Even the Rain
Encyclopedia
Even the Rain is a 2010 Spanish drama film
directed by Icíar Bollaín
about Spanish director Sebastián (Gael García Bernal
) and executive producer Costa (Luis Tosar
) who travel to Bolivia
to shoot a film depicting Christopher Columbus
’s conquest. Sebastián and Costa unexpectedly land themselves in a moral crisis when they and their crew arrive at Cochabamba
, Bolivia
during the intensifying 2000 Cochabamba protests
, which their key, native actor Daniel (Juan Carlos Aduviri) persistently leads. The film was directed by Icíar Bollaín
, based on a screenplay by Paul Laverty
.
The film received nominations and won awards internationally, including an Ariel Award
for Best Ibero-American Film and three Goya Awards
, one of which was Best Original Score for the work of Alberto Iglesias
. Additionally, the film was nominated as Spain’s entry for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
.
) and his executive producer Costa (Luis Tosar
) arrive in Cochabamba
, Bolivia
accompanied by a cast and crew, prepared to create a film depicting Columbus's first voyage to the New World
, the imposition of Columbus’s will upon the natives, and the subsequent indigenous rebellion. Cognizant of his limited budget, producer Costa (Luis Tosar
) elects to film in Bolivia
, the poorest country in South America
. There, impoverished locals are thrilled to earn just two dollars a day as extras in the film, and willingly engage in physical labor for set preparation. Costa saves many thousands of dollars by having underpaid extras perform tasks meant to be completed by experienced engineers.
Sebastián casts a local man named Daniel (Juan Carlos Aduviri) in the role of Atuey
, the Taíno chief who led a rebellion against the Europeans. At that time, Sebastián is unaware that Daniel leads impassioned demonstrations against water privatization
as agreed to by the Bolivian government. Filming begins smoothly despite the alcoholism of actor Antón, (Karra Elejalde) cast as Colón, but when Costa observes Daniel’s revolutionary involvement he grows uneasy. Daniel agrees with Costa to stop protesting, but heedlessly continues and sustains facial wounds in a clash with the police. At this point, Costa bribes Daniel with thousands of dollars to wait for filming to conclude before participating in the rebellion again. Daniel agrees, accepting the money, but remains active in the protests, eventually bloodied and imprisoned. Sebastián experiences moral conflict and begins to doubt the likelihood of the film’s completion, but is reassured by Costa who bribes the police for Daniel’s temporary release in order to film a key movie scene. Upon this scene’s completion, police arrive in the Bolivian jungle to once again detain Daniel but are besieged by the film’s extras and Daniel escapes.
That night when starring actors Juan and Alberto see the latest news reports showing war-like violence in Cochabamba, they become worried to the extent that they demand to leave. Sebastián begs that they stay and they hesitantly agree. The next day, as the cast and crew prepare to depart for filming, Costa encounters Daniel’s wife Teresa who hysterically cries for transportation to a Cochabamba hospital where her injured daughter Belén is housed with a serious leg wound. Teresa’s persistence wins over Costa’s conscience, and he surprisingly abandons the crew in order to save Belén. After an obstacle-laden drive through riotous Cochabamba, Belén’s life is preserved, but her leg does not fully heal. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew is stopped by a military blockade and all except Antón leave Sebastián to journey home. The revolution ends shortly thereafter with the departure of the multinational water company, but the Cochabamba is left in ruin from the conflict. Costa expresses hope that the film will be finished after all, and Daniel emotionally presents him with a vial of Bolivian water in appreciation for his life-saving efforts.
, then debuted during October of the same year in the USA (Los Angeles, California
), Britain (London Film Festival
), and Spain (Valladolid Film Festival). It made its French debut at the Les Arcs International Film Festival in December 2010. It was screened in the Main Programme of the Panorama section at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival
and additionally during the 2011 Sydney Film Festival.
which also stars Luis Tosar
, as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
category at the 83rd Academy Awards
. In January 2011, it landed a spot on the list of the top nine films in its category. However, it was not selected to be among the final five films nominated for the Oscar.
