ReMastered: Massacre at the Stadium

This is not an autobiography about a Victor Jara. We get to hear a little bit about his life and music a the start, but then it just deteriorates into a propaganda hit piece against the CIA and the United States. Of course there's going to be no justice for his murder. He was just one of thousands of people killed around the country. There's some clips of Chilean conscripts in their older years blatantly lying about their roles, saying they were just following orders. One actually had the nerve to say he suffered! No remorse for his torture victums just oh poor me I had to do it. There's not enough information to make a documentary here, just like the other waste these brotheres did on that Crossroads piece about some obscure jazz musician. They do make compelling documentaries on occasion. The Miami Showband one was exceptional. The Johnny Cash one was very good. The Jam Master Jay one was even decent. It's worth a watch if you're interested in oppressive Latin American regimes and coups. Barrientos did it. There's really no mystery here. As soon as he said he didn't know who Victor was we knew he was full as a dirty diaper. Sure, he didn't know who the most famous musician in the country was. Come on, really. It's okay for what it is, but advertise it for what it is! False representation annoys me more than a poorly made film. This ends up going in circles and accomplishes very little and ends on a resoundingly unsatisfying note. His music was quite simple but for some reason revolutionary in his country of Chile. Nice voice and average guitar player I suppose. If he lived he would have likely ended up singing on some kid's show like Mr. Rogers. Very uncompelling effort. A bunch of former soldiers lying does not add up to a memorable viewing experience. I felt the same way about Bob Marley special too. All the Peace & Love nonsense amounted to nothing, as it usually does.

Another very interesting documentary from Netflix's "Remastered" series, this one concerning the shocking murder of Chilean popular protest singer Victor Jara. Actually, Jara, as isn't really stated here, was involved in far more than just music. As well as politics, he was a teacher, poet, theatrical director and more besides. I'm sorry to say I had never heard of him before this programme but I was fascinated to learn of his life and times through this rather short documentary. Described as the Latin America equivalent to Bob Dylan and with his memory lionised on stage by other big-name western rockers of the stature of U2 and Bruce Springsteen, by the time the programme had ended, while I may not come to appreciate his particular style of folk-music, I certainly came to admire his bravery in putting his head above the parapet to get his message across in his country's struggle against a strict right-wing government backed by all areas of the military. Jara supported the socialist policies of left wing presidential candidate Salvador Allende who against the odds won a general election in 1970 to become the democratically elected president of his country.

However as I think we all know the right never really goes away in politics and sure enough, in September 1973 under the command of army General Pinochet, a military coup was successfully carried out during which the presidential palace was bombed, Allende committed suicide and many political prisoners were rounded up and taken to a sports stadium, Jara amongst them.

There he was recognised and singled out by the military personnel and taken away for special interrogation where he was personally tortured, including having his fingers broken and his tongue cut out so that he couldn't play the guitar or sing ever again before he was callously shot 44 times with his body dumped outside.

Ever since then his English-born widow has fought for justice and sought to get those responsible for his death charged with murder. With the restoration of democracy in Chile in 1989 and the demise and subsequent conviction of Pinochet for crimes against his own state, the hope was that the mystery surrounding who was responsible for Jara's death would finally be brought to light.

Eventually in 2016 the alleged perpetrator, an army captain of the time, was finally made to stand up in a Civil trial in Florida to where he had fled in 1989, after the collapse of the Pinochet dictatorship. The climax of the programme is the outcome of that trial and the odd postscript of the alleged perpetrator undergoing a voluntary lie-detector test as if to vindicate himself.

Although the programme certainly got its point across about Jara's significance and sacrifice, I felt that a lot more detail could have been cast on his life to bring him more fully out of the shadows. I, for one, would have been interested to know how he met his wife as well as a bit more detail on their children's lives subsequent to their father's death. I would also have appreciated more detail on the obviously volatile state of politics in Chile at the time and certainly a bit more delving into the USA's suspected involvement in the coup, as Nixon and Kissinger fretted over the spread of socialism on their own doorstep.

Almost 50 years on from the man's untimely death, I do wish that this episode had been shed on the life of a talented, courageous and honourable patriot even as I appreciate that his memory is now very much freely celebrated in his native Chile.

Let's hope that this documentary continues to spread the word on this very deserving subject.

Viva Victor!

Documentary covers the murder of victor jara during a military coup in chili. Military led operation to remove the Chilean socialist president Allende leads to political prisioners being held at the Chile stadium. During the week of their captivity, singer victor jara is brutally beaten to death. His wife Joan seeks justice and 40 years later wins a civil case against the suspected murderer. Documentary gives good background and interviews from different aspects.

I kept coming back to this film, trying to decide if I really wanted to watch it. I decided to check it out early one morning. This is a surprising gem that I will probably watch again. This documentary is about the political turmoil in Chile during the 1970's. It is about the military coup in 1973 termed "the first 9/11," and the murderous regime that followed.During the coup, thousands were brutally brought to a stadium in Santiago where many were tortured and murdered. Included in those murdered was Victor Jara, a beloved folk singer and activist who's works spread internationally. Many of those murdered were never identified.

This documentary also covers the search for justice of those killed that day, focusing on Victor Jara. In telling the story in this documentary, photos, video and interviews are used to great effect in keeping the story interesting and compelling. The story line and narration don't bog down on one facet--at least to me, and kept this riveting.

... uncover? Well researched but as with the other Remastered episodes you should not expect definitve answers. Still if you like documentaries and like to be enlighten about things you may not have heard of before or at least see things you knew from different perspectives - this will be something you will cherish and love too.

In depth research as with the other episodes I've seen (not all of them of course) and a real structure that makes sense. The timeline is good and there is even people who still seem to be afraid to show their faces when they speak about what happened ... consequences and all that. Not entirely satisfying (for the resolution or lack thereof), but still quite good