Even the Rain

"No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it" - Albert Einstein

In a film within a film, director Sebastian (Gael Garcia Bernal) and producer Costa (Luis Tosar) are shooting in Cochabamba, Bolivia in the year 2000. The film they are working on proposes to depict Christopher Columbus' exploitation of the indigenous native population in his voyage to the Americas and the effort of two priests to stand up to the Catholic Church. Written by Paul Laverty, the regular screenwriter for British director Ken Loach, and dedicated to the late progressive historian Howard Zinn, Iciar Bollain's openly political drama Even the Rain takes on the past history of exploitation of native populations, showing a parallel to current history.

The film developed through Laverty's desire to dramatize the life of Bartolomé de las Casas, a Dominican friar who becomes an anti-slavery activist in defiance of the church and his native Spain. Shot in the high Andes because of budgetary constraints, Even the Rain attempts to conflate three levels of exploitation: the historical treatment of the Native Americans by the Spanish conquerors in the 16th century, the actual attempt by Bolivia to cede control of the country's water supply to a British-American corporation, and the filmmakers' cost-cutting that results in the Quechua population being paid only $2.00 an hour as extras.

Opening with a "La Dolce Vita" shot of a wooden crucifix being transported to the mountains by helicopter, the film moves to an open casting call in Cochabamba as hundreds of Bolivians line up to audition for a role in the projected film. Turned away by the producer when the quota of locals is filled, Daniel (Juan Carlos Aduviri), a vocal political activist demands that the Bolivians be hired even after they are told to leave. As a result of his strong personality, he is selected to play the role of Hatuey, the first Indian to be crucified for resisting the Spanish and Christian empire.

A problem arises, however, when Daniel becomes the leader of a local group protesting the social injustice entailed in Bolivia's privatization of its own water supply (a true event that forbade the native population from collecting their own rainwater). Even after Daniel tells him "You don't understand, water is life," Costa demands that the young actor give up his political campaign to concentrate on the film which needs him desperately. As the director, Sebastian likewise must walk a thin line between balancing his ideals with his powerful desire to present a revisionist history of Columbus to the world. "The protests will be forgotten, but the film will last forever," he argues.

Tosar is outstanding as the arrogant producer who is drawn unwillingly into the political protest. Overheard on a phone call, Costa brusquely tells a foreign investor how he is putting one over on the locals, not realizing that Daniel, standing only a few feet away from him speaks English. Eventually, however, Costa is forced to choose between the success of the film and the demands of his conscience staring at him relentlessly.

Even the Rain tells us that understanding the past is meaningless unless that knowledge can be made relevant to the present day, a lesson that the characters must learn the hard way. In lesser hands, the film could easily have become didactic or preachy, but Bollain maintains a steady hand and the result is an engaging and powerful film that not only speaks out loudly against injustice, but does so with poetry and passion.

I found it very easy to identify with all of the main players thanks to some great performances from all involved and also a really nicely written script. It's really well shot with nice big, easily legible subtitles (more like this please foreign filmmakers!). It was interesting to see a film set in that region, we don't see very much from that part of the world. There are also some historical facts about the conquistadors that I wasn't aware of and so it even educated be a little! I love the way it slowly dawns on the crew that the mistakes made 500 years previously are still being made today! Over all, I found it well worth a look and it's one I would certainly look at again sometime.

SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 8.3/10

You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.

I first got wind of the political situation in Bolivia around the time of the 2003 protests, and then during the 2005 presidential election that brought coca farmer Evo Morales to power, making him the country's first indigenous president. Oliver Stone's documentary "South of the Border" partly told the story of the World Bank-inspired water privatization in Bolivia: the World Bank forced Bolivia's government to pass a law making it illegal for people to collect rain in buckets since it would have broken the monopoly on water ownership.

Icíar Bollaín's "También la lluvia" ("Even the Rain" in English) tells the story of the privatization, contrasting it with Christopher Columbus's genocide against the Indians. Filmmakers Sebastian (Gael García Bernal) and Costa (Luis Tosar) arrive in Cochabamba to make a movie about Columbus's arrival in the Americas, and the Taino Indians' subsequent rebellion against the occupation. But the events depicted in their movie begin to play out in real life: when the government sets out to privatize the water supply, the actor playing Taino leader Hatuey is one of the leaders of the protests.

The movie - which is dedicated to Howard Zinn - obviously has as its main purpose to show the parallels between indigenous resistance 500 years ago and today. But more than anything, it should offer incite into the roots of the wave of progressive leaders who rose to power in South America during the first decade of the 21st century. I definitely recommend it.

I really enjoyed the film "Even in the Rain" because the movie had two stories going side by side. It was like a movie inside a movie, which was one thing that I really enjoyed about the movie. Overall the movie was very easy to understand. There might have been one scene that was not that clear to me but I got the general idea of it anyways so it was not really a big problem. If this was an American film the problem would have been solved in the movie, so it different from American films. To my understanding the problem was not resolved in this film. This film taught me how people in other parts of the world are living today and that people do not have the things that we take for granted all time. Also this film sort of taught us about the past which I taught was very interesting. It showed us how the British were treating the Natives. If was the director of this film I would have made it so at the end of the film everyone had water.

It would not be surprising if some day a film school professor chose 'También la lluvia' to illustrate a course about committed pictures, for this Spanish-Mexican co-production is indeed a model of its kind.

Intelligently written by Paul Laverty (Ken Loach's regular collaborator since 1996) and competently helmed by Icíar Bollaín (a Spanish actress turned director and, incidentally, Laverty's life companion), 'También la lluvia' examines a social and political event that took place in Bolivia in 2000, the Water War, when an American Water Company tried to privatize the drinking water service in the town of Corachamba, implying a tariff raise in an order from 40% to 300%.

To tell his story, the writer could have adopted the committed filmmaker's standard approach: «display of injustice/negative impact on the group concerned/reaction of the most militant/confrontation/resolution of the conflict». Instead, he imagined the coming of a film crew shooting a movie in the surroundings of Carachambo, getting involved gradually– and against their will - in the troubles affecting Corachamba. So do the viewers, who identify with them without having the feeling they are being manipulated by the authors.

Such a concept also gives 'También la lluvia' added value, making it function on several levels. It enables Laverty to: - inform his audiences about a little known historical event - unveil a hidden chapter of history (through the subject of the film shot within the film: the first opponents to the Conquistadores, Jesuits Bartolomé de las Casas and Antonio de Montesinos) - have the two stories echo each other and enrich each other - cast a spotlight on Bolivia, a neglected country, and on its Indian population - depict complex characters (the more idealistic ones shying away from direct action when confronted to danger while the more reactionary display unexpected bravery)

Helped by Iciar Bollain's sure-handed direction and by the excellence of the cast (Gabriel Garcia Bernal as Sébastián, the tormented director ; Luis Tosar as the cynical producer ; Karra Elejalde, impressive as the provocative star of the film in progress ; and - the revelation of the film, - the amazing Juan Carlos Aduviri, who inhabits his role as the Indian actor/activist Daniel), Paul Laverty manages to teach, move and entertain, while avoiding dogmatism, bias and over-simplification. Just what he is accused of by the flock of bleating French film critics.