Latin ACE Awards
, but some critics pointed out potential hypocrisy as a shortcoming. Roger Ebert
admires the filmmakers’ courage in choosing the Bolivian water crisis as subject matter, but notes potential hypocrisy, writing, “…at the end I looked in vain for a credit saying, ‘No extras were underpaid in the making of this film.’” New York Times writer Stephen Holden
also raises this concern, asserting, “You can’t help but wonder to what degree its makers exploited the extras recruited to play 16th-century Indians.” Also, Holden addresses Costa’s transformation, writing, “Mr. Tosar goes as far as he can to make the character’s change of heart believable, but he can’t accomplish the impossible.” Contrarily, Marshall Fine
of the Huffington Post views Tosar’s efforts as praiseworthy, calling him “perfect as the producer: bull-headed, charming, conniving and wheedling when he needs to be – but a man with a vision, who ultimately gets his mind changed. Tosar makes his conflict not only credible but palpable.” Praising the film overall, Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post calls Even the Rain “a story in which personal connections can transcend even the most crushing structures of history and politics.”
From the 1950s through the 1980s, Bolivia attempted unsuccessfully to curb poverty through “structuralist” measures: government regulation of natural resources
. As a result, the nation acquired a reputation for ineffective self-management and, accordingly, the World Bank
and IMF heavily influenced the Bolivian government to outsource public goods. Evidencing this influence, the IMF approved a $138 million loan to Bolivia for economic growth, but under the condition that Bolivia agreed to outsource “all remaining public enterprises,” including Cochabamba’s water agency. Thus, the Bolivian government auctioned off rights to its water system; the sole bidder Aguas del Tunari, a subsidiary of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corporation, agreed to a forty-year contract with the Bolivian government in October 1999. By January 2000 it had assumed total control over the Bolivian water supply. After just one month, Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, experienced 200-300 percent increases to water prices under Aguas del Tunari, and protest ensued.
, take a more top-heavy approach to the subject matter, centering instead on corporative executives’ tyranny. Similarly, Abuela Grillo, an animated short-film created at the The Animation Workshop
in Viborg
, Denmark
, cinematically exposes the corporations’ villainy, through juxtaposing animated appearances of desperate Bolivians with autonomous, wealthy business executives. This short-film depicts the riot between the citizenry and the law enforcement in Bolivia
with many elements also present in Even the Rain: teargas, riot gear, and overturned vehicles. The animation differs though in lacking gore such as the video of Victor Hugo Daza
, a 17-year old boy murdered in the riot, which is displayed in Even the Rain and documentaries including The Corporation (film) and an installment of TV news journal NOW on PBS presented by Bill Moyers
(clips available here). The aforementioned documentaries, in the spirit of documentary film, present many actual clips of the protests, both peaceful and violent. In Even the Rain, several clips contained in these documentaries are incorporated through newscasts viewed by the filmmakers.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Icíar Bollaín
Icíar Bollaín
Icíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez is a Spanish actress, director and writer.Her father was an aeronautical engineer and her mother was a music teacher. She made her début when she was 15 years old. She is a member of the Academia Española de Cinematografía.She began her work in cinema at the age of...
about Spanish director Sebastián (Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
) and executive producer Costa (Luis Tosar
Luis Tosar
Luis Tosar is a Galician actor and musician.-Biography:Born in Lugo, Galicia, Spain on 13th October 1971, he is best known internationally for his villain role in Miami Vice and the role in the upcoming horror film Flatmate, which is directed by Jaume Balagueró.-Selected filmography:*1998 Atilano...
) who travel to Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
to shoot a film depicting Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
’s conquest. Sebastián and Costa unexpectedly land themselves in a moral crisis when they and their crew arrive at Cochabamba
Cochabamba
Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
during the intensifying 2000 Cochabamba protests
2000 Cochabamba protests
The Cochabamba protests of 2000, also known as the "Cochabamba Water Wars", were a series of protests that took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia's third largest city, between January 1999 and April 2000 in response to multinational participation in the infrastructure and management of the city's...
