The Debt

The Debt (2015) is a drama that delivers a multi-narrative plot to explore how far (or over how many people) someone will go to obtain what they want, whether the reasons are satisfying an appetite for wealth and self-pride or ensuring the well-being of loved ones. The plot details the lives of two Peruvian families (one indigenous and one low-income) and a group of investors from a New York finance corporation.

In the beginning, we are introduced to each group individually. Oliver and Miguel both work for the American finance corporation buying huge proportions of Peruvian agrarian bonds (land debts) for a lot less than the actual price, then to obtain revenue from the actual amount of the debts by negotiating directly with the Peruvian government. Then we have Maria, a low-income nurse whose mother is suffering a treatable, but a painful medical condition. Maria’s economic condition does not allow her to help her mother, especially since treatment is given to those who can pay or to those who have great influence on the system. Finally (but probably the most important), we meet the indigenous farmer Florentino and his family. Florentino has been pressed to agree to sell his land to a Peruvian investor that has promised an agricultural project with stable jobs and possible healthcare to him and the rest of the agrarian community of the Peruvian highlands. Florentino, however, has rejected every single time since giving up his land will mean going back to a serfdom status of the colonial times under the rule of rich landowners.

This Barney Elliott drama movie is also a historical and political work about the agrarian bonds of the twentieth century in Peru which remain unpaid until today. Ancestral land ownership is currently a contested right in many Latin American countries for which agriculture and resource extraction as their main national income source. Historical facts like this one provide this production with a high sense of realism which denounces social injustices and the impact of neo-liberal politics in the lives of the indigenous and the poor, two of the most vulnerable groups in Peruvian/Latin American society. Indigenous people, like Florentino, remember vehemently the huasipungo period when they were slaves of the landowner and see any attempt to take their lands as an attempt to enslave them again. Nevertheless, the history of struggle and resistance of those groups to stop neo-liberal influence (that under their eyes is an imperialist project) is of little importance when American investors (in alliance with local elites) look to profit out of it, as portrayed in the movie. Indeed, Latin American politics, politics that look to decrease social inequality and injustice that come from a shared history of colonialism, are perceived by those US investors as “hearth bleeding politics”, too dramatic, too unrealistic for the free-market politics and interests of the neoliberal project.

Eventually, each of the three sides of this story the characters is challenged to choose a life or death decision that opposes their initial convictions. The farmer Florentino unwillingly gives up his land to Oliver (representing the private corporations) to save his little son's life. After long waiting hours and under the circumstances, the nurse Maria decides to put her mom's life before Florentino's son in her only chance to get medical attention (which will cost the kid his leg).  Finally, the only person left that has the actual power to change repetition of injust enforcements is Oliver. After he finds out that his Peruvian partner and friend died on the highlands looking for the real motivations for taking away the land from the agrarian indigenous community (exploiting the gold mines and not giving them stability and healthcare as promised), Oliver decides to break the chain that could result on a profitable scamming on land prices. "You think they want to help us? We are only cholos indios for them. Do you want to be slaves again?" said once Florentino in Quechua warning his community about selling their land.

Comparing Oliver's thinking at the beginning of the movie to how the plot developed at the end, this movie questions neoliberalism. Oliver talks about free-trade benefits and how the system and social problems of a country are the faults of its people and not the market, thus everyone should follow the project. Politics and economy for the US finance company are black and white, take it or leave it, but as the plot goes on Oliver starts to understand the difficulties of the process and the lives that are getting affected. Undoubtedly this movie has a critical socialist view on the neoliberal ideology. Latin America in that system does not benefit, only serves to the interests of those setting the rules, even though the proposals might seem more promising. Interestingly, however, the Peruvian government is portrayed as highly manipulable. American private corporations have more power and influence than government officials and, of course, the people. Neoliberalism for Latin America is not more than another form of social, political, and economic control, it is neoimperialism. In this case, the vicious change was stopped, but it required the involvement of someone within the power elite, otherwise, Latin America seems too weak to effectively block economic and social issues by itself.

