A hot director, Sebastian, decides to retell the story of Columbus' discovery of the new world and put it in its proper perspective. For that, he and Spanish producer, Costa, decide to set the action for the movie in Bolivia, a land that has no bearing with Columbus arrival to the Caribbean island of Hispanola. The only reasoning is to engage the cheap Indian population in minor roles and as extras paying them $2 dollars for a whole day's work.
Unfortunately for Costa, he manages to upset some of the would be extras when they hear his comments about what he thinks of the people rejected for an audition. Little did Costa know the reaction of Daniel, one of the rejected aspirants for the audition. This man is no fool and he takes issue when Costa speaks his mind belittling the locals, mostly natives. Sebastian, the director sees something in Daniel, a spunk that matches the fire he wants to get in the character of Hatuey, the Indian leader that challenged the invading Spaniards.
There is another subplot going for the film, in that some locals vow to fight the foreign company that is trying to buy the water supply in their country, and who in turn, will be charging the population for the use of the usage of water. The film crew has shot locations in the area where the protests take an ugly turn, complicating things for the Spanish backed production. Costa, gets personally involved when Daniel's daughter has to be taken to a hospital to receive treatment right in the middle of the worst riots.
Iciair Bollain, an actress turned director, has done much better with two of her previous films, "Las flores de otro mundo", and "Te doy mis ojos". She showed an affinity exploring social issues, loneliness in the first instance and domestic abuse in the latter. In this film, working with Paul Laverty, a frequent collaborator of Ken Loach, she has tried to make some sense of the exploitation of her ancestors in the new world, with mixed results. Ultimately, the target seems to be the foreign company that was trying to exploit the Bolivians, a real incident that was viewed as an insult.
Luis Tosar plays Costa, a cynic Spaniard, who was more interested in making a cheap film exploiting the locals than making a statement about the ills of the imperialistic force that enslaved the locals. Gabriel Garcia Bernal plays Sebastian. The surprise here was Juan Carlos Aduviri seen in the dual role of Daniel and Hatuey, the victim of the conquistadors, who shows dignity in the way he approaches his role.
Unfortunately for Costa, he manages to upset some of the would be extras when they hear his comments about what he thinks of the people rejected for an audition. Little did Costa know the reaction of Daniel, one of the rejected aspirants for the audition. This man is no fool and he takes issue when Costa speaks his mind belittling the locals, mostly natives. Sebastian, the director sees something in Daniel, a spunk that matches the fire he wants to get in the character of Hatuey, the Indian leader that challenged the invading Spaniards.
There is another subplot going for the film, in that some locals vow to fight the foreign company that is trying to buy the water supply in their country, and who in turn, will be charging the population for the use of the usage of water. The film crew has shot locations in the area where the protests take an ugly turn, complicating things for the Spanish backed production. Costa, gets personally involved when Daniel's daughter has to be taken to a hospital to receive treatment right in the middle of the worst riots.
Iciair Bollain, an actress turned director, has done much better with two of her previous films, "Las flores de otro mundo", and "Te doy mis ojos". She showed an affinity exploring social issues, loneliness in the first instance and domestic abuse in the latter. In this film, working with Paul Laverty, a frequent collaborator of Ken Loach, she has tried to make some sense of the exploitation of her ancestors in the new world, with mixed results. Ultimately, the target seems to be the foreign company that was trying to exploit the Bolivians, a real incident that was viewed as an insult.
Luis Tosar plays Costa, a cynic Spaniard, who was more interested in making a cheap film exploiting the locals than making a statement about the ills of the imperialistic force that enslaved the locals. Gabriel Garcia Bernal plays Sebastian. The surprise here was Juan Carlos Aduviri seen in the dual role of Daniel and Hatuey, the victim of the conquistadors, who shows dignity in the way he approaches his role.