, which their key, native actor Daniel (Juan Carlos Aduviri) persistently leads. The film was directed by Icíar Bollaín
Icíar Bollaín
Icíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez is a Spanish actress, director and writer.Her father was an aeronautical engineer and her mother was a music teacher. She made her début when she was 15 years old. She is a member of the Academia Española de Cinematografía.She began her work in cinema at the age of...
, based on a screenplay by Paul Laverty
Paul Laverty
Paul Laverty is a Scottish lawyer and scriptwriter.-Birth and early career:Paul Laverty was born in Calcutta, India, to an Irish mother and Scottish father. He obtained a Philosophy degree at the Gregorian University in Rome...
.
The film received nominations and won awards internationally, including an Ariel Award
Ariel Award
The Ariel is the Mexican Academy of Film Award. It has been awarded annually since 1947. The award recognizes excellence in motion picture making, such as acting, directing and screenwriting in Mexican cinema. It is considered the most prestigious award in the Mexican movie industry.- History :The...
for Best Ibero-American Film and three Goya Awards
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards, known in Spanish as los Premios Goya, are Spain's main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards....
, one of which was Best Original Score for the work of Alberto Iglesias
Alberto Iglesias
Alberto Iglesias Fernández-Berridi is a Spanish composer. He wrote the music for several Spanish films, mostly from Pedro Almodóvar...
. Additionally, the film was nominated as Spain’s entry for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
.
Plot
Spanish filmmaker Sebastián (Gael García BernalGael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
) and his executive producer Costa (Luis Tosar
Luis Tosar
Luis Tosar is a Galician actor and musician.-Biography:Born in Lugo, Galicia, Spain on 13th October 1971, he is best known internationally for his villain role in Miami Vice and the role in the upcoming horror film Flatmate, which is directed by Jaume Balagueró.-Selected filmography:*1998 Atilano...
) arrive in Cochabamba
Cochabamba
Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
accompanied by a cast and crew, prepared to create a film depicting Columbus's first voyage to the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, the imposition of Columbus’s will upon the natives, and the subsequent indigenous rebellion. Cognizant of his limited budget, producer Costa (Luis Tosar
Luis Tosar
Luis Tosar is a Galician actor and musician.-Biography:Born in Lugo, Galicia, Spain on 13th October 1971, he is best known internationally for his villain role in Miami Vice and the role in the upcoming horror film Flatmate, which is directed by Jaume Balagueró.-Selected filmography:*1998 Atilano...
) elects to film in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, the poorest country in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. There, impoverished locals are thrilled to earn just two dollars a day as extras in the film, and willingly engage in physical labor for set preparation. Costa saves many thousands of dollars by having underpaid extras perform tasks meant to be completed by experienced engineers.
Sebastián casts a local man named Daniel (Juan Carlos Aduviri) in the role of Atuey
Hatuey
Hatuey was a Taíno Cacique from the island of Hispaniola who lived in the early sixteenth century. He has attained legendary status for leading a group of natives in a fight against the invading Spaniards, and thus becoming the second fighter against colonialism in the New World after Anacaona...
, the Taíno chief who led a rebellion against the Europeans. At that time, Sebastián is unaware that Daniel leads impassioned demonstrations against water privatization
Water privatization in Bolivia
The privatization of water supply and sanitation in Bolivia took place during the second mandate of Bolivian President Hugo Banzer in the form of two major private concessions: One in La Paz/El Alto to Aguas de Illimani S.A...
as agreed to by the Bolivian government. Filming begins smoothly despite the alcoholism of actor Antón, (Karra Elejalde) cast as Colón, but when Costa observes Daniel’s revolutionary involvement he grows uneasy. Daniel agrees with Costa to stop protesting, but heedlessly continues and sustains facial wounds in a clash with the police. At this point, Costa bribes Daniel with thousands of dollars to wait for filming to conclude before participating in the rebellion again. Daniel agrees, accepting the money, but remains active in the protests, eventually bloodied and imprisoned. Sebastián experiences moral conflict and begins to doubt the likelihood of the film’s completion, but is reassured by Costa who bribes the police for Daniel’s temporary release in order to film a key movie scene. Upon this scene’s completion, police arrive in the Bolivian jungle to once again detain Daniel but are besieged by the film’s extras and Daniel escapes.
