El Amparo

EL AMPARO tells the true story of two survivors of an army attack in 1988 Venezuela. The men's fishing party was mistaken for a camp of rebel guerrillas and fired upon; two men escape back to their village and are put in jail, at first on suspicion of being rebels but later to protect them against being kidnapped or murdered. The army naturally doesn't want to admit it made a mistake, so the men are placed under intense pressure to 'confess' to being rebels with vague promises of a quiet amnesty and reward at a later date. Having no faith that the state will hold up its end of the bargain (and not wanting to admit to a crime they didn't commit), the men resist.

This is the case of a film where the content is more important than the style or technical achievement. It's an important story and well worth bringing to the screen. The production and direction are frankly pretty flat and uninteresting, but the performances are quite natural and it was cool to watch the women of the village take the lead and organize to protect the two men (and the memory of their dead husbands / sons / brothers). Solid, worthwhile watch.