Los
Inundados (1962) is a social political satire about
the marginalized in Argentina. Fernando Birri, considered
to be one of the fathers of the New Latin American
Cinema, is famous for his films – feature and
documentary – portraying the life of the poor
in Latin America in the 1950s. His work is strongly
influenced by Italian neorealism.
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"The
wily story, not flowery but sincere" starts when
an underdeveloped area of Santa Fe is flooded by an
overflowing river. It's election time, and the flood
victims, after being taken to the city centre, are
provided with more food and clothes than they need
by the different competing political parties. But
all these fraudulent efforts last only till the election,
and the day after, the flood victims are again discarded.
One morning, the family of Dolorus (Pirucho Gomez),
which had found shelter, like many other families,
in an abandoned train, discovers that the train cars
have been hooked up to a locomotive and driven to
a much more prosperous area. For the first time, they
live a life they have dreamt of. However, it won’t
last, since the government decides to shift them back
to their own village.
The
film is a tender and picaresque comedy, played by
non-professional actors. It reveals the allegory of
the oppressed and dispossessed through resilient Dolorus,
his wife who runs the family, their numerous children
and a daughter who falls in love with a rich young
man. The cynical and duplicitous politicians trying
to score votes, the tactful reporters who want to
impose their viewpoints on the exploited, and the
sluggish government deliberately delaying the orders
– all these images are familiar and unfortunately,
at least in developing countries, still the same until
today. The ups and downs of life, the ingenuity for
survival, human foibles, are all shown through humorous
incidents. The film keeps intact its freshness and
enthusiasm throughout.
The
film lacks a well-knit composition in the long run.
The countless issues which the flood victims encounter
in their odyssey make the film a little cluttered.
By the end of the film, even though we, along with
the victims, realize that the situation is the same
as before, we are much comforted. Finally they realize
that complaining is no use. I could easily familiarize
with this…
Rima
Mathew
© FIPRESCI 2008