That night when starring actors Juan and Alberto see the latest news reports showing war-like violence in Cochabamba, they become worried to the extent that they demand to leave. Sebastián begs that they stay and they hesitantly agree. The next day, as the cast and crew prepare to depart for filming, Costa encounters Daniel’s wife Teresa who hysterically cries for transportation to a Cochabamba hospital where her injured daughter Belén is housed with a serious leg wound. Teresa’s persistence wins over Costa’s conscience, and he surprisingly abandons the crew in order to save Belén. After an obstacle-laden drive through riotous Cochabamba, Belén’s life is preserved, but her leg does not fully heal. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew is stopped by a military blockade and all except Antón leave Sebastián to journey home. The revolution ends shortly thereafter with the departure of the multinational water company, but the Cochabamba is left in ruin from the conflict. Costa expresses hope that the film will be finished after all, and Daniel emotionally presents him with a vial of Bolivian water in appreciation for his life-saving efforts.
Cast
- Luis TosarLuis TosarLuis Tosar is a Galician actor and musician.-Biography:Born in Lugo, Galicia, Spain on 13th October 1971, he is best known internationally for his villain role in Miami Vice and the role in the upcoming horror film Flatmate, which is directed by Jaume Balagueró.-Selected filmography:*1998 Atilano...
as Costa, executive producer in the movie - Gael García BernalGael García BernalGael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
as Sebastián, director in the movie - Juan Carlos Aduviri as Daniel, Bolivian native cast as AtueyHatueyHatuey was a Taíno Cacique from the island of Hispaniola who lived in the early sixteenth century. He has attained legendary status for leading a group of natives in a fight against the invading Spaniards, and thus becoming the second fighter against colonialism in the New World after Anacaona...
- Karra Elejalde as Antón, alcoholic Spanish actor cast as ColónChristopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
- Raúl ArévaloRaúl ArévaloRaúl Arévalo is a Spanish film actor, best known by international audiences for his role in the film Summer Rain, directed by Antonio Banderas.-Career:...
as Juan, Spanish actor cast as MontesinosAntonio de Montesinos (Dominican friar)Antonio de Montesinos was a Spanish Dominican friar on the island of Hispaniola who, with the backing of his prior, Fray Pedro de Córdoba and his Dominican community at Santo Dominigo, preached against the enslavement and harsh treatment of the Indigenous peoples of the Island... - Carlos Santos as Alberto, Spanish actor cast as Las CasasBartolomé de Las CasasBartolomé de las Casas O.P. was a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians"...
- Cassandra Ciangherotti as María, assistant director to Sebastián
- Milena Soliz as Belén, Daniel’s daughter cast as Panuca in the movie
- Leónidas Chiri as Teresa, Bolivian native and Daniel’s wife
Release
The film premiered on September 16, 2010 at the Toronto International Film FestivalToronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
, then debuted during October of the same year in the USA (Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
), Britain (London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
), and Spain (Valladolid Film Festival). It made its French debut at the Les Arcs International Film Festival in December 2010. It was screened in the Main Programme of the Panorama section at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival
61st Berlin International Film Festival
The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 10 to February 20, 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film True Grit opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total during the event, to 20,000 attendees from 116...
and additionally during the 2011 Sydney Film Festival.
