Kamchatka (film)
Encyclopedia
Kamchatka is an Argentine
and Spanish
drama film
directed by Marcelo Piñeyro
and written by Piñeyro and Marcelo Figueras. The movie features Ricardo Darín
, Cecilia Roth
, Tomás Fonzi
, Héctor Alterio, among others.
The motion picture is set in Argentina during the Dirty War
of the 1970s and tells the story of a family hiding from the government in rural Argentina.
Kamchatka was Argentina's official submission for the 2002 Oscar Awards
in the foreign language film category.
is impacting his life.
After witnessing the "disappearance" of dissident friends, a human rights lawyer (Ricardo Darín
) and his research scientist wife (Cecilia Roth
) flee the city and hide from the military police in a vacant summer house. With them are their two kids: Harry, who is fascinated with the escape artistry of Harry Houdini
, and El Enano, his little brother. (Translated as "Little Guy" in the English subtitles, played by Milton de la Canal. The actual translation is "dwarf".) The family adopts new identities and attempts to lead a normal life. Later, they are joined by a student who is using the alias Lucas (Tomás Fonzi
).
Their new life is difficult, but a visit with their estranged grandparents (Fernanda Mistral and Héctor Alterio) reveals that they are still a close-knit family. Subtly hinted, however, and used as a metaphor, is the mother's constant smoking and El Enano's renewed bed-wetting. Both serve to show how stressful and precarious their situation is.
's reactionary military junta assumed power on March 24, 1976. During the junta's rule: the parliament was suspended, unions, political parties and provincial governments were banned, and in what became known as the Dirty War
, between 9,000 and 30,000 people deemed left-wing "subversives" disappeared from society.
, the screenplay was written by Marcelo Figueras, based on an original story written by Figueras and Marcelo Piñeyro. When the time for the nominations came, the Argentine Film Critics Association credited the authorship of the final script to both of them.
as the ultimate stand-off, and who uses it as his last resource to win. The title thus alludes to the family situation of hiding away from imminent peril as a final act of defiance before their ultimate downfall.
dictatorship (1976–1983). Another film in the second group is Veronico Cruz
(1988).
The first group, including such films as The Official Story
(1985), Night of the Pencils
(1986), and Funny Dirty Little War (1983) dealt frankly with the repression, the tortures, and the disappearances during the Dirty War
.
This second group of films uses metaphor and suggestive images, and hints at wider socio-political issues.
Film critic A. Fernandez-Santos, critic for the Spanish
daily El País, wrote "Kamchatka has many features to be considered a masterpiece, it's cinema at its best, gifted with a great strength of emotional impact. It is a tender, grievous and touching elegy. Underneath the intense silent walls of captivity, it hides the thud and rage of the immeasurable collective tragedy."
Mercedes Santos Moray, reporting from the Havana Film Festival
, liked that director Piñeyro delivered in giving the audience a suggestive image of the tragic, historical events, and wrote, "The painful memory is represented in an intimate way. Piñeyro works both with the feelings and the reason. His film is a metaphor about the dimensions of freedom. The people still suffer but the danger has disappeared. There are only the phantoms of the past... A family in the film escape the repressions for a moment, but at last their lives are affected by the violent events."
Nominations
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
drama film
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 Marcelo Piñeyro
Marcelo Piñeyro
Marcelo Piñeyro is an Argentine award-winning film director, screenwriter, and film producer.-Biography:Born in Buenos Aires, Piñeyro studied cinematography at the University of La Plata's School of Fine Arts...
and written by Piñeyro and Marcelo Figueras. The movie features Ricardo Darín
Ricardo Darín
Ricardo Darín is an Argentine actor, screenwriter and film director.Darín is one of the biggest movie stars in Argentina. He played a number of parts in TV series for several years where he became popular as a young leading actor...
, Cecilia Roth
Cecilia Roth
Cecilia Roth is an Argentine actress.Her father, Abrasha Rotenberg , a Jewish immigrant from the Soviet Ukraine, is an editor and a journalist. He met Cecilia's mother, an Argentinian singer of Sephardic descent Dina Rot, in Argentina. Cecilia Roth has made appearances in numerous television series...
, Tomás Fonzi
Tomás Fonzi
Tomás Fonzi is an Argentine actor, appearing either as recurrent actor or guest-star in many TV series, as well as films of international acclaim, like Nueve Reinas and Kamchatka ....
, Héctor Alterio, among others.