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

This 2004 version of Thornton Wilder's novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey is the only one of three versions that remains true to the original novel's shocking ending. The novel and film are loosely based on the life of Peruvian actress Micaela Villegas (1748-1819), known as "La Perichole", a reference to her mixed Spanish and indigenous blood. She was the mistress of the Peruvian Viceroy Manuel Amat y Juniet from 1761 to 1766. The film, however, focusses little on La Perichole and more on the various other characters whose stories intertwine with hers.

The opening scene depicts Franciscan monk Brother Juniper (Gabriel Byrne) being questioned by the Archbishop of Peru (Robert De Niro) before the Peruvian Viceroy and his court. The questioning regards the book Brother Juniper has written about an event which occurred six years earlier, the collapse of the Bridge of San Luis Rey in the Andes, which sent five seemingly unrelated travellers plunging to their deaths in a deep gorge. The Spanish Inquisition is underway, and Brother Juniper's book has been deemed heretical for its questioning of Fate and God's will. In order to defend himself, Brother Juniper must tell the tale of the Bridge of San Luis Rey, which begins the day that he witnesses the tragedy near his mountainside church. Deeply saddened and intrigued by the seemingly arbitrary nature of these five people's deaths, Brother Juniper takes it upon himself to investigate their stories so that he can find some insight into the workings of God's will. The flashback of Brother Juniper's discoveries begins with the Marquesa Maria de Montemayor, the richest woman in all of Peru. She is a lonely old woman, obsessed with a daughter who has abandoned her for a husband in the court of Spain. She manipulates the Viceroy's court in Peru and participates in the most vicious gossip, all for the sake of her daughter's praise, as she sinks deeper into a lonely, alcohol-numbed existence. In order to alleviate her pain, she asks the Archbishop of Peru to find her a companion. He promptly bribes the Abbess of a convent to provide the Marquesa with a young girl, Pepita, who will live with the Marquesa and help her around the house. One of the Marquesa's favourite pastimes is going to the theatre, where the famous actress La Perrichole is the star attraction. La Perrichole is under the tutelage of the theatre's manager, the nefarious but benign Uncle Pio, who has dedicated himself to making her a star. Part of this process has included his encouragement of her affair with the Viceroy, who in return for her attentions provides the theatre with generous patronage. La Perrichole has a secret lover on the side, a handsome matador to whom she sends letters dictated to her scribe Manuel, a silent young man who shares his silence and his identity with his inseparable twin brother Esteban. One day, Manuel and Esteban are unloading a ship at the harbour for a Spanish captain, Alvarado, when Manuel's leg is gravely injured. Despite Esteban's care, Manuel's leg becomes gangrenous and eventually kills him. Esteban's consequent depression leads him to quit his job as La Perrichole's scribe and try to commit suicide. Captain Alvarado arrives just in time to save Esteban from his death, and takes Esteban under his wing, giving him a job on his ship for his next trip to Spain.

We return to La Perrichole's story, in which she and the Viceroy are attending a bullfight together. The matador, her secret lover, publicly pronounces his passion for La Perrichole, causing the Viceroy to be humiliated. That night, at the theatre, the Marquesa angers La Perrichole by acting shamelessly bored in front of all the Royal Court; La Perrichole responds by publicly making fun of the Marquesa. The Viceroy takes this opportunity to avenge himself for his humiliation by ordering La Perrichole to make a public apology to the Marquesa wearing the rags of shame. When she goes to the Marquesa's palace to apologize the following day, La Perrichole is surprised to discover that the Marquesa has had an epiphany, in which she repents from her scheming ways and apologizes to La Perrichole. La Perrichole's relief is fleeting, however, as she soon discovers she is pregnant with the Viceroy's child. The Viceroy arranges for her to live in a villa high up in the Andes until the child is born. Her absence causes Uncle Pio a great deal of sadness; not only has he lost his beloved protegee, but without her his theatre suffers. Once she has had the child, little Don Jaime, Uncle Pio repeatedly visits her and tries to convince her to return, but La Perrichola has accepted her lonely fate away from the public eye. The situation worsens when an outbreak of smallpox infects her and disfigures her loveliness; she escapes the villa and goes to live alone in the mountains with her son, hoping never to see anyone ever again. A few years later, Uncle Pio finds her and convinces her to let him take young Don Jaime back to Lima, where he can be educated and properly cared for by Uncle Pio.

