KOCHI: Latin American films are famous for their richness in content. But Columbian filmmaker Carlos Cesar Arbelaez believes that using the term ‘Latin America’ collectively for the movies coming out of Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba and Columbia is inappropriate. He says all these movies are very diverse in theme and their making.Says Arbelaez, “Latin American movie is only a concept. The movies from each country is different and reflect the existing political conditions there. For instance, everyone says that the living conditions are far better in Columbia now, to which I disagree. There are still four million people who are homeless in my country. Naturally, this social condition will have a take in my movies. But in Argentina, it is totally a different situation that will get reflected in their movies.”His debut movie ‘The Colours of the Mountain’ (Los colores de la montana) has been hailed as a poetic experience by critics. The film follows three boys - Manuel, Poca Luz and Julian and their efforts to recover a football from a minefield.“Childhood is a time when children should be allowed to play freely. It is their right. It is a time when they make new friends and this friendships grows along with them. But what happens when that right is denied to them? The movie is set up in the hills of La Pradera, a small town in Columbia. The town is about to be blown up in a large civil war. The soldiers even deposit mines in the playground. Here, the innocence of the children is getting stolen along with their right to play,” says Arbelaez.The film is of course political. While children are seen playing on one plain, the second plain focuses on the social conditions. The politics that the movie refers to is subtle. Says Arbelaez, “I have made nearly ten documentaries. So, if my intention would have been to shoot only the stark realities, then I would have made a documentary this time too. But I wanted people to enjoy the theme, experience it and feel something in their hearts. So I tried to treat it like a poem and focused on the second plain through the eyes of the three children.”It seldom easy to make children act, but the performance of the three central child characters in the film, Hernan Maurico Ocampo who portrays the protagonist Manuel, Genaro Aristizabal and Nolberto Sánchez who play Poca Luz and Julian respectively, has turned out to be the film’s biggest highlight. “I am proud to say that these three boys helped me in making this movie a big success. It took me almost two years to find these children. Once I selected them, I got them to stay together for nearly eight months in a town in Columbia where they became well-acquainted with each other.”Fully shot in a Red-One camera within a limited budget, the movie was well received in Columbia where it had a theatrical release. Arbelaez believes that the growth in technology has helped in easing out pressure on the directors. And his message to aspiring directors?“You need to add sensibility into your imagination. Remember, there are many ways to portray the same reality, but the one you opt should be sensibly narrated. Moreover, make sure that you have told the story in a good way.”
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