with Luis Tosar, Gael García Bernal, Juan Carlos Aduviri, Karra Elejalde, Raúl Arévalo , Carlos Santos, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Milena Soliz, Vicente Romero, Dani Currás, Pau Cólera, Sonia Ovando, Luis Bredow
In February and March of 2000, protests broke out daily in Cochabamba, Bolivia in response to the government’s decision to privatize the water company. The cost of water went up by up by three hundred per cent.
Filmmaker Sebastian (Gael García Bernal) arrives in Cochabamba accompanied by a cast and crew ready to make a film about Colombus’s first voyage to the New World and the subsequent subjugation of the indigenous population. Sebastian wants to focus on the experience of Bartolome de las Casas and Antonio de Montesinos, who was so distraught over the treatment of the natives that he dedicated the rest of his life to their cause. His producer Costa (Luis Tosar) has chosen Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, because it makes sense economically. Extras are willing to work long hours for just two dollars a day. Sebastian casts local man Daniel (Juan Carlos Aduviri) in the role of Hatuey, the Taino chief who led a rebellion against the Spaniards. Daniel is also one of the leaders in the demonstrations against the water hikes.
The movie is a great awakening of how much our present is connected to a past that somehow hasn't changed much, but gives a sense of hope while the local population tries and unifies against an obvious inequality. It is also a beautifully human movie and from what I heard during the interview today, the Bolivian actors are also actors of the water war. This movie is full of emotion and greatly interpreted, to make the audience question their ethics with sometimes irony, sometimes a true look at reality.
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