wrathful_nyarlathotep Reviews

The Sentimental Teaser (1999)

El chacotero sentimental: hilarity and the bare reality of low class Chileans' sexual life

[9/10 · 19 February 2005]

As someone said above, this film is based on a very popular radio program broadcast in Chile, in which people used to phone the radio station so as to tell their affairs, sexual adventures and problems.

Therefore, the film is shown as if someone calls in and tells his/her story, but instead of listening to it we see the images. The film is divided into 3 stories. The first one is a very hilarious story about a college student who has a hot affair with a married woman. The second; on the contrary, is about a bizarre incestuous relationship that will leave your jaw dropped in astonishment. The last one is the most hilarious of the three, dealing with the space and time problems that a couple has to have sex due to the large number of people living in the house and to their money scarcity.

I believe that the third story unveils the raw reality of haves-not Chileans, whose apartments, granted by the government, are as small as a match box. Moreover, most of the times there are about fourteen people living in those apartments! So forget about the words PRIVACY and your own SPACE.

Machuca (2004)

The context surrounding "Machuca"

[10/10 · 19 February 2005]

The film is set in 1973 when Salvador Allende was the president of Chile. In those days, Chile was undergoing a dire economic crisis, which forced him to travel to the Soviet Union to ask for a loan. The situation for Chileans couldn't be worse: enterprise owners, against left-winged governmental policies, were very reluctant to produce. As a result of the scarcity of basic needs, people had to stand in extremely long queues in order to obtain products like bread and milk. Generally, these were not enough, so they had to do anything to satisfy their hunger. Chile's always been a country full of wandering cats and dogs. However, in those years those animals were seldom seen in the streets. On the other side of the coin, wealthy people used to go to places where these goods were sold secretly without standing any lines.

I think the film very accurately depicts the social, political, and economic circumstances the country was going through, siding with neither Socialism nor Capitalism. Throughout "Machuca", you will be able to spot the dark side of both political views: the right-winged military brutality and; on the other hand, the left-winged expropriation of lands and houses.

In short, I see "Machuca" as the Chilean version of the Italian equivalent "Life is Beautiful". Really worth watching!