Carmen (Aline Kuppenheim) is asked to put her life on the line by helping a political dissident. (Photos courtesy of Kino Lorber Team)
By Richard Ades
After being blown away by last year’s Argentina, 1985, I wondered if Chile ’76 would turn out to be an equally instructive look at its titular country’s painful history.
But it’s not, mostly because it doesn’t try to be. Manuela Martelli’s debut film is more of a psychological thriller than a historical drama.
Though it’s set three years after the military coup that brought President Augusto Pinochet to power, the right-wing dictator’s name never even comes up. Instead, the focus is on Carmen (Aline Kuppenheim), an upper-middle-class woman whose privileged life has allowed her to ignore the brutal suppression Pinochet unleashed on her country.
That begins to change, however, in an early scene. Carmen is picking out paint to renovate her family’s vacation home when the sounds of one of the country’s many political kidnappings are heard outside the store.
Quiet soon returns, but we’re left with the impression that Carmen’s life is about to be complicated by the upheaval going on around her. Director/co-scripter Martelli signals this with some rather blatant symbolism: A store employee mixes blood-red paint with a neutral shade, after which a couple of drops spill onto Carmen’s immaculate shoes.
Sure enough, once Carmen reaches her vacation home, a priest friend named Father Sanchez (Hugo Medina) involves her in a matter with political overtones. He asks her to provide medical care for Elias (Nicolas Sepulveda), a young man who he claims was shot while trying to steal food.
Elias (Nicolas Sepulveda), a wounded fugitive, is nursed back to health by Carmen (Aline Kuppenheim).
Being a doctor’s wife who once worked for the Red Cross, Carmen agrees to help, and she keeps helping after she learns Elias is in reality a political dissident hiding from the government. Eventually, she even offers to deliver messages to the fugitive’s left-wing cohorts, involving her in political intrigue for which she’s dangerously unprepared.
Remember the unseen kidnapping that first reminded us we were in Pinochet’s Chile? Most of Martelli’s film is similarly understated, concentrating on Carmen’s fears rather than on the real perils that inspire them. The only un-understated element is Maria Portugal’s musical score, composed of dissonant sounds designed to keep our nerves on edge.
Otherwise, Chile ’76 is a uniformly low-key effort thanks to Kuppenheim’s muted portrayal and Martelli’s restrained script and direction. The result is a film that may not excite viewers but is sure to leave them impressed by its subtle workmanship.
Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
Chile ’76 can be seen in select theaters and opens June 30 at the Gateway Film Center in Columbus.
Reel Time With Richard Ades 