The condemned coca leaf

This is an article that Anna posted in her movie review of Cocalero. I thought it may be helpful to write a quick summary and reaction.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/condemned-coca-leaf-article-1.1238569

This article discusses the recent legalization of the coca leaf in Bolivia and the significance of this change to the people. The coca leaf is a plant that provides several health benefits when chewed. This plant has also been used by the people for thousands of years. For this reason, prohibiting the chewing of coca leaves creates conflict by imposing on the traditions of the people.  The issue to consider is that this plant provides a vital ingredient in the production of cocaine. The main point of this article is to provide background information on the recreational use of the coca plant and the importance of this plant to the people of Bolivia.

After reading this article, I can see the positive aspects of Bolivia’s withdrawal from the international treaty. The coca plant is obviously an important part of their traditions and they should be able to choose to handle the responsibility that comes with it. As far as this article is concerned, it makes a convincing argument on the issue.

-Brody

Coca Lives vs. Cocalero

       Having already reviewed Cocalero for this blog, I thought it might be interesting to compare it to Coca Lives (also previously reviewed her by Anna, along with her review of Cocalero) another documentary set in the same province of Bolivia.  Unlike Cocalero, Coca Lives has flown relatively under the radar on film blogs and sites.  Not a single review could be found, even from Rotten Tomatoes.  This is interesting, because I think that Coca Lives is a much better film than Cocalero.  It features some of the same cast of characters: Evo Morales and his staff, the residents of Cupachabra and El Chapare, and the Coca Grower’s Labor Unions.  But Cocalero’s shortcomings were fulfilled in Coca Lives.  The latter has a much wider scope in terms of the people who are given voice.  We hear from Morales, et al, but also from other Bolivian government agents who support the criminalization of coca growing, military personel, a Bolivian anthropologist who relates the history of coca and its importance, a M.D. who talks about the health benefits of coca and why it shouldn’t be considered cocaine, and a consultant to the United States government who says some (not so shockingly) ignorant things about the issue.  It is in this scope that Coca Lives succeeds, as it gives a wider context and history to the current issues at hand.  Even though its cinematic artistry is nothing to be excited about, and several devices were actually distracting to the narrative of the documentary (i.e. some interviews/scenes shot in black and white and given an effect reminiscent of mid-century B&W films, for what seem unclear purposes), I believe it is because of its ambition and scope to which Coca Lives endeavors that makes it the best of these two films about the Bolivian coca growers of El Chapare.

J. Graber

Review – Maria Full of Grace

Maria Full of Grace is a Colombian film by Joshua Marston that explores the issues of desperation and hope of escape, as well as the realities of drug trafficking through the life of a girl named Maria.

At only seventeen years old, Maria Alvarez finds herself in need of a job to support he family, in her desperation opting for the opportunity to be a drug mule. The viewer is taken on her journey as she learns the perils of the occupation.

The film doesn’t exaggerate or romanticize the drug trade; it accurately depicts its harsh realities. It is not camouflaged by spectacular characters, comedic relief, or complex plot twists.

Desperation is a significant theme. It is most easily recognized in Maria. All of her troubles come from desperation. She is not a bad or unreasonable person at heart – she is simply struggling in life, and thus motivated by nothing more than desperation. An example is her likely desperation for love, an escape from her strife, and attention unlike what she gets at home. So she gets a boyfriend far less than what she deserves and becomes pregnant. Her desperation for money is another example; because she needs to support her family, she becomes a drug mule. This is the greatest of Maria’s struggles.

The desire to escape is another big theme. Maria begins with the longing to escape her terrible job, her harsh home life, and poverty. After becoming a drug mule, she discovers the horrors of the work and fears for her life. In the United States, she looks for opportunity for escape from the dangerous job as well as the struggles she faces in Colombia.

The portrayal of this world, the world of drug cartels and their young, female mules, is striking. And this film particularly depicts a strong contrast between the life available in Colombia to a girl like Maria, and life in the U.S. We have no reason to believe Maria’s life will ever truly be better, other than the fact she will never let herself be a drug mule again. However, the film leaves us with Maria and her hope for a better life for herself and her unborn child, and we as viewers can do nothing but hope with her.

