Tofifest: Altiplano - Trap of the history

Saturnina, the heroin of "Altiplano",easily states at some point that "only what is recorded counts". That's why she decides to videotape the biggest demonstration of her life hoping to make a difference. The Belgian pair of directors used the same sentence as the (unwritten) motto of their film.

Magaly Solier accuses

"Altiplano", shown in the ON AIR contest of Torun's Tofifest Film Festival, aims to bring attention to a social issue. It's political and it wants to generate discussion about the problems of people living in the high plateaus of Peru who have been used and abused for years by the outsiders from "civilized countries". They once came on horses to mine silver and gold, now they come again, fully armed, for mercury. And all they ever caused was death and famine, now adding pollution and water contamination to the equation.

But it's also a lyrical movie that uses pictures beautifully accompanied by classical and opera music to touch the viewers and make them feel uncomfortable. Both what I wrote above and the synopsis itself suggest an accusing tone towards "gringos". But the film, thanks to its genuine objectivity (it shows events without commenting them and focuses on doctors and natives more than the evil corporations), cannot be easily labeled, making the story allegorical and universal.

In "Altiplano" two attitudes are confronted: European rationality presented by Grace (Jasmin Tabatabai) is contrasted with life constrained by religious and traditional rituals and beliefs, represented by Saturninę. It's a film about a historical trap. How can you learn the trust and respect of someone whose ancestors were treated for centuries like animals by own your fellows (by the way, this very sentence tells a lot about the history of the "white man," who is not ashamed of treating animals as things)? This is the question asked by one of the doctors that came to Peru with good intentions, to cure eye problems of the natives. It's not enough to act in accordance with your conscience. You also need to be familiar with the local history and behave in a way omprehensible to the people who own the land you're invading.

The acting is worth mentioning. After "The Milk of Sorrow," where Magaly Solier played a silent native girl struggling with the constraints in her own mind, now as Saturnina she's furious and full of hatred, which shows the diverse abilities of this young Peruvian actress.

I recommend "Altiplano" to everyone to who values demanding, artistic and philosophical cinema as well as to the doctors without borders who naively believe that the mere fact of appearing in a Third World village and attempting to cure people will earn them respect among the natives.