhabitants of the former Colonia Dignidad - now rebranded "Villa Baviera" - are dealing with, or often not dealing with, the legacy of the terrible cult they grew up in.
The film comes across as a bit boring at first, showing the current inhabitants living in seemingly idyllic surroundings and going about their day-to-day lives. I thought 88 minutes of this would be a slog, but the film picks up when you give it time, gradually revealing the underlying tensions in the community, and the deep scars left on many of the members, and also the deep denial expressed by some of the other members. Several scenes where the clear post-traumatic stress or intense anger well up from some of these folks carry a real punch.
The community has adopted an official stance of "forgiving and forgetting" the abuse suffered by Schäfer and his minions, often at the hands of still-living members. But it's also shown how "forgiving and forgetting" can simply be a form of denial when it is not earned, and that "reconcilliation" must be preceded by "truth".
Being that this is a German expatriate community, all of whom still speak in German even after many years in Chile, the parallels with an earlier generation of Germans dealing with their own history of oppression and/or collaboration is obvious. Especially a scene where an old German lady defends the legacy and character of Pinochet, saying that sometimes terrible things happen in a war but they are "necessary".
An interesting editorial decision is to not discuss until halfway into the film the use of Colonia Dignidad as a torture center and execution ground for the Pinochet regime. This introduces an interesting dynamic in which many Chileans, especially human rights groups, see Villa Baviera as an ongoing symbol of opression from the Pinochet era, and one introduced to their country by a creepy group of outsiders who are still reluectant to own up to the atrocities that their community was responsible for. At the same time, the community members, to varying degrees, see themselves as vicitms of Schäfer too. It's a tension that's explored but never really resolved in the film, on top of the already-deep tensions within the community.
To the best of my knowledge, this film is not on the usual streaming networks (Netflix, HBO, Amazon, etc), but it is available for streaming rent or purchase over Vimeo. Highly recommended!
The film comes across as a bit boring at first, showing the current inhabitants living in seemingly idyllic surroundings and going about their day-to-day lives. I thought 88 minutes of this would be a slog, but the film picks up when you give it time, gradually revealing the underlying tensions in the community, and the deep scars left on many of the members, and also the deep denial expressed by some of the other members. Several scenes where the clear post-traumatic stress or intense anger well up from some of these folks carry a real punch.
The community has adopted an official stance of "forgiving and forgetting" the abuse suffered by Schäfer and his minions, often at the hands of still-living members. But it's also shown how "forgiving and forgetting" can simply be a form of denial when it is not earned, and that "reconcilliation" must be preceded by "truth".
Being that this is a German expatriate community, all of whom still speak in German even after many years in Chile, the parallels with an earlier generation of Germans dealing with their own history of oppression and/or collaboration is obvious. Especially a scene where an old German lady defends the legacy and character of Pinochet, saying that sometimes terrible things happen in a war but they are "necessary".
An interesting editorial decision is to not discuss until halfway into the film the use of Colonia Dignidad as a torture center and execution ground for the Pinochet regime. This introduces an interesting dynamic in which many Chileans, especially human rights groups, see Villa Baviera as an ongoing symbol of opression from the Pinochet era, and one introduced to their country by a creepy group of outsiders who are still reluectant to own up to the atrocities that their community was responsible for. At the same time, the community members, to varying degrees, see themselves as vicitms of Schäfer too. It's a tension that's explored but never really resolved in the film, on top of the already-deep tensions within the community.
To the best of my knowledge, this film is not on the usual streaming networks (Netflix, HBO, Amazon, etc), but it is available for streaming rent or purchase over Vimeo. Highly recommended!
Machuca
(2004)
Policical drama with strong historical accuracy
1 August 2022
Of all the directors I've seen cover the Allende and Pinochet periods, I think Andrés Wood most nails it in terms of historical accuracy, but also accompanies it with compelling human stories that keep it from merely being a remake of "Battle of Chile".
Like his 2019 film "Araña", this film tells a story of how the deep class divides in Chilean society are reflected in the political polarization and extremism in Chilean politics. It is also a sober examination of how friendship might sometimes trancend divides like social class, but how the realities of such social differences will catch up in the end.