– Britney

The Politics of Coca in Bolivia

        Cocalero is a documentary from Brazilian-born director Alejandro Landes that chronicles the rise of Evo Morales to the Bolivian presidency.  Morales is an indigenous Bolivian, and the first indigenous president of Bolivia (he claims).  It is much more than that, however, and the film opens with a shot of women picking in the coca fields near the province from which Morales hails.  Indeed, the undercurrents of the coca trade fuel not only the documentary, but (it seems) political life in Bolivia as well.  There are many references in the film to the American “war on drugs,” and the toll that that “war” has taken on those who are portrayed as simple, hard-working farmers who grow the coca and claim no responsibility for what is done with it after it leaves their farms, claiming also that, used responsibly (chewed or drunk as tea), coca is perfectly healthy.

            The film is shot with a shoulder camera in a manner that seems to mirror the 2005 campaign of the now-president, through rural areas and into Santa Cruz and back again.  It is herky-jerky, as though the camera is meant to imply that the viewer is a character in the documentary, walking around with a birds-eye view into this exclusive day-to-day live of a Bolivian presidential candidate.  We see Morales not only giving campaign speeches and glad-handing wealthy businessmen, but getting his hair cut, taking an impromptu swim in his home province of El Chapare, and playing ball with some local constituents.

But what is more interesting to me are the bits that Landes chooses to leave out, or only feature minimally.  Says Neil Genzlinger of the New York Times: “pay close enough attention and you may end up a bit skeptical that you’re seeing the full Morales picture”.  There is one point in the film where his status as good-old-boy-cum-national-populist-hero is called into question.  A priest “relates that this populist-sounding movement maintains unity by tying those in need of discipline to a tree where they can be bitten by ants”.  The movement Genzlinger refers to is MAS, the political party from which Morales arose, which is pro-coca, pro-nationalization of industry, pro-worker, and anti American intervention.  The priest is given a voice for two-three minutes at maximum and recounts a story of one man being bitten by ants so long that he almost died.  When asked about this practice, one of the leaders of the coca farmer’s union and the MAS candidate for legislature dismisses it, saying that those being disciplined are only subjected to the ant bites for several minutes, not nearly long enough to cause death.

“The Spanish Dilettante,” a blogger based out of Missouri, wants more as well:

Most of the film is either Morales in down moments… …or scenes of rural coca workers… …or his party’s political events with little to no context… …Why is he speaking to this group?  What group is this?  What are the politics here?  It is really a shame, because the story of Evo Morales is an interesting one and he’s tightly connected to figures like Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.  I’d like to know more.

Landes is clearly making a statement against the ways that Latino socialist leaders are portrayed in western media (Morales is briefly shown being chummy with Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, amongst others) and I tend to agree with his assertion that such leaders have been demonized unfairly.  However, there is an ugly side to every political movement, and to leave it out is a gross, propagandistic misrepresentation.   What’s worse, for me, is what Landes did.  He gave minor voice to one critical view, and then immediately reverted back to the MAS party to explain their practices in a way that makes the priest seem like an overly religious crackpot.

If the Morales regime behaves anything like Landes in his portrayal of them, they will proffer the illusion of freedom of speech/opinion, but will propagandistically sweep those voices critical of them under the rug.   I sincerely hope that is not the case, as Morales’s plan of anti-interventionism and moderate socialization seems to be a good direction for that country to head.

 

J. Graber

“Quiero contar, mi hermano, un pedacito de la historia negra…”

Let’s change gears for a bit. Here’s some links to some great history/ discussions about the film industries of Colombia, Brazil, Nicaragua, and Bolivia!

Brazil:

Culture Wars: Talking Brazilian Cinema and its Discontents with Director Kleber Mendonça Filho

http://www.filmlinc.com/blog/entry/whats-your-favorite-brazilian-film

Bolivia:

http://www.drclas.harvard.edu/publications/revistaonline/fall-2011/crash-course-bolivian-cinema

http://www.filmbirth.com/bolivia.html

Colombia:

Film List: http://www.imdb.com/list/pT1x-wzMz68/

http://www.cinematropical.com/Cinema-Tropical/colombian-cinema-is-ready-for-its-close-up.html

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/culture/22185-colombias-film-industry-becomes-force-to-be-reckoned-with.html

Nicaragua:

http://www.socialistfilms.org/2006/06/alsino-and-condor-nicaragua-cuba-1982.html

http://www.camilafilms.com/index.en

Quote:

“… de la historia nuestra” -Jose Arroyo Rebelion (Colombia)

-Anna O.

Colores Film Critique

Here is a great student essay on Colores de la Montana

-Anna O.

