12 years after reviewing The Battle of Chile (cross-reference below), there was no way I could pass up the opportunity to see Patricio Guzmán’s take on Chile in 2021. Post-Allende, post-Pinochet, not without considerable violence death and upheaval, the Constituent Assembly finally cobbled together an inclusive constitution and elected newcomer (thank goodness—the old boys club had to be put to pasture), Gabriel Boric, flooding the “Dignity” square with hope rather than abject despair.
A week before what promises to be the most violent U.S. mid-term elections ever and growing protests in Iran, this film ought to be required viewing for every avowed citizen to ponder just how long it takes to throw the shackles of authoritarianism off and revel in true democracy: one person, one vote—and accept the outcome unequivocally. Brazil’s recent return to the left should also be kept an eye on, even as Jair Bolsonaro has, as of this writing, yet to concede.
Naturally, purposely, this film will never play in Russia as long as its Denier-in-Chief, Bully-pulpit Putin draws breath (or any of his stand-ins). Trump’s ego would never allow that!
With the protests erupting in 2019 (largely driven by youth who felt they had nothing to lose, their weapon against the police/army? shattered cobblestones hacked out of the streets). The more experienced demonstrators wisely wore gas masks—some artfully adorned with brightly hued flowers. “Soldiers get lost,” their call to arms, wonderfully accompanied by a saucepan orchestra, and later, a women-composed song whose most telling lyric is The rapist is you. (This one should be translated and performed even as more and more mass graves are unearthed in Ukraine.)
As progress, begrudgingly, is made, it falls to Mapuchian Elisa Loncón to drive the debate in the, finally, restored parliament, and, somehow, forge a new constitution that will be fair, equitable and accepted by the majority.
Much is made on several occasions to the analogy of making substantive governance change being similar to a chess match. Despite the fancier pieces from king to rook, what is tellingly reinforced is that the pawns—more often than not—determine the outcome.
A virtual unknown, 35-year-old man from an area not far from Antarctica (Boric) wins in a landslide (March 11, 2022).
With just a few months in office, it still remains to be seen, heard and felt if the pawns of Chile have, at last, triumphed over their self-described betters.
One can only hope that after the unbridled rule of repressive regimes (still far too abundant in many parts of the world) that collective cobblestones, courage and putting the many ahead of the few, might well purge the planet of those who care for nothing more than for their wealth and assumed entitlement, letting the rest of us go about our lives with safety and hope. JWR