Academy Award Entry
The film was selected in September 2010, over Daniel Monzón’s Cell 211Cell 211
Cell 211 is a 2009 Spanish prison film directed by Daniel Monzón, starring Luis Tosar, Alberto Ammann and Antonio Resines.- Plot :Juan Oliver wants to make a good impression at his new job as a prison officer and reports to work a day early, leaving his pregnant wife, Elena, at home. During his...
which also stars Luis Tosar
Luis Tosar
Luis Tosar is a Galician actor and musician.-Biography:Born in Lugo, Galicia, Spain on 13th October 1971, he is best known internationally for his villain role in Miami Vice and the role in the upcoming horror film Flatmate, which is directed by Jaume Balagueró.-Selected filmography:*1998 Atilano...
, as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
category at the 83rd Academy Awards
83rd Academy Awards
The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2010 and took place February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, Academy Awards ...
. In January 2011, it landed a spot on the list of the top nine films in its category. However, it was not selected to be among the final five films nominated for the Oscar.
Won
- Best Cinematography (Alex Catalán)
- Best Director (Icíar BollaínIcíar BollaínIcíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez is a Spanish actress, director and writer.Her father was an aeronautical engineer and her mother was a music teacher. She made her début when she was 15 years old. She is a member of the Academia Española de Cinematografía.She began her work in cinema at the age of...
) - Best Film (Icíar BollaínIcíar BollaínIcíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez is a Spanish actress, director and writer.Her father was an aeronautical engineer and her mother was a music teacher. She made her début when she was 15 years old. She is a member of the Academia Española de Cinematografía.She began her work in cinema at the age of...
) - Best Score (Alberto IglesiasAlberto IglesiasAlberto Iglesias Fernández-Berridi is a Spanish composer. He wrote the music for several Spanish films, mostly from Pedro Almodóvar...
) - Best Original Screenplay (Paul LavertyPaul LavertyPaul Laverty is a Scottish lawyer and scriptwriter.-Birth and early career:Paul Laverty was born in Calcutta, India, to an Irish mother and Scottish father. He obtained a Philosophy degree at the Gregorian University in Rome...
) - Best Supporting Actor (Karra Elejalde)
Won
- Best Original Score (Alberto IglesiasAlberto IglesiasAlberto Iglesias Fernández-Berridi is a Spanish composer. He wrote the music for several Spanish films, mostly from Pedro Almodóvar...
) - Best Production Supervision (Cristina Zumárraga)
- Best Supporting Actor (Karra Elejalda)
Nominated
- Best Actor (Luis TosarLuis TosarLuis Tosar is a Galician actor and musician.-Biography:Born in Lugo, Galicia, Spain on 13th October 1971, he is best known internationally for his villain role in Miami Vice and the role in the upcoming horror film Flatmate, which is directed by Jaume Balagueró.-Selected filmography:*1998 Atilano...
) - Best Costume Design (Sonia Grande)
- Best Director (Icíar BollaínIcíar BollaínIcíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez is a Spanish actress, director and writer.Her father was an aeronautical engineer and her mother was a music teacher. She made her début when she was 15 years old. She is a member of the Academia Española de Cinematografía.She began her work in cinema at the age of...
) - Best Editing (Ángel Hernández Zoido)
- Best Film (Juan Gordon)
- Best Make-Up and Hairstyles (Karmele Soler & Paco Rodríguez)
- Best New Actor (Juan Carlos Aduviri)
- Best Original Screenplay (Paul LavertyPaul LavertyPaul Laverty is a Scottish lawyer and scriptwriter.-Birth and early career:Paul Laverty was born in Calcutta, India, to an Irish mother and Scottish father. He obtained a Philosophy degree at the Gregorian University in Rome...
) - Best Sound (Nacho Royo, Emilio Cortés, & Pelayo Gutiérrez)
- Best Special Effects (Gustavo Harry Farias & Juan Manuel Nogales)
Latin ACE AwardsAssociation of Latin Entertainment CriticsThe Association of Latin Entertainment Critics is a nonprofit cultural organization founded on December 12, 1967. The organization has bestowed the LatinACE awards annually since May 25, 1969...