The final and fateful day of the collapse of the Bridge of San Luis Rey arrives as the destinies of all these characters come together. Uncle Pio is returning from La Perrichola's hideout in the Andes with the little child Jaime on his back. The lonely Esteban, who has spent a few days up at Captain Alvarado's house in the mountains, is returning to Lima to embark upon his journey to Spain. La Marquesa is returning from a pilgrimage to Brother Juniper's church in the mountains, where she has travelled to beg God for forgiveness of her past misdeeds, with Pepita in tow. The Marquesa, Pepita, Esteban, Uncle Pio, and little Jaime step onto the bridge, and before Brother Juniper's eyes, plunge to their deaths as the ropes of the bridge break. The flashback ends, bringing us back to the interrogation of Brother Juniper by the Archbishop. The Archbishop denounces his writings as heretical, as the "work of the devil", because Brother Juniper's close search for a historical, mathematical proof of God demonstrates doubt of God. This absurd accusation is supported by all those in the court, including the Viceroy. La Perrichole is brought in to testify for Brother Juniper, but the smallpox that has disfigured her face causes the Viceroy to refuse to acknowledge her identity, making her testimony useless. The Archbishop condemns Brother Juniper to be burned at the stake, with all the copies of his book, "The Bridge of San Luis Rey".

The film was shot on location in Spain, despite its setting being Peru. The focus is on the elaborate power structure of the Spanish colonial system, on the lavish and exaggerated lifestyles of the power-hungry Spanish elites. These elites are portrayed as ridiculous, pompous, and stupid. The Viceroy and his aides are hedonistic and decadent wig-wearing fools, who care little for the proper governance of the colony and more about entertaining themselves. The Marquesa is a fat, desperate and lonely woman who uses her obscene wealth to gain favour in the court. Uncle Pio and La Perrichole, who are lower on the hierarchical ladder of the colony, will do anything to be accepted by these elites, even betray themselves. The costumes in the film, which were praised by critics (the only thing praised by critics) are luxurious and exaggerated, demonstrating the wealth and decadence of the ruling elites. Only Brother Juniper lies outside this struggle for social status; he lives a frugal life among the natives, tending to his church. His good deeds are denounced by the Church, which opposes his education of the natives and his challenge of the Church's corruption. In the colonial system, climbing the social ladder and gaining prestige is of the utmost importance, and goodness is squashed under the quest for power.

It seems that the deaths of the repentant Marquesa, the kind Pepita, the suffering Esteban, the benevolent Uncle Pio, the innocent little Jaime, and the holy Brother Juniper prove that in colonial Peru, goodness can't survive. The good are taken up to heaven, where they are free from the evils of their fellow men. Colonial Peru is a place for wicked men to play their petty games and pay for them with boredom, desperation, and sickness. Brother Juniper's search for God's will reveals that God rewards those who are good, who repent for their sins and help others, by removing them from the cruel world, while leaving the power-hungry to their wicked lives on earth. The manipulation of religious faith by the Archbishop and the Viceroyalty as a means of achieving political power shows their godlessness, a godlessness that permeates the air of colonial Peru.

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

The Bridge of San Luis Rey is loosely based on the life of Micaela Villegas (1748-1819), the famous Peruvian actress nicknamed "La Perichole" or, in Spanish, "La Perrichola," meaning "half-blood bitch." She was the mistress of the Viceroy of Spain from 1761-1776, Manuel de Amat y Juniet. Their son, Manuel de Amat y Villegas, was one of the signers of Peru’s declaration of independence from Spain on July 28, 1821. Her story is the basis for Prosper Mérimée’s comic novella Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement.

Benedict Boegaeus's 1944 version of Villegas's story begins with the collapse of a rope bridge in the Peruvian Andes, which sends the five people who were crossing it plunging to their deaths. Franciscan priest Brother Juniper, whose chapel is nearby, sets out to discover the true story of all those who perished. His quest brings him to Lima, where he sits down with the well-loved Uncle Pio, director of the Lima theatre and close friend of the Viceroy, to get the facts.

