The Colors of the Mountain (2010) Los colores de la montaña (original title)

Director:

Carlos César Arbeláez

Release Date:

6 May 2011 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Manuel, 9, has an old ball with which he plays football every day in the countryside. He dreams of becoming a great goalkeeper...

Plot Keywords:

Minefield | Color Pencil | Juice | Bicycle | Village

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Hernán Mauricio Ocampo	...	Manuel
Nolberto Sánchez	...	Julián (as Luis Nolberto Sánchez)
Genaro Aristizábal	...	Poca Luz (as Genaro Alfonso Aristizábal)
Hernán Méndez	...	Ernesto
Carmen Torres	...	Miriam
Natalia Cuéllar	...	Carmen (as Natalia Cuellar)
Antonio Galeano	...	Don Alberto
Ángela Patricia Ángel	...	Luisa
Félix Jaramillo	...	Mario
Dora Patricia Méndez	...	Julián's Mother
Elizabeth Aristizábal	...	Poca Luz's Little Sister
Juan Rodrigo Correa	...	Poca Luz's Father
Berenice Echeverri	...	Poca Luz's Mother
María Alejandra Vargas	...	Julián's Sister
Javier Cardona	...	Guerrilla Leader
Germán Antonio Cuervo	...	Paramilitary Leader
Olga Lucia Saldarriaga	...	Doña Marta
Luis Felipe Hurtado	...	Child Bullying Poca Luz
Michael Cardona	...	Child Bullying Poca Luz
Humberto Osorio	...	Don Tobías
Amalia Suárez	...	Doña Mariela
Bernardina Zapata	...	Rosaura
Ana Milena Correa	...	Child At School
Cristian Camilo Marín	...	Child At School
Daniel Felipe Jaramillo	...	Child At School
Daniela Zapata	...	Child At School
Diego Alejandro Ángel	...	Child At School
Edison Valencia	...	Child At School
Edisson David Valencia	...	Child At School
Edwin Lenis Guerrero	...	Child At School
Jessica Agudelo	...	Child At School
John A. Flórez	...	Child At School
José Ignacio Jaramillo	...	Child At School
Juan Esteban Correa	...	Child At School
Laura Guitiérrez	...	Child At School
Laura Marulanda	...	Child At School
Luz Adriana Quiroz	...	Child At School
Manuel Felipe Betancur	...	Child At School
María Isabel Montoya	...	Child At School
Sorany Ramírez	...	Child At School
Stiven Urrego	...	Child At School
Valentina González	...	Child At School
Verónica Larrea	...	Child At School
Wilmer Alexis Cano	...	Child At School

Directed by
Carlos César Arbeláez

Produced by
Julián Giraldo	....	executive producer
Luis Pacheco	....	co-producer

Cinematography by
Oscar Jimenez		(director of photography)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Biviana Marquez	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Andrés Gurisatti	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Jose Roberto Jaramillo	....	sound recordist (EL BUS PRODUCCIONES)
Camilo Montilla	....	sound designer
Julián Sánchez Moreno	....	boom operator (second unit) (as Julian Sánchez)
Jean-Guy Veran	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Roberto Corrales	....	gaffer
Rafael de León	....	second assistant camera

Music Department
Oriol Carol	....	composer: theme music
Camilo Montilla	....	composer: theme music

Production Companies

• El Bus Producciones
• Jaguar Films (co-production)

Distributors

• Gébéka Films (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Film Movement (2011) (Canada) (all media)
• Film Movement (2011) (USA) (all media) (subtitled)
• Film1 Sundance Channel (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)

Also Known As:

"Los colores de la montaña" - Colombia (original title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Colombia | Panama

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud)

Company:

El Bus Producciones

Trivia:

Colombia's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 84th Academy Awards 2012.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Estrenos Críticos: El episodio que va a contrarreloj (#1.4)" (2011)

From the Minds of Children

Los Colores de la Montaña (The Colors of the Mountain) is one of the more delicate and sophisticated films to deal with warring factions in South American countries to come along in a long time. Written and directed by newcomer Carlos César Arbeláez this story is wise because it explains the work through the eyes of children: perhaps that is the best way to understand the conflicts that flood the planet at present.

Set is the lush and picturesque mountains of Colombia, we gradually discover through the games of the children that there are two factions struggling for power in this remote area - the military of the government and the reactive guerrillas. Manuel (Hernán Mauricio Ocampo) is eight and loves soccer even though his soccer ball is an old collapsed mess of toy. He and his friends Julián (Nolberto Sánchez) and the little albino boy Poca Luz (Hernán Méndez) play soccer anyplace they can. Manuel also tends to his duties as a farmer's son (his father is devoted to him, sharing the chores, and protecting him and his wife and baby from the bilateral dangers of the military and the guerrillas): his parents reward him on his ninth birthday with a new soccer ball and gloves. Very proud, Manuel shares his treasure with his friends but accidentally the ball lands in a minefield (the result of the military invasion) and becomes inaccessible. The boys challenge Poca Luz to retrieve it but he fails. A new teacher comes to the village and brings order to the chaos the children feel. Discovering that Manuel colors pictures of his countryside in his notebook the teacher decides to use his talent that that of his friends to paint over political graffiti smeared on the schoolhouse: she loses her job. Rebel forces and military forces enter the village and families are forced to evacuate - but Manuel manages to recover his treasured new soccer ball in the midst of the senseless fighting the adults of his world are staging. After all, what is really important?!

The acting skills of these children are beautifully straightforward and unforced, thanks to the fine direction of Arbeláez. He manages to tell a tale that is tender, humorous, and meaningful and in the end it is the inherent pure wisdom of children that seems to be the sustaining factor in the little villages of the mountains of Colombia. The lush photography is by Oscar Jimenez. This is a very fine film that has already won awards in festival, but it is a film that is more important that it be shared by a very large audience. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Grady Harp