Bolivia (2001)
Freddy emigrates to Buenos Aires in search of a more prosperous life. In his native country, Bolivia, he left his family. But the capital of Argentina is not the paradise he dreamed of, and much less for illegal immigrants like himself. But even with that, he gets a job as a griller in a restaurant.
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Admirable film.
If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
This movie seemed slow and unimpressive at the beginning. As the movie progressed, however, its true depth was evident. It is a true representation of the life of an immigrant in a foreign community filled with prejudice, but it is not the stereotypical coming to America story. Freddy, an illegal immigrant in Argentina, struggling to support his family back in Bolivia slowly, and almost silently, wins the hearts of the audience and the story shines through despite the strange camera angles and the footage being in black and white. The majority of the film takes place around the bar in the small corner café and the prejudice is evident in almost every interaction, be it in the soccer game on TV or in the face to face encounters that happen across the bar. In the final scene, after Freddy's death, the bar owner simply replaces his 'help wanted' sign, showing that to him Freddy was nothing more than a means to an end and is easily replaced.
Adrián Caetano presents an interesting twist on the story of immigration. Instead of the typical poor worker from South America struggling to cross the border and survive in the United States, we get a different perspective with immigration within South American countries. This topic is very under-represented in the media although in reality it happens quite frequently. Also highlighted in this film is the racial discrimination that is all too prevalent throughout South America. The main character Freddy struggles to win the respect of the Argentine customers of the café that he works at.Artistically filmed in black and white, the characters seem frozen in time and very distanced from the audience. It's as if we are watching it all play out on a documentary running on the History Channel. An interesting aspect is the television that is constantly showing some soccer game, usually between Argentina and Bolivia, symbolizing the hostility between the two countries that are forced to coexist within the café.
Bolivia is filmed entirely in black and white, contains almost no score, and 90% of it takes place in the same setting - a quaint, run-down café frequented by Argentinian regulars.It sounds slow but captivates for the entirety of its short duration. The movie follows an illegal immigrant, Freddy, who is trying to make his way in the country as he struggles to deal with intolerant locals. He supports a family back home and wants them to join him in Buenos Aires when he saves up enough money.The film delivers a powerful message about xenophobia and poverty in South America in the modern era. Despite its short length, it is one of my favorite foreign films to date.
Xenophobia in the third world. Can you believe that. Caetano is possibly the most interesting Argentine director of the 2000s. There is no heros here. Only good characters in a interesting urban collage. Short and entertaining. 8/10