Even the Rain (2010)
"También la lluvia" (original title)

As a director and his crew shoot a controversial film about Christopher Columbus in Cochabamba, Bolivia, local people rise up against plans to privatize the water supply.

Director:

Icíar Bollaín

Writer:

Paul Laverty

Stars:

Luis Tosar, Gael García Bernal, Juan Carlos Aduviri

16 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luis Tosar	...	Costa
Gael García Bernal	...	Sebastián
Juan Carlos Aduviri	...	Daniel / Atuey
Karra Elejalde	...	Antón / Colón
Raúl Arévalo	...	Juan / Montesinos
Carlos Santos	...	Alberto / Las Casas
Cassandra Ciangherotti	...	María
Milena Soliz	...	Belén / Panuca
Leónidas Chiri	...	Teresa
Ezequiel Díaz	...	Bruno
Pau Cólera	...	Actor capitán
Vicente Romero	...	Actor comandante
Antonio Mora	...	Actor franciscano
Daniel Currás	...	Soldado gallego
Glenda Rodríguez	...	Asistente casting

Storyline

Spanish director Sebastián, his executive producer Costa and all his crew are in Bolivia, in the Cochabamba area, to shoot a motion picture about Christopher Columbus, his first explorations and the way the Spaniards treated the Indians at the time. Costa has chosen this place because the budget of the film is tight and here he can hire supernumeraries, local actors and extras on the cheap. Things go more or less smoothly until a conflict erupts over the privatization of the water supply. The trouble is that one of the local actors, is a leading activist in the protest movement.

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Plot Keywords:

bolivia | water supply | christopher columbus | water | actor | 

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Taglines:

Spain Conquered the New World for Gold 500 Years Later, Water is Gold Not Much Else has Changed...

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [de]

Country:

Spain Mexico France

Language:

Spanish Quechua English

Release Date:

5 January 2011 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Even the Rain

Filming Locations:

Bolivia

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$66,315 (USA) (18 February 2011)

Gross:

$558,342 (USA) (6 May 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

AXN, Alebrije Cine y Video, Canal+ España

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where the little girl sees herself on screen was kind of a self homage by director/actress Icíar Bollaín. She wanted to transmit her first impression when she saw herself on screen being a teenager.

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Connections

Referenced in Special Collector's Edition: Matilda (2011)

User Reviews

An engaging and powerful film

"No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it"

• Albert Einstein In a film within a film, director Sebastian (Gael

Garcia Bernal) and producer Costa (Luis Tosar) are shooting in Cochabamba, Bolivia in the year 2000. The film they are working on proposes to depict Christopher Columbus' exploitation of the indigenous native population in his voyage to the Americas and the effort of two priests to stand up to the Catholic Church. Written by Paul Laverty, the regular screenwriter for British director Ken Loach, and dedicated to the late progressive historian Howard Zinn, Iciar Bollain's openly political drama Even the Rain takes on the past history of exploitation of native populations, showing a parallel to current history.

The film developed through Laverty's desire to dramatize the life of Bartolomé de las Casas, a Dominican friar who become an anti-slavery activist in defiance of the church and his native Spain. Shot in the high Andes because of budgetary constraints, Even the Rain attempts to conflate three levels of exploitation: the historical treatment of the Native Americans by the Spanish conquerors in the 16th century, the actual attempt by Bolivia to cede control of the country's water supply to a British-American corporation, and the filmmakers' cost-cutting that results in the Quechua population being paid only $2.00 an hour as extras.

Opening with a "La Dolce Vita" shot of a wooden crucifix being transported to the mountains by helicopter, the film moves to an open casting call in Cochabamba as hundreds of Bolivians line up to audition for a role in the projected film. Turned away by the producer when the quota of locals is filled, Daniel (Juan Carlos Aduviri), a vocal political activist demands that the Bolivians be hired even after they are told to leave. As a result of his strong personality, he is selected to play the role of Hatuey, the first Indian to be crucified for resisting the Spanish and Christian empire.

A problem arises, however, when Daniel becomes the leader of a local group protesting the social injustice entailed in Bolivia's privatization of its own water supply (a true event that forbade the native population from collecting their own rainwater). Even after Daniel tells him "You don't understand, water is life," Costa demands that the young actor give up his political campaign to concentrate on the film which needs him desperately. As the director, Sebastian likewise must walk a thin line between balancing his ideals with his powerful desire to present a revisionist history of Columbus to the world. "The protests will be forgotten, but the film will last forever," he argues.

Tosar is outstanding as the arrogant producer who is drawn unwillingly into the political protest. Overheard on a phone call, Costa brusquely tells a foreign investor how he is putting one over on the locals, not realizing that Daniel, standing only a few feet away from him speaks English. Eventually, however, Costa is forced to choose between the success of the film and the demands of his conscience staring at him relentlessly.

Even the Rain tells us that understanding the past is meaningless unless that knowledge can be made relevant to the present day, a lesson that the characters must learn the hard way. In lesser hands, the film could easily have become didactic or preachy, but Bollain maintains a steady hand and the result is an engaging and powerful film that not only speaks out loudly against injustice, but does so with poetry and passion.