My Imaginary Country

In his latest documentary, Patricio Guzmán studies the current fight for change in his native Chile.

Chile has always played a central role in the films of Patricio Guzmán who was born in Santiago in 1941. That continues to be the case despite the fact that he has lived much of his life as an exile in Europe in consequence of Pinochet's coup d’état in 1973. Guzmán may be a documentarist but he's also an artist as was potently illustrated by such films as Nostalgia for the Light (2010) which made a powerful political comment about victims of the Pinochet era but was also notable for its imaginative and beautiful images. Guzmán's latest feature My Imaginary Country is a work of direct reporting which gives less opportunity for poetic visuals, but it stands as an important record of events in Chile between 2019 and 2021.

The starting point here is the protest movement which erupted in 2019 and which was less the work of a leader than a spontaneous revolution in which the younger generation played a key role. It was a situation that would encourage Guzmán to think that his imagined version of what Chile could become was about to be realised. Women had a key role in this and that has led Guzmán to create a film which features fifteen women from different backgrounds commenting on their experiences, these scenes being intercut with footage taken on the spot which confirms the brutal put-down by the military and reveals the huge crowds who were nevertheless determined to make their protest heard. These events would eventually lead to the election of left-winger Gabriel Boric as president, that occurring towards the close of 2021 and in a year when the Chilean Constitutional Convention was preparing to write a new constitution to bring about change.

All of this seemed to promise a fresh way of life in Chile which clearly heartened Guzmán and ultimately the tone of his film is celebratory. In the event, however, what has followed has changed the picture significantly in that a national plebiscite in September 2022 led to the proposed new constitution being rejected. However, that in no way invalidates My Imaginary Country even though it goes against Guzmán's hopes. Indeed, the film does include a warning note that foresees the kind of thing that has now happened, but it also suggests, optimistically perhaps, that the desired outcome will be reached eventually. The main point here is that the film is a vivid record valuable to any historian studying the period in that it confirms the mood and scale of the protests and follows that with further footage linked directly to discussions concerning the proposed new constitution.

As one would expect from a filmmaker of Gutzmán’s experience, My Imaginary Country is well assembled, the interview scenes neatly blended with footage of the events recalled. There is an apt choice of interviewees too, the women being varied in age and experience but all making good contributions. Although the film lasts for only 83 minutes, it should be acknowledged that for the general viewer there are times when My Imaginary Country seems to be circling around events that do not need quite such a detailed treatment, but considered as a historical record that is hardly a fault. In any case, Guzmán’s passionate commitment to the material is never in doubt for a single moment.

Original title: Mi país imaginario.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Featuring  Claudia Heiss, Damaris Abarca, Nicole Kramm, Catalina Garay, Mónica González, María José Díaz, María José San Martin, Natalia Henríquez, Sibila Sotomayor, Alondra Carrillo, Valentina Miranda, Elisa Loncón, ‘Kitty’ and the voice of Patricio Guzmán as narrator.

Dir Patricio Guzmán, Pro Renate Sachse, Screenplay Patricio Guzmán, Ph Samuel Lahu, Ed Laurence Manheimer, Music Miranda y Tobar.

Atacama Productions/Arte France Cinéma/Market Chile/CNC-New Wave Entertainment.
83 mins. Chile/France. 2022. US Rel: 23 September 2022. UK Rel: 9 June 2023. Cert. 15.