Review of “Colores…”

Find here a review of Los Colores de la Montana for the film blog Smells Like Screen Spirit.

The review makes the claim that the scenic backdrop, juxtaposed with the atrocities of war, provides a necessary and driving tension to the film.

I agree. What do you think?

http://smellslikescreenspirit.com/2011/09/colors-of-the-mountain-the-los-colores-de-la-montana-review/

 

 

J. Graber

Los Colores de la Montana

Manuel and his friends read guerrilla graffiti brazenly scrawled on the wall of their tranquil rural schoolhouse.

A personal favorite of mine, this film is not a documentary but rather a story and a mild one at that about how drug related violence affects the lives of innocent bystanders in some places. Set in the rolling foothills of the Andes in Colombia, the film depicts a young boy and his journey in realizing that the world around him is changing. We watch as his community dwindles away for fear of the approaching danger. In the end it takes the abduction and perhaps suggested murder of his father for the family to flee the area.

I find the film very powerful every time I watch it because it very accurately portrays the humble honest of the farmer, and also paints the main character not as a victim, but a stubborn, free spirited child who, like any child, will not easily be discouraged from mischief or the rocky misgivings of growing up. The movie wonderfully reveals an example not only of the consequences of the violence that is being prolonged by the drug trade, but also gives us a taste of a life we will never know and a culture we probably will never get to encounter.

-Anna O.

Plan Colombia

Crops destroyed by the chemical complex we spray on them to “fight drug production” (…the drug production that is RISING.)

Directed by:

Gerard Ungerman

Audrey Brohy

Netflix summary:

Ed Asner narrates this documentary about U.S. involvement in Colombia’s drug trafficking and civil unrest. The film examines the impact of chemical spraying and military funding and reveals alternate U.S. interests. Features interviews with Noam Chomsky, the late Senator Paul Wellstone, Colombian Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, Congressmen John Conyers and Jim McGovern, U.S. State Department officials, guerilla leaders and others.

So, here we are again with coca leaves.

Only this time the US is not only instigating violence with the country, but also endangering innocent people in the most long-range suffering possible. Our government is fumigating ‘coca’ crops with chemicals that are also reaching other crops like corn and bananas. Not only is this destroying the economic prosperity of small farmers, but causes skin problems, birth defects,  fertility issues, tumors, and organ dysfunction. It also reaches the waters that compose the Amazon basin, infecting not only Colombia, but Ecuador, Peru and some parts of Brazil as well.

Just as in Bolivia, the violence this effort has caused in needless and victimizes thousands of innocent people. The US outsources their efforts to Colombian military and paramilitary forces; in areas where these forces clash with the FARC, the result is sometimes literally explosive.

Due to this unrest, entire communities are displaced, making Colombia come in third in the list of countries with internal refugees. Many flee the country, flooding Ecuador and Venezuela with refugees which create an entire new social issue in those countries- some of which included racism against Colombians and the small-scale spread of violence across borders.

In my opinion, the US is doing it wrong. Not only are their operations causing chaos and death, but this fumigation method is the least cost effective, wasting our tax payers money- your money. The military involvement is sketchy at best-  as funds are misused and corruption tears the system set up to keep peace.

Go here for more on fumigation: http://www.beyondpesticides.org/photostories/week_19/week_19.php

-Anna O.

Cocalero

In this film we again find the blood and heartbreak laden story of the indigenous Bolivian people who are suffering the demonization of their beloved coca plants.

This time we follow the campaign 2002 campaign of Evo Morales, an “unlikely candidate” for the former presidency of Bolivia. This man of the Aymara (indian) people became the national leader after having been president of the Chapare coca growers union. In the film we watch as he and his supporters educate the their people about governmental processes and the encourage them in their ways of life. We also see powerful footage of the violence that has sprung from the social issues surrounding the cultivation of coca leaves.

We see also how the Bolivian people view our country; after all, our military itself has been active in this violence. The crowd chants “death to the yankees!” The people desire to maintain their right to live as they wish, without other countries interfering. This film portrays a very important chapter in the opposing “side” to the war against “drugs”. It challenges the way we see our involvement and our mindset towards what we are fighting against.

Now serving his second term, Bolivian president Evo Morales speaks during his campaign. His obvious display of a wreath of coca leaves is an explicit expression of his efforts to fight for the rights of his people and to help the Bolivian people to rise up.

Here is an article about Morales and coca controversy from NYDaily News online:

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/condemned-coca-leaf-article-1.1238569

-Anna O.