The flashback begins with Uncle Pio's adoption of a poor, young Micaela as his protegée in the theatre. He trains her meticulously and she becomes a big star and a favourite of the Viceroy. Meanwhile, her jealous childhood sweetheart Manuel has made her promise to wait for him as he leaves on a sea voyage to Spain. As Micaela grows in the people's and the Viceroy's favour, Uncle Pio manipulates the situation so that she is invited to the Viceroy's court. She is criticized and abused by the women of the court, and leaves in a huff. Eventually, however, the Viceroy wins her over and asks her to be a member of his court. She leaves the theatre and the brokenhearted Uncle Pio to live in the luxury of the Viceroy's Palace. Her only friend among the aristocracy in Lima is a rich Marquesa; but in reality, the Marquesa is manipulating her and the Viceroy in order to undermine the Viceroy's power and put her own daughter's husband in power. When Micaela finds out, she denounces the Marquesa in front of the court. Much to her surprise, the Viceroy, who is in love with her, condemns her actions and orders her to publicly beg the Marquesa's forgiveness. It is here that he calls her "Perrichola," which she takes as a deep insult.

When she apologizes to the Marquesa, Micaela is surprised to discover that the Marquesa has repented from her scheming, evil ways after witnessing her servant, a kind girl from the convent named Pepita, praying for her salvation. Following this confrontation, Manuel suddenly returns from Madrid and sneaks into Micaela's royal apartments to beg her to come back to him. The Viceroy catches the two young lovers red-handed, and he and Manuel challenge each other over Micaela. The Viceroy arrests Manuel, then asks Micaela to marry him. She refuses. Afraid that his anger at her refusal endangers Manuel's life, she goes to Uncle Pio and begs him to help Manuel escape from prison, which he does. When the Viceroy questions Pio about the escape, Pio convinces him to sign a pardon in order to prevent the people making a martyr out of Manuel. Pio then takes the pardon to Manuel, who is hiding on the other side of the Bridge of San Luis Rey. Pio and Manuel plan to meet Micaela a few days later at the bridge, where she is accompanying the Viceroy as he visits the hospital at Brother Juniper's Chapel. They travel with the Marquesa, Pepita, and Esteban, the Marquesa's scribe who also happens to be Manuel's twin brother. On the last fateful afternoon, the Viceroy crosses the bridge and steps into the chapel courtyard. As the Marquesa, Pepita, Manuel, and the Viceroy's aide begin to follow him, an Indian steps on as well. The ropes break and the five poor souls fall to their deaths. Micaela, who was just about to step on the bridge, is saved from falling by Manuel and Pio.

This adaptation of Villegas's story portrays colonial Peru in all its lavish grandeur and wealth. The Viceroy and his court are dressed in pompous eighteenth-century garb, with the women in Spanish-style gowns and veils. They entertain themselves by watching flamenco and drinking the King of Spain's wine. The Viceroy seems to concern himself little with the affairs of the colony, refusing his aides' insistence that he address them properly and instead continuing with his frivolous activities. Uncle Pio uses his favour with the Viceroy to influence him in policies that benefit the people, such as giving miners higher wages. The indigenous people are depicted as a "simple, friendly" folk, who are marginalized by society and deal only with the kind Brother Juniper. High Peruvian society is made up of pure Spaniards, who scorn the half-blood Micaela for her humble beginnings.

The film emphasizes the line between good and bad, right and wrong, but allows repentance and forgiveness to save all the characters from their humanity. The Catholic trust in God and his ever-forgiving goodness that characterized the Spanish belief system mingles with a questioning of God's intentions and workings on earth. In the end, it is accepted that God works in mysterious ways, and has His own reasons for allowing representatives of every level of colonial Peruvian society - an Indian, a lowly maid, a scribe, a Marquesa, and the Viceroy's top aide - to perish in a freak accident while saving Micaela and the others. God does not discriminate between races and classes as the Spanish do, explains Brother Juniper. In the end, all men are subject to God's power.

Lima

Lima in 1944, as envisaged by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs:



Via Cinencuentro.

Here's part two and part three.