Sayen

Sayen is a movie about a Chilean native tribe called the Mapuche living in balance with their world of mountains and forest. It's full of lovely scences but the native lands sit atop a large deposit of cobalt. If you've paid enough attention to modern events and are in the habit of self education then you might know that cobalt is a relatively rare mineral that is much in demand. It's a key material for electrni devices like computers, smart phones, etc. It's mainly used for manufacturing the batteries that our world's small devices run on.

As such mega corporations are willing to do about any corrupt thing to gain possession of cobalt lands. Sayen is about this kind of corruption. The movie is well acted and direct, no wasted effort, some basic dramatic action and violence. But mining cobalt has itself involved violence and death in real life. Most decent companies are moving away from cobalt and researching the more efficient use of lithium for batteries these days. It's a good direction since lithium is one of the most abundant minerals on Earth and obtainable in many places and relatively cheaper than cobalt.

I recommend watching Sayen if you like good movies, like a quick example of the cobalt situation or like learning to open your mind. It's a better movie than most of the trash Hollywood creates.

As "Sayen" (2023 release from Chile; 95 min) opens, a Mapuche woman is chased in the forest by 4 people with guns. All of the sudden she reaches a deep ravine with a big river at the bottom. Rather than be caught. The soman jumps... We then go to "Three Days Earlier" as the woman, who is named Sayen, arrives back after years away at her original village, in a remote part of southern Chile...

Couple of comments: this is not your standard foreign movie. "Sayen" is specifically made around the aboriginal Mapuche people of southern Chile. Without giving much away, the film centers around how the Mapuche people's life style and more is threatened by an aggressive out of towner who envisions the area as perfect for eco-tourism. Of course! One of the best aspects of the movie is that we get a glimpse of what that part of the world actually looks like. The movie's photography is eye candy from start to finish, almost like a National Geographic documentary. That is a problem for the film, as there is quite a bit of awkward acting, and the underlying script is weak and predicable.

"Sayen" started streaming on Amazon Prime and I stumbled upon it when I was scrolling through the "recently added" section. I had never heard of this movie, and took a chance on it. Even though it's not the best of films, I'm nevertheless glad that I checked it out. Of course don't take my word for it, so if you are in the mood for a foreign film that is definitely not standard fare, I'd readily suggest you check it out and draw your own conclusion.

The film is a visual treat. I did not know Chile was so beautiful. The story has some of the usual tropes of the underdog fighting the system, but it's presented differently. The protagonist is a strong tribal woman; not once does the movie somehow contrive to get her to take off her clothes to give fan service. She stays in character throughout as an intense yet sensitive woman bent on gaining justice for herself and her people.

The cast is fairly small, but does the job well. For me (who has never been to South America or the Western Hemisphere), it was interesting to see the tribal celebrations and the very colourful people and culture.

The screenplay could be slightly more polished, or maybe it makes some assumptions about cultural knowledge. But it was still a good action movie with a different kind of protagonist.

If it were a regular Hollywood movie, I would give it something like 7.5 stars. But the visual beauty and exposure to a new culture and film industry adds a little more novelty to it for me.

Whether this was a deep view into the indigenous culture of South America, I cant say, but the film makes a first approach by showing many different types of character: the bravery and dignity of Sayen's grandmother (who steals the show), Sayen's bravery and integrity, even a sellout - in the company's guide, and a non-warrior who shows the way to fight as a journalist. The subject matter is especially relevant today, so the film gets points for that.

A shame that the film did not give more closure with the ending. We hope for a better resolution in the sequel, but unfortunately, that might be the point that the film veers from reality.

All in all the film is not as bad as the official reviews say. It will be interesting to see how it continues.

I thought the idea of the storyline was good so gave it a go.

As with many of these so called movies today, it seems to be all about pumping out a movie without spending much money on good writers or directors.

The acting could have been better but it was okay.

I find that the story lacked depth and left you hanging with no win or defeat. This story had potential to be really good if the producers would have just given it some guts and backbone.

At least the main antagonist got his just desserts. But what about justice for her grandmother and her people.

I'm really starting to hate prime and Netflix because of these half baked movies that leave you unfulfilled.