Taino past meets Bolivian present. Saturday?s film (March 8 at 2 pm) at The Meeting Place is ?Even the Rain?. This fascinating film, directed by Ken Loach?s collaborator is a film within a film. The film begins with an ambitious director deciding to retell the story of Columbus' arrival on the shores of La Isabella and the first meetings with the native ?Tainos? and the subsequent brutal treatment by the Spanish conquistadors. One of the main characters of his film is the Taino hero and leader Hatuey. Rather than filming in the DR the budget-conscious producer sets the action in Bolivia, a land that has no bearing with Columbus arrival to the Caribbean island of Hispanola. The only reasoning is to engage the cheap Indian population in minor roles and as extras -- and the belief ?that all natives are alike?. (There is not even the recognition that Tainos no longer exist!)
Intervening on this plot about past events is the real-life conflict that the producers find themselves caught in ? the Cochabamba ?Water Wars". This was a series of protests that took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia's third largest city, between January 1999 and April 2000 in response to privatization of water. Present events and past deeds intercept.
Should make for interesting discussion. One of the few films to give us any sense of Taino life.
Intervening on this plot about past events is the real-life conflict that the producers find themselves caught in ? the Cochabamba ?Water Wars". This was a series of protests that took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia's third largest city, between January 1999 and April 2000 in response to privatization of water. Present events and past deeds intercept.
Should make for interesting discussion. One of the few films to give us any sense of Taino life.
