Through a series of black-and-white film stills and a diverse soundtrack, Octávio Bezerra composes a drastic and reflective panorama on the state
of Americas, specially the ones that got behind in social/economical development such as South and Central America as opposed to the progressives ones
of the North.
The west side of the globe (depending on how you view the globe, but it's mostly associated as the western side) had the same beginning
through the conquest of the New World by European nations, and English, Spanish and French conquerors divided themselves through those new territories
but many things changed along the way, depending on they viewed a particular place, as being colonies of exploitation. From elimination of native
people, to slavery either of natives or brought by Africa, the early days were all the same, and later on each nation getting its independence movements
and becoming what they are today with everlasting social problems, inner battles whose scars remain with growing social divisions, poverty, inequality
and the list goes on.
Bezerra's film makes us look to what we try to avoid: the misery faced by many people all over Latin America, the native descendants who live with
a culture that isn't theirs anymore after European domination and can't back to their previous state, so they stay with something in between that doesn't
help them at all; hard and old faces trying to hopeful for change, for something good. It goes on and on, and we wonder how did this happened or how did
we get here to such a state? The criticism of then still resonates despite the many progresses conquered, but a great majority of those countries still
endure many calamities brought on from their discovery to the many dictatorship regimes that came through the 20th century, all result from an upper
exterior force that oddly enough was a colonized country once, yet it never had to face with the brutalities of such regimes.
A great collage of images that makes us pause and reflect on everything we're seeing and look back at history with careful eyes, outside of
opinions thrown at us on countless films, documentaries and the news. See it and form your own thinking about the way back and if there's hope for
change. 8/10.
