gbscar
Joined May 2005
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gbscar's rating
"Soñar no cuesta nada" was based on the true story of more than 140 Colombian soldiers who found an illegal fortune belonging to the FARC guerrillas in the middle of the jungle and who, instead of informing about it, decided to keep the money for themselves. As you can imagine, most of them spent it far too fast and far too naively.
All of this originally happened back in 2003 and now most of the real soldiers are on the run, with a few either turning themselves in or having been captured, and a couple of them ending up dead as a door nail. The story caused a rather public controversy in Colombia, which continues even after most of the captured soldiers have been recently sentenced to 3 - 10 years in jail, depending on their specific actions / responsibilities.
That is the true story, as chronicled by the press. The movie is clearly based on it, but adds a considerable amount of fiction to the tale, and even stops a bit short of what really happened (it was made before the sentencing phase, for example).
While none of the characters involved mirror their real life counterparts that closely, the issues at stake are well represented, including the moral and personal sensitivities involved. In that respect, the movie succeeds, aided by a talented cast (by Colombian standards), a remarkable photography work and a very active soundtrack. A reasonably good sense of humor is in it too, though non-Colombians might not catch all the in-jokes and ironies involved (some of which are better than others though). Still, the overall theme of professional duty and honesty versus personal necessities and temptation is universal and remains accessible enough.
As for the ending, I'll simply say this: the final few minutes could have used some more conflict and perhaps a bit less of the sappy stuff. An additional 5 to 10 minutes couldn't have hurt. As it is, things happen a bit too fast and, while the film remains quite interesting in its own right, the final result does tend to simplify the consequences of the soldiers' actions. A good movie, certainly, but it could have been even better. Overall, I give it 7.7/10 or so.
All of this originally happened back in 2003 and now most of the real soldiers are on the run, with a few either turning themselves in or having been captured, and a couple of them ending up dead as a door nail. The story caused a rather public controversy in Colombia, which continues even after most of the captured soldiers have been recently sentenced to 3 - 10 years in jail, depending on their specific actions / responsibilities.
That is the true story, as chronicled by the press. The movie is clearly based on it, but adds a considerable amount of fiction to the tale, and even stops a bit short of what really happened (it was made before the sentencing phase, for example).
While none of the characters involved mirror their real life counterparts that closely, the issues at stake are well represented, including the moral and personal sensitivities involved. In that respect, the movie succeeds, aided by a talented cast (by Colombian standards), a remarkable photography work and a very active soundtrack. A reasonably good sense of humor is in it too, though non-Colombians might not catch all the in-jokes and ironies involved (some of which are better than others though). Still, the overall theme of professional duty and honesty versus personal necessities and temptation is universal and remains accessible enough.
As for the ending, I'll simply say this: the final few minutes could have used some more conflict and perhaps a bit less of the sappy stuff. An additional 5 to 10 minutes couldn't have hurt. As it is, things happen a bit too fast and, while the film remains quite interesting in its own right, the final result does tend to simplify the consequences of the soldiers' actions. A good movie, certainly, but it could have been even better. Overall, I give it 7.7/10 or so.
The movie's fairly impressive photography is probably its strongest point, along with the novelty of its being a movie about the FARC. As far as those aspects go, the film would deserve a 9 or a 10.
Other than that, the rating quickly drops when the content itself is analyzed. For those that actually know more about Colombia than the average European left-winger (or right-winger, for that matter), it is sorely lacking. The film doesn't ask any tough questions, it simply passively accepts and reproduces exactly what the protagonist and the guerrillas want their audience (ie: non-Colombian foreigners) to see and hear, and nothing more.
The film feels flat and lacking in context. For the most part, it just shows a girl joining the FARC, receiving training, interacting with other FARC members, having a conversation or two with her family by phone, and finally becoming "combat ready". That's it. There is no tension, no serious debate about the issues, no sense of moral ambiguity, no real action, nothing else. It's all too simple. The message that the movie wants to transmit, and which according to interviews on the web was already clear to the authors long before the film was made, is that "FARC guerrillas are also human beings".
Of course, nobody doubts that the FARC is made up of human beings. Hey, even the paramilitaries are also human beings, just as Al Qaeda and the CIA are human too. That, however, does not excuse the actions of any of them.
A documentary that aims no higher than that is not one that can survive repeated viewings. Even the imperfect "La Sierra", another documentary on Colombia and which deals with urban gangs linked to the paramilitaries, is a much better example of how to address some of the complexity of Colombia's current conflict, without falling into intellectual and moral passivity. Sadly, "Guerrilla Girl" pales in comparison.
Other than that, the rating quickly drops when the content itself is analyzed. For those that actually know more about Colombia than the average European left-winger (or right-winger, for that matter), it is sorely lacking. The film doesn't ask any tough questions, it simply passively accepts and reproduces exactly what the protagonist and the guerrillas want their audience (ie: non-Colombian foreigners) to see and hear, and nothing more.
The film feels flat and lacking in context. For the most part, it just shows a girl joining the FARC, receiving training, interacting with other FARC members, having a conversation or two with her family by phone, and finally becoming "combat ready". That's it. There is no tension, no serious debate about the issues, no sense of moral ambiguity, no real action, nothing else. It's all too simple. The message that the movie wants to transmit, and which according to interviews on the web was already clear to the authors long before the film was made, is that "FARC guerrillas are also human beings".
Of course, nobody doubts that the FARC is made up of human beings. Hey, even the paramilitaries are also human beings, just as Al Qaeda and the CIA are human too. That, however, does not excuse the actions of any of them.
A documentary that aims no higher than that is not one that can survive repeated viewings. Even the imperfect "La Sierra", another documentary on Colombia and which deals with urban gangs linked to the paramilitaries, is a much better example of how to address some of the complexity of Colombia's current conflict, without falling into intellectual and moral passivity. Sadly, "Guerrilla Girl" pales in comparison.