- Cinema – Best Director (Icíar BollaínIcíar BollaínIcíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez is a Spanish actress, director and writer.Her father was an aeronautical engineer and her mother was a music teacher. She made her début when she was 15 years old. She is a member of the Academia Española de Cinematografía.She began her work in cinema at the age of...
) - Cinema – Best Film (Icíar BollaínIcíar BollaínIcíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez is a Spanish actress, director and writer.Her father was an aeronautical engineer and her mother was a music teacher. She made her début when she was 15 years old. She is a member of the Academia Española de Cinematografía.She began her work in cinema at the age of...
) - Cinema – Best Supporting Actor (Gael García BernalGael García BernalGael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
)
Reviews
The film received generally positive reviews, earning an 89% approval rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, but some critics pointed out potential hypocrisy as a shortcoming. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
admires the filmmakers’ courage in choosing the Bolivian water crisis as subject matter, but notes potential hypocrisy, writing, “…at the end I looked in vain for a credit saying, ‘No extras were underpaid in the making of this film.’” New York Times writer Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
also raises this concern, asserting, “You can’t help but wonder to what degree its makers exploited the extras recruited to play 16th-century Indians.” Also, Holden addresses Costa’s transformation, writing, “Mr. Tosar goes as far as he can to make the character’s change of heart believable, but he can’t accomplish the impossible.” Contrarily, Marshall Fine
Marshall Fine
Marshall Fine Author, Journalist, and movie critic. Marshall Fine is a film critic and author who has worked at newspapers in Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, South Dakota, California and New York. Fine spent 25 years covering film for Gannett Newspapers. More recently, he has served as film/TV...
of the Huffington Post views Tosar’s efforts as praiseworthy, calling him “perfect as the producer: bull-headed, charming, conniving and wheedling when he needs to be – but a man with a vision, who ultimately gets his mind changed. Tosar makes his conflict not only credible but palpable.” Praising the film overall, Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post calls Even the Rain “a story in which personal connections can transcend even the most crushing structures of history and politics.”
History
From the 1950s through the 1980s, Bolivia attempted unsuccessfully to curb poverty through “structuralist” measures: government regulation of natural resources
Natural Resources
Natural Resources is a soul album released by Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in 1970 on the Gordy label. The album is significant for the Vietnam War ballad "I Should Be Proud" and the slow jam, "Love Guess Who"...
. As a result, the nation acquired a reputation for ineffective self-management and, accordingly, the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
and IMF heavily influenced the Bolivian government to outsource public goods. Evidencing this influence, the IMF approved a $138 million loan to Bolivia for economic growth, but under the condition that Bolivia agreed to outsource “all remaining public enterprises,” including Cochabamba’s water agency. Thus, the Bolivian government auctioned off rights to its water system; the sole bidder Aguas del Tunari, a subsidiary of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corporation, agreed to a forty-year contract with the Bolivian government in October 1999. By January 2000 it had assumed total control over the Bolivian water supply. After just one month, Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, experienced 200-300 percent increases to water prices under Aguas del Tunari, and protest ensued.
Depiction in film
In depicting the water privatization conflict, Even the Rain focuses heavily on revolutionary efforts of the mistreated Bolivians instead of government or water company injustice. In doing so, the makers of the film create a lucid parallel between the uprising of the Bolivian people and the Taíno revolution, which is the subject matter of Sebastián’s film. Other films such as Quantum of Solace (2008), starring Daniel CraigDaniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
, take a more top-heavy approach to the subject matter, centering instead on corporative executives’ tyranny. Similarly, Abuela Grillo, an animated short-film created at the The Animation Workshop
The Animation Workshop
The Animation Workshop, is an animation school housed in a former military barracks in Viborg, Denmark. It forms a part of VIA University College. Since the late 1980s, The Animation Workshop has educated and trained animators for the Danish as well as the international animation, computer game and...
