(This article is not an artistic or entertainment review but the first stage in the collaborative production of an academic paper on "Una sombra al frente". All documents in the academia.wikia can be seen as contributing to that process -of "logically testing hypotheses")
UK premiere of Peruvian film at Latin American Film Festival[]
Following its successful debut in Paris the latest film from Peruvian director Augusto Tamayo was shown at the Odeon, Panton Street, Leicester Square, London, Friday evening 23/11/07. "Una sombra al frente" is the second in the project of Tamayo's films dealing with critical themes in Peruvian history. The previous was "El bien esquivo / the elusive good" which deals with the anxiety felt when what is aspired to is not achievable and with identity in the (XVII cent.) process of cultural mestizaje. "... El guión busca poner de manifesto un espíritu de angustia contenida, una sensación de desasosiego existencial, que se expresa cuando algo que aspiramos se nos va, la sensación de que las cosas que anhelamos se nos escapan, que no podemos alcanzarlas. También toca el tema de la identidad, el cual representa uno de los grandes problemas de nuestro país..."(Note 1).
"Una sombra al frente" is a biographical study (of Tamayo's grandfather) set in the context of "positivist modernisation" following the collapse and destruction of the War of the Pacific. The protagonist, played by Diego Bertie (Note 2) is an engineer inheriting his father's profession. His aspiration is to unite, by road, coastal and Andean Peru with the Selva (the eastern jungle) - then only accessible by water / steamship via Brazil - at a time of expanding economic interest in the tropical part of Peru. His career is frustrated by corruption or nepotism in the Peruvian State but he does achieve "unification" of Iquitos and Lima through construction of one of the earliest spark transmitters. A Peruvian first which itself is frustrated by the entreguismo (selling off) of the telecomunications net to a foreign company.
Not usually included in the historical series (because it is not considered a largo metraje and has a relatively recent setting) is Tamayo's adaptation (Note 3) of "La Agonía de Rasu Ñiti" by José María Arguedas (Note 4). It is interesting to contrast the two stories, the one quintessentially Andean and the other modernist, but both exhibiting a nobility of spirit which cuts across racial and class dividing lines - and both involving a ritual transfer on death (the power of the danzante / Andean culture and the power of coastal supremacy - guns, rail, roadmaking).
Notes[]
(Note 1)El bien esquivo - the elusive good "... El guión busca poner de manifesto un espíritu de angustia contenida, una sensación de desasosiego existencial, que se expresa cuando algo que aspiramos se nos va, la sensación de que las cosas que anhelamos se nos escapan, que no podemos alcanzarlas. También toca el tema de la identidad, el cual representa uno de los grandes problemas de nuestro país...". (Ref: Augusto Tamayo, Director - http://argos.com.pe/elbienesquivo/principal.htm)
(Note 2)To some extent this echoes his recent (type-casted?) role in Bolivian film-director Antonio Eguino's "Los Andes no creen en Dios".
(Note 3)"Produjo y dirigió una gran cantidad de cortometrajes, novelas y videos, destacándose "La Agonía de Rasu Ñiti", adaptación del cuento de José María Arguedas". (Ref: http://www.aldeacultural.com/cinelatino/cineper/perudir3ac.htm)
(Note 4) "las observaciones de Arguedas constituyen la única descripción autorizada del baile en el contexto rural, a diferencia de las recientes observaciones etnográficas que describen su ejecución en el contexto urbano. En este conjunto de referencias, Arguedas dedica el cuento completo «La agonía de Rasu-Ñiti» a la danza y relata con minuciosidad la práctica de un ritual de muerte relacionado con otro ritual de iniciación." (Ref: http://www.alternativabolivariana.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1365)
(Note 5) The trailer and TV spot for "Una sombra al frente" can be embedded using the following codes (not yet functioning on this page / awaiting cpoyright approval).
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<embed src=" http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/32vRN6fYsq79ie64n" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="356" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed>
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<a href=" http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x200jb_trailer-de-una-sombra-al-frente_blog">Trailer de "Una sombra al frente"</a>
Uploaded by <a href=" http://www.dailymotion.com/cinencuentro">cinencuentro </div>
Other references[]
http://www.cinencuentro.com/una-sombra-al-frente/
http://www.dailymotion.com/related/3359927/video/x32npp_una-sombra-al-frente_fun