I won't go very deep into a plot description, as there are plenty of external reviews that do this already. I'll just say that it's a compelling drama, albeit, with moments of heavy-handedness, down to the names of the last names of the main characters - the poor Machuca ("bruised" or "beaten down") and the wealthy and sheltered Infante. Also, an "O Captain, My Captain" moment right out of "Dead Poets Society". But aside from these minor strays into melodrama, highly recommended. I also recommend the hard-to-find "Araña" (2019) as a double bill with this one.
Like his 2019 film "Araña", this film tells a story of how the deep class divides in Chilean society are reflected in the political polarization and extremism in Chilean politics. It is also a sober examination of how friendship might sometimes trancend divides like social class, but how the realities of such social differences will catch up in the end.
I won't go very deep into a plot description, as there are plenty of external reviews that do this already. I'll just say that it's a compelling drama, albeit, with moments of heavy-handedness, down to the names of the last names of the main characters - the poor Machuca ("bruised" or "beaten down") and the wealthy and sheltered Infante. Also, an "O Captain, My Captain" moment right out of "Dead Poets Society". But aside from these minor strays into melodrama, highly recommended. I also recommend the hard-to-find "Araña" (2019) as a double bill with this one.
Post Mortem
(II) (2010)
I do not understand the praise heaped on this film
1 August 2022
A film that bills itself as a political drama, but is really more of an oddball art film, and succeeds at neither. I'll note that I'm actually a fan of indie/arthouse films, but this film represents the worst of that genre, being a film that is glacially-paced for no good reason, with very little plot development, and languid and unsympathetic characters that often act with no clear motivation. The stated central theme of coroners who are forced to cover for the crimes of teh regime is barely developed. The relationship between the main character and his love interest is simply pathetic and rather gross, really. I cannot believe this film won awards. There's just nothing here in terms of a passable plot, or character development, or even individually interesting scenes. Why was this film even made?
Spider
(2019)
Compelling historical drama that's far too hard to find
28 July 2022
I'm not going to go too into depth about the plot of this film, since the external reviews cover it quite well. Like Andrés Wood's 2004 film 'Machuca', this film covers the political turmoil of the Allende years in a historically-informed and detailed way that you just do not see in non-Chilean films on the Allende and Pinochet years. As a history buff with an interest in historical revolutions and dictatorships, that in itself is a draw.
However, 'Araña' is not just a 1970s costume drama with political pretensions, but a well-acted drama giving an insider view of fascist activism and it's causes and ongoing effects in Chile's highly stratified class society. The historical drama part plays out a bit better than the contemporary political thriller one, but the film is still very worthwhile overall.
This film did not get any kind of North American release outside of the narrow film festival circuit (it's not even out on DVD), and my only guess is that distributors might have thought the plot was too specific to Chilean history for international audiences, or perhaps that a film that's antifascist but nevertheless is centered on fascist protagonists would not be well-received by 'woke' North American audiences.
As others have noted, this film is oddly very hard to find internationally. It's not on Netflix, nor HBO, nor Amazon Video. The only streaming version I could find is over the Australian service Stan, and for folks outside of Australia, one would need VPN to access it. I was only able to find it after, with great difficulty, downloading a high-resolution Spanish-language version on a Russian social media site, then with further digging, finding English subtitles for it and carefully re-syncing that to the video I downloaded. Some of the most trouble I've gone through to see a film, but I think worth it. In the end, though, it would be good if Netflix picked it up.
However, 'Araña' is not just a 1970s costume drama with political pretensions, but a well-acted drama giving an insider view of fascist activism and it's causes and ongoing effects in Chile's highly stratified class society. The historical drama part plays out a bit better than the contemporary political thriller one, but the film is still very worthwhile overall.
This film did not get any kind of North American release outside of the narrow film festival circuit (it's not even out on DVD), and my only guess is that distributors might have thought the plot was too specific to Chilean history for international audiences, or perhaps that a film that's antifascist but nevertheless is centered on fascist protagonists would not be well-received by 'woke' North American audiences.
As others have noted, this film is oddly very hard to find internationally. It's not on Netflix, nor HBO, nor Amazon Video. The only streaming version I could find is over the Australian service Stan, and for folks outside of Australia, one would need VPN to access it. I was only able to find it after, with great difficulty, downloading a high-resolution Spanish-language version on a Russian social media site, then with further digging, finding English subtitles for it and carefully re-syncing that to the video I downloaded. Some of the most trouble I've gone through to see a film, but I think worth it. In the end, though, it would be good if Netflix picked it up.
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