I've broken a long retirement from IMDb reviews to write this, because the only other review (if one can grace it with that term) is mean and dismissive. If the writer sees this, they might consider whether it isn't rather arrogant to dismiss a film as "crap" on the basis of 20 minutes viewing.
This may not be the best film ever, or even at times wholly coherent - but it is worth seeing for the exceptional setting of a village in (or near) Chile's Atacama Desert - the driest on earth - and for the scenes involving the locals (especially the women). Also exceptional is the chance to see, in her 80s, the Italian star, Lucia Bosè (who sadly succumbed to Covid-19 last year). About the only other professional actor in the cast is the charming Magaly Solier, from Peru, as the young woman who befriends Lucia.
While the film generally falls into the genre of Italian realism, its initial plot of trying to set up a local TV service may seem somewhat preposterous, and one wonders at times just where the story is going, but the fragments do come together by the close. On its way, the film explores the themes of remaining and departing, both one's home and life itself.
Two incidentals - I thought an influence may have been the Argentinian "The Distinguished Citizen", before realising this film was made 3 years before that. Second, at the opening is a superb wisecrack: Life can be divided into three chapters: Revolution, Reflection & Television. It starts with wanting to chage the world, and ends with changing channels. .
This may not be the best film ever, or even at times wholly coherent - but it is worth seeing for the exceptional setting of a village in (or near) Chile's Atacama Desert - the driest on earth - and for the scenes involving the locals (especially the women). Also exceptional is the chance to see, in her 80s, the Italian star, Lucia Bosè (who sadly succumbed to Covid-19 last year). About the only other professional actor in the cast is the charming Magaly Solier, from Peru, as the young woman who befriends Lucia.
While the film generally falls into the genre of Italian realism, its initial plot of trying to set up a local TV service may seem somewhat preposterous, and one wonders at times just where the story is going, but the fragments do come together by the close. On its way, the film explores the themes of remaining and departing, both one's home and life itself.
Two incidentals - I thought an influence may have been the Argentinian "The Distinguished Citizen", before realising this film was made 3 years before that. Second, at the opening is a superb wisecrack: Life can be divided into three chapters: Revolution, Reflection & Television. It starts with wanting to chage the world, and ends with changing channels. .
