La hora de los hornos: Notas y testimonios sobre el neocolonialismo, la violencia y la liberación (1968)

Directors:

Octavio Getino
Fernando E. Solanas

Writers:

Octavio Getino (writer)
Fernando E. Solanas (writer)

Release Date:

1 November 1973 (Argentina)

Genre:

Documentary | History | War

Plot Keywords:

Third Cinema | Government | Argentina | Liberation | Marxism

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

María de la Paz	...	Narrator
Fernando E. Solanas	...	Narrator (as Fernando Solanas)
Edgardo Suárez	...	Narrator

Also Known As:

La hora de los hornos
The Hour of the Furnaces (USA)

Runtime:

260 min

Country:

Argentina

Language:

Spanish | English | Portuguese

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

Grupo Cine Liberacion

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Parallax View (1974)

Voice for the voiceless

I think any analysis of this film should take into account the context in which it was released. In Argentina in the late 60's there were tremendous injustices inflicted upon the people. Argentina's teenage industry was being undermined by the unrestricted entrance of foreign capitals and products. Factories started to "rationalize" the personnel, workshops were closing, unable to compete with the multinationals that were landing in our fragile economy. This was not new at all for a country which has not yet fulfilled his economic independence, but the signs of underdevelopment were getting more and more evident in a country which has historically considered himself more European than Latin American. Whatisworse, democracy has become an utopia in a country where its major party was banned, and the minority parties which were allowed to rise in power after limb-democratic elections were quickly overthrown by the constant military coups. Argentina lived from 55-83 in a virtual State of Siege where all political activities related to the major party (Peronist Party)were fiercely persecuted. These regime did not hesitate to assassinate and imprisoned popular activists. So the Argentine people arrived to a sideways in those years. Either stay silent and tolerate the injustice, or raise their voice in protest. To raise the voice in those times involved persecution and most probably, death. So there was a new choice to make. Either protest and get killed or to protest and defend oneself. Argentine people were not thirst for blood, they were sick of injustice and were willing to fight for a better existence. The film is not a call for violence, it is a call for understanding, a call for conscience. the movie is the voice of the silent workers fed up with treason and exploitation.