Le fleuve de sang

"The Rivers Run Red" - that's the theme of this sort-of western set on the Paraguay-Argentina border (formed by the River Parana, referred in the title).

The story concerns peons recruited to go upstream to the frontier, "Alto Parana", to work on an estate - and their subsequent exploitation and brutalization. The scenes are more harshly realistic than in US movies (especially from 1952), and a good reason to see the film if you can find a copy.

Since this part of Argentina is culturally Paraguayan, we are treated to quite a bit of Paraguayan harp music and dancing. There's even a saloon called El Guarani where we see the harpist playing blithely while mayhem takes place around him. This includes one of the best barroom brawls ever found in a western - you'll just have to see it. The rhythm of the film rises toward a violent conclusion.

My version doesn't have subtitles, so I couldn't tell what work was in progress - clearing land? ...cutting branches for fodder or mate? The movie is good enough to deserve a proper release.

The acting is excellent - I couldn't find a false note anywhere. I gather the country was then in the fiercest stage of Peronism, so the movie was probably a heroic labour of love for all the actors in it.

A strong drama about the lives of the "mensús" (name given in Argentina to persons that received a monthly pay) who worked under terrible conditions in the mate plantations located in the Northeastern region of Argentina, and wanted modern work regulations . The drama is told from the point of view of a couple that also represents a new type of relationship, different from other couples in which women are abused. The film is based on the novel "El río oscuro" (The Dark River), by Alfredo Varela (who was in prison during production), a work that differs from those that stress the dichotomy rural setting-the city, and centers on the problems of its location, searching solutions within its community. Singer Hugo del Carril turned filmmaker and became a prestigious author, here following the Italian neo-realist aesthetics. A true classic of Argentinean cinema.