I lived in La Paz, Bolivia for two months in 2006 and was lucky enough to be there when this film was released. It was a smash in Bolivia breaking all records for domestic films.
I speak Spanish well, and although there was a lot of Bolivia slang, understood most of it. Much of the really specific youth slang comes up on the screen with a dictionary definition for the older generations.
After seeing it I decided it was so funny that my boyfriend who did not speak much Spanish at all had to see it (obviously without subtitles unfortunately for him) and he completely understood what was going on. The physical comedy is as good as what's said and a couple of parts are actually in English with Spanish subtitles.
It is basically a disaster road trip drug smuggling llama-murdering movie (one of those!). It is rough and ready with fantastic acting (especially Domi and the narrator) and characters despite the obvious lack of budget.
This film could not have come at a better time for Bolivia and it deserves international recognition. It shows the whole country, from Altiplano to amazon that will surprise even educated viewers with what a diverse country Bolivia is. It also highlights the very real tensions between the two sides of the country, the Collas (andean mountainous people) and the Cambas (people from the lowlands and amazon) many of whom want regional autonomy from the West. It also brings to our attention problems with international drug smuggling and has some great anti-US digs.
Bellot (who appears in the movie as a Hare Krishna) is a very self-assured director who really raises the bar for this very tired (well, in Hollywood anyway)road trip genre with a great pace, lots of music and colours to keep even the MTV generation satisfied.
The scene with Mr. Bolivia and the little white llama (of the title) is one of my favourite in Film history.
I really really hope that: a) this director gets more money to make an even better follow-up b) Who Killed the Little White Llama gets an international release with subtitles, even if it is only shown at Latin American Film Festivals.
