ASSIGNMENT/SHORT ESSAY #5: Even the Rain

INTRO
If Ciro Alegría’s Embrace of the Serpent offered a rather metaphorical and even hallucinogenic critique of colonialism and the way European cultures mythologize, Even the Rain grabs the bull by the horns and offers a far more direct attack on these cultural perceptions, the forces that encourage them and the impact of globalization on these communities.
Directed by Spanish filmmaker Icíar Bollaín and written by her partner Paul Laverty (a frequent collaborator of British filmmaker Ken Loach, responsible for such socially-committed films as Bread and Roses, the story of the efforts of two Latina sisters to unionize their fellow workers), Even the Rain is, at first, about the production in Bolivia of a film epic critical of Christopher Columbus while protests over water rights are taking place (protests that led to the election of Evo Morales).
ASSIGNMENT
Even the Rain not only engages in a critique of film representations of our culture but is also the type of socially committed film that came out of Latin America in the 60s and 70s. For this assignment, I want you to explore how that tension between both manifests itself throughout the film. As usual, pick up to two scenes to defend your thesis.
Also: read Alfredo Martínez-Expósito’s essay on Even the Rain; it offers great background info on the film as well as context.
700 Words