WORLD TOUR Day 55 - Chile
BEFORE: We survived the hurricane unscathed, but it seems like parts of Manhattan weren't so lucky. Parts are under water, parts are without power, and the subways aren't running, which means I've probably got another couple of days off. I can't work if I can't get to the office, but I can finish my tour of notable war zones around the world. Tonight's history lesson is the 1973 coup in Chile, where the U.S. military and C.I.A. apparently sabotaged the campaign of President Allende and supported the junta of General Pinochet. I'm sure there were no long-term ill effects from those political maneuvers, right?
Linking from "Master and Commander", James D'Arcy was also in a film called "An American Haunting" with Sissy Spacek (last seen in "Four Christmases"). That's the best I've got at this point.
THE PLOT: When an idealistic writer disappears during the Right Wing military coup in 1973 Chile, his wife and American businessman father try to find him.
AFTER: Much like "The Killing Fields", this isn't really a film one watches to feel good, or for mindless entertainment. It's an important film, sure, and may have great insight on the historical events of 1973, but the lack of entertainment value will unfortunately be reflected in my rating.
Oddly, I'm also reminded of "The Hangover Part II", since a main character is missing, perhaps dead, and his friends and family have to retrace his steps and figure out where he might be. But that was a comedy and this is a tragedy, to use Shakespearean terms. And the difference between Shakespeare's comedies and tragedies was usually the body count.
I'm also reminded of events from the last few years where Americans have disappeared in foreign countries - sometimes because they're drunk college girls on spring break, but sometimes because they're American reporters or writers who got too close to the truth. Which leads to the question "Why are they there?", but that sort of answers itself.
But the film suffers from a lot of nothing happening. Once the missing man's father turns up and comes into conflict with the man's wife, there's no real story arc. There's a character arc as they're drawn together, united by the search, but no turning points, no plot developments until the end. You can argue dramatic tension, or you can view it as a whole lot of nothing.
The score is by Vangelis, who I meant to mention the other day, since he also composed the score for "The Bounty". His new-age music was completely inappropriate for a film set in late 1700's Tahiti, but works somewhat better here in a more modern tale, helping to set the tense mood. You can tell both films were made around the same time due to Vangelis' popularity - he was hot after composing music for "Chariots of Fire" and "Blade Runner". I used to listen to a particular album of his, "Opera Sauvage" in college when I had trouble sleeping. This was around the time that a song from that album, "Hymne" was being used in a wine commercial - but he seems to have dropped off everyone's radar at some point in the late 80's.
Now that I'm back in the Americas, I'm gearing up for my end-game, the final films of the year. I've got a path up through South and Central America all mapped out, all the way back to San Francisco.
Also starring Jack Lemmon (last seen in "The Front Page"), John Shea (last seen in "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid"), Melanie Mayron (last seen in "Clockstoppers"), David Clennon (last seen in "Flags of Our Fathers"), Joe Regalbuto.
DISTANCE TRAVELED TODAY: 2,596 miles / 4,178 km (Galapagos Islands to Santiago, Chile)
DISTANCE TRAVELED SO FAR: 38,233 miles / 61,535 km
RATING: 3 out of 10 military "advisors"
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