Even the Rain/También La Lluvia, based on an earlier television series developed by writer Paul Laverty and historian Howard Zinn that never aired, illuminates the too often ignored links between historical and contemporary people’s struggles against empire in Latin America.
Two filmmakers arrive in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 2000 to shoot a movie about the enslavement and genocide that Columbus perpetrated among indigenous Americans in his search for riches and power 500 years ago.
Ironically, the filmmakers choose Bolivia because it is Latin America’s poorest country and thus cheapest place to film. Rather than finding passive actors willing to work for very little, however, they become witness to an uprising of the local, largely indigenous population against a World Bank-backed plan to privatize the city’s water supply and sell it to a consortium that includes a multinational corporation based in the U.S.
The film includes real and fictional archival footage of the Bolivian Water War which actually occurred in April of 2000, depicting the protests, the government crackdown, and the ultimate victory of the locals.
Trailer
This film is currently available at Netflix.
There’s a document put together by some Spanish Dominicans that puts the work of Montesinos and Las Casas in historical context. I think it complements this movie quite nicely. It includes questions at the end of each section intended for religious reflection, which wouldn’t work for many people, but the extensive quotations from primary sources are invaluable! I hope it’s okay to share this. http://www.dominicos.org/kit_upload/file/especial-montesino/Fichas-del-V-centenario-ingles.pdf
Fantastic movie, BTW. I would love to be able to show it to local community groups. As you know, what was done in Cochabamba is planned for Detroit and coming soon to a city near you.
Excellent and powerful film by the same writer who did Bread and Roses. Perfect film to use for teaching about Columbus Day and/or political activism.