Breath of Life

A clever use of noir to provoke a series of mediations about history and violence at the end of the century in Colombia. Soplo is set in the context of the Armero disaster in 1985 - a volcanic mudslide which, conveniently for the government, buried investigations about a political tragedy that occurred only a few days before (the incident of the Palacio de Justicia). The film in some senses 'unburies' this tragedy although does not, as viewers will see, refer to the Palacio incident. Instead it uncovers structures of machismo, corruption, drug-trafficking (to some extent) and social breakdown that natural discourses of violence often forget. Aesthetically it is quite heterogeneous, and blends noir scenes (marginal locations, nighttime shots, black and white) with images of the post-apocalyptic landscape of Armero. Great performances all round, a wonderful script, and an absolute feast of cinematic references for film buffs out there who are doubtless more knowledgeable than I am. A breath of life (and of fresh air) for Colombian cinema at the end of the millennium.