Canoa: A Shameful Memory

Cazals first creates the impression of maximum documentary objectivism (a static camera into which people look, informative subtitles) in order to ridicule the trust with which we observe reality. In the scenes with students, he completely impartially uses the shot/countershot technique and often films faces in close-up. Sometimes, as if inadvertently, he has a direct participant in the events step out of that role and become a witness (commentator) to what is happening. He thus almost imperceptibly observes how easy it is to believe one or the other side of a conflict and fall prey to deception. The acknowledged cinematic nature of the film is in sharp contrast to the unglamourised violence, which is generally very disturbing in Latin American films, but is doubly so here due to its groundlessness. What outwardly appears to be a conscientious reconstruction of a particular event is in reality a clever way to push us into powerful emotional engagement and, at the same time, to show us why we should handle our emotions more carefully. 85% (05/24/2011)