in Viborg
Viborg
Viborg may refer to:*Viborg, Denmark, a city in Jutland, Denmark**Viborg Municipality, a Danish municipality named for the city**Viborg County, a former county of Denmark**Diocese of Viborg**Viborg FF, a professional football team based in Viborg...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, cinematically exposes the corporations’ villainy, through juxtaposing animated appearances of desperate Bolivians with autonomous, wealthy business executives. This short-film depicts the riot between the citizenry and the law enforcement in Bolivia
Law enforcement in Bolivia
Bolivia has a national police force called the Cuerpo de Policía Nacional made of 31,000 officers that is responsible for internal security and maintaining law and order. Unlike in most Latin American countries, the Bolivian police force always has been responsible to the national government...
with many elements also present in Even the Rain: teargas, riot gear, and overturned vehicles. The animation differs though in lacking gore such as the video of Victor Hugo Daza
Víctor Hugo Daza
Víctor Hugo Daza was a 17-year old Bolivian citizen killed by the military during the protests of early 2000 in the city of Cochabamba. People in Cochabamba protested against the privatization of local water supplies by the Bechtel Corporation that forced the poor to pay as much as 25% of their...
, a 17-year old boy murdered in the riot, which is displayed in Even the Rain and documentaries including The Corporation (film) and an installment of TV news journal NOW on PBS presented by Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers is an American journalist and public commentator. He served as White House Press Secretary in the United States President Lyndon B. Johnson Administration from 1965 to 1967. He worked as a news commentator on television for ten years. Moyers has had an extensive involvement with public...
(clips available here). The aforementioned documentaries, in the spirit of documentary film, present many actual clips of the protests, both peaceful and violent. In Even the Rain, several clips contained in these documentaries are incorporated through newscasts viewed by the filmmakers.
Further viewing
- The Big Sellout (2007) directed by Florian Opitz
- Blue Gold: World Water WarsBlue Gold: World Water WarsBlue Gold: World Water Wars is an award-winning 2008 documentary by Sam Bozzo, based on the book Blue Gold: The Right to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water by Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke....
(2008) directed by Sam Bozzo - Rivers of Men (Spanish: Ríos de Hombres) (2011) directed by Tin Dirdamal
Further reading
- Violence Erupts in Bolivia by BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in April 2000 - “Cochabamba – Water War,” a June 2000 report commissioned and published by the U.K.-based Public Services InternationalPublic Services InternationalPublic Services International is a global union federation of public sector trade unions. It 620 affiliated unions, in 160 countries, representing 20 million workers...
Research Unit - “Letter from Bolivia: Leasing the Rain,” by William FinneganWilliam FinneganWilliam Finnegan is a staff writer at The New Yorker and well-known author of works of international journalism. He has specially addressed issues of racism and conflict in Southern Africa and politics in Mexico and South America, as well as poverty among youth in the United States, and is...
in 2002 for The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast... - Water Privatization Case Study: Cochabamba, Bolivia by Public CitizenPublic CitizenPublic Citizen is a non-profit, consumer rights advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a branch in Austin, Texas. Public Citizen was founded by Ralph Nader in 1971, headed for 26 years by Joan Claybrook, and is now headed by Robert Weissman.-Lobbying Efforts:Public Citizen...
- “The Politics of Water” in Bolivia by Jim Shultz in January 2005 for The NationThe NationThe Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
- “Return to Cochabamba,” a 2008 report by Jean Friedman-Rudovsky on post-revolutionary Bolivia
- ¡Cochabamba! Water War in Bolivia by Oscar OliveraOscar OliveraOscar Olivera Foronda was one of the main leaders of the protesters against the water privatization in Bolivia. The result of these protests was an event known as the Cochabamba Water Wars. Now he is one the main leaders of the protests in the Bolivian gas conflict.Oscar Olivera was awarded the...
in collaboration with Tom Lewis
See also
- List of submissions to the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Spanish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Cinema Writers Circle website
- Spanish Music Awards website