"Araguaya - Conspiracy of Silence" is a relatively gripping film about a known period during the military regime in Brazil that
wasn't much covered on film, which revolves on the Araguaya guerrilla movement, the final resistance group that fought against the dictatorship
in the early 1970's in the region of Pará, after facing countless difficulties in the major cities of Brazil so they decided to join their efforts
in the jungle. Many were killed, a few survived and you get to see some of its survivors on the screen in brief moments where they share their
stories, pretty much like in the same manner as presented in Warren Beatty's classic "Reds", which combines interviews with the real figures
along with fictional actors performing the story.
I salute the makers of the film (an one-time film director, he doesn't have any other credits to his name) for bringing this powerfully
dramatic story to life, covering the guerrilla's final days not only as a combative group but also that helped small, poor communities along the
way with the help of a French priest (Stephane Brodt) - though not sure if the man actually existed - and how they struggled to survive,
fight a more experienced and more armed enemy while fighting for a free country, fighting for their ideals. It's not a happy story, but the film
also sugarcoats the material a little, either on the terms of idealization of the group formed, they're all so nice to each other through simple
moments, but also in the way of their demise. A veteran colonel on the military side had already given an interview in the early 1990's telling
how brutal they were with the guerrilla, even telling about how the corpses were treated.
If the sentimentality is easy on viewers and it's not all that disrupting, what kills this movie, to a great part of its most needed audience
curious in knowing about the topic, is the fact that all of the French dialogues from the priest and his friend are not translated (maybe a problem
from the version I've seen). If not a problem of version seen, then it's an overestimation that only people who lived through the 1970's and back
would watch the movie since French was taught as second language rather than English. Matter of fact is that because of some wording here and there
I could get the sentiment and know what was being spoken, I could get the context but I know the majority of audiences won't have a clue about
anything and those 10-15 minutes or so will be lost on them.
Also a problematic issue is the one-dimensional and badly acted parts given to the military characters, we already know they're the villains on this
but to give them some idiotic shouts on every single scene, weirdly acted and almost with zero context about the issues revolving them versus
the Araguaya's resistance is just weak. Augusto Madeira is an exception, he's a very good actor in everything he does, from comedy to drama and
he goes quite well in this.
Despite the handful of problems it has the movie works. It's a quite informative piece that makes a good blend between fiction and reality.
Some of the real figures are portrayed on the screen; others like future congressman José Genuíno aren't (he appears in the movie as himself and
I'm torn apart as for his presence since there's a whole controversie on as why he survived the ordeal, a great deal of hearsay that could be true
but I won't go further than that). Also worthy of mention and view the presence of great actor Norton Nascimento as one of the guerrilla leaders,
and this marked as his final cinema role, one of the rare times he had the chance to appear on a motion picture since he was mostly devoted to
soap operas and theatre. He had a very charismatic presence, solid acting that you don't see much these days. 7/10.
