Los colores de la montaña

'The colors of the mountain' is the simplest, yet hardest story I've ever seen in a Colombian movie. It talks about real people, with feelings, with dreams... it shows how people really are in the rural area of the country, and faces you with the conflict they have to bear with everyday. The best thing for me is that the movie finds the way to touch your soul without the need to include guns, violence and dead people in every shot. Instead of being explicit about these issues, it leaves it implicit and makes you focus on the real problem: innocent people are the ones that pay the bill, with families torn apart and displaced from their little pieces of heaven. And that's what makes it even more special to me, because sometimes that's what movie-makers appeal to when trying to show how real life in Colombia is. Actors are amazing: they are so natural that you forget you're watching a movie, and instead it's like you're seeing real life in the screen, and you connect with every single character. To me, another special feature is how the world of the children, with their foot-ball problems, is put on top of the grown-ups armed conflict, and yet, both worlds are always so linked, and dependent on each other. Anyway. I'm just in love with this movie.

Another great film about childhood, this one from Colombia and despite, or maybe because of, the seriousness of the subject matter, one totally devoid of sentimentality. It was director Carlos Cesar Arbelaez's first film and it showed great promise, (his handling of the children alone is impeccable), but since then he has only made one other film which is a great pity. Of course, this is also a highly political film as you might expect and Arbelaez seamlessly ties together both themes. In the central role of Manuel, Hernan MauricioOcampo is quite superb and the film is beautifully photographed by Oscar Jiminez. Needless to say it wasn't widely distributed on its initial release but it cries out to be discovered.

This is an excellent Colombian movie, this film is a great Master piece. Here you can see the cruel reality for some farmers in this country when they try to live between the guerrilla and the paramilitary. It's so sad but it's a reality for thousands of farmers.

The role of this kids is excellent, they are a natural actors and you can see that real friendship between them.

In my personal opinion this is the best film from this country in the last years because this film is a little mirror in the life of "desplazados por la violencia". And this topic is very important in. These days here in my country, it's a picture of our contemporany reality.

Touching anti-war film about a nine year old boy in a small rural village in Colombia. The boy, Manuel, just wants to play with his friends, all of whom manage to stay fairly oblivious the the civil war slowly encroaching on their town. The rebels threaten those who won't join up (including Manuel's father), and the government troops on the other side are ready to kill any they even suspect of being rebels. It's truly a hellish no-win situation for the farmers and families of this otherwise pretty idyllic farm area.

The film is told mostly from the boy's perspective, leading to some interesting contrasts between what we as an adult audience can glean about what's really going on, while enjoying the sweet innocence of Manuel and his friends' perceptions, as they try to hang onto their childhoods. While I respected the film, and even admired it, it's so understated, that it had a bit less emotional kick than I was expecting on first viewing. But it got stronger and more emotional on a second watch, once I was used it it's quiet tone. There were still a few moments that felt a bit forced, and not all the kid actors are great, but neither flaw was enough to get in the way of being left moved and thoughtful.

Carlos César Arbeláez, the listed as the director started by making documentaries in the Nineties including Cómo llegar al cielo, El cine en casa, Casa de mujeres and Negro profundo. This was his his first fictional feature film, and his background of aiming a camera at real people and settings is clearly seen.

IMDb does not for some reason list the writer, but if you follow the link to the trailer, at the end it says "escrita y dirigida" which means that Arbelaez both wrote and directed this film; it is his baby, and how proud he should be. The dialog and actions of the characters could very well have been from a documentary, and this includes everyone from the focal adults to the incredible children and even the toddlers and the "attack" dog.

This film depicted something that we who live in an ordered political system, even if far from any ideal, never have to experience first hand, a world of eternal lethal conflict where there is no way to opt out and choose to live peacefully. The genius of this film was that the horror of this existence was seen through the innocent eyes of children, in this case who had the comfort of their simple home, family and friends. We sensed the danger around them, but felt somehow protected from it, as they did.

And their brand new soccer ball that was the gift to nine year old Manuel by his struggling farm family that was to provide pleasure to the whole gang of kids. A simple toy, that happened to fall down a ravine that while almost accessible, was in a field that had been strewn with mines by the guerrilla forces that were demanding fealty from Manuel's father.

How close was the ball to being reached and saved, as close as the vulnerable families who were beset by violence with no way to escape it. How simple and pure is a ball, a device that combined with human creativity can focus the energies of children, and of adults to crescendos of exuberance, whether in a vast stadium or a simple flat area among the hills of a desolate farm community.

A true work of rare artless art.