The motion picture is set in Argentina during the Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
of the 1970s and tells the story of a family hiding from the government in rural Argentina.
Kamchatka was Argentina's official submission for the 2002 Oscar Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
in the foreign language film category.
Plot
The film is seen through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy, Harry (Matías del Pozo), who does not know that Argentina's 1976 coup d'étatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
is impacting his life.
After witnessing the "disappearance" of dissident friends, a human rights lawyer (Ricardo Darín
Ricardo Darín
Ricardo Darín is an Argentine actor, screenwriter and film director.Darín is one of the biggest movie stars in Argentina. He played a number of parts in TV series for several years where he became popular as a young leading actor...
) and his research scientist wife (Cecilia Roth
Cecilia Roth
Cecilia Roth is an Argentine actress.Her father, Abrasha Rotenberg , a Jewish immigrant from the Soviet Ukraine, is an editor and a journalist. He met Cecilia's mother, an Argentinian singer of Sephardic descent Dina Rot, in Argentina. Cecilia Roth has made appearances in numerous television series...
) flee the city and hide from the military police in a vacant summer house. With them are their two kids: Harry, who is fascinated with the escape artistry of Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
, and El Enano, his little brother. (Translated as "Little Guy" in the English subtitles, played by Milton de la Canal. The actual translation is "dwarf".) The family adopts new identities and attempts to lead a normal life. Later, they are joined by a student who is using the alias Lucas (Tomás Fonzi
Tomás Fonzi
Tomás Fonzi is an Argentine actor, appearing either as recurrent actor or guest-star in many TV series, as well as films of international acclaim, like Nueve Reinas and Kamchatka ....
).
Their new life is difficult, but a visit with their estranged grandparents (Fernanda Mistral and Héctor Alterio) reveals that they are still a close-knit family. Subtly hinted, however, and used as a metaphor, is the mother's constant smoking and El Enano's renewed bed-wetting. Both serve to show how stressful and precarious their situation is.
Cast
- Ricardo DarínRicardo DarínRicardo Darín is an Argentine actor, screenwriter and film director.Darín is one of the biggest movie stars in Argentina. He played a number of parts in TV series for several years where he became popular as a young leading actor...
as Dad, David Vincent (alias) - Cecilia RothCecilia RothCecilia Roth is an Argentine actress.Her father, Abrasha Rotenberg , a Jewish immigrant from the Soviet Ukraine, is an editor and a journalist. He met Cecilia's mother, an Argentinian singer of Sephardic descent Dina Rot, in Argentina. Cecilia Roth has made appearances in numerous television series...
as Mom Vincent (alias) - Matías Del PozoMatías Del PozoDel Pozo is an Argentine actor, best known as "Harry" in Kamchatka . Prior to national fame, Del Pozo had starred in Río Escondido and held regular appearances in TV series Verano del '98 and El Sodero de mi Vida...
as Harry (alias) - Milton De La Canal as Simón, El Enano (alias)
- Héctor Alterio as Grandfather
- Fernanda Mistral as Grandmother
- Tomás FonziTomás FonziTomás Fonzi is an Argentine actor, appearing either as recurrent actor or guest-star in many TV series, as well as films of international acclaim, like Nueve Reinas and Kamchatka ....
as Lucas - Mónica Scapparone as Bertuccio's Mother
- Evelyn Dominguez as Niña Morena
Basis of film
The film is based on the real-life political events that took place in Argentina after Jorge Rafael VidelaJorge Rafael Videla
Jorge Rafael Videla Redondo is a former senior commander in the Argentine Army who was the de facto President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981. He came to power in a coup d'état that deposed Isabel Martínez de Perón...
's reactionary military junta assumed power on March 24, 1976. During the junta's rule: the parliament was suspended, unions, political parties and provincial governments were banned, and in what became known as the Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
, between 9,000 and 30,000 people deemed left-wing "subversives" disappeared from society.
Screenplay
According to the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
, the screenplay was written by Marcelo Figueras, based on an original story written by Figueras and Marcelo Piñeyro. When the time for the nominations came, the Argentine Film Critics Association credited the authorship of the final script to both of them.
Title of film
The title refers to the Russian northeastern state, which, in the movie, is used by the family's father in the boardgame TEGTEG (board game)
TEG is an Argentine Risk-based board wargame published in 1976. The name is an acronym of Tactica Y Estrategia para la guerra., Spanish for Tactics and Strategy for War.-Gameplay:...
as the ultimate stand-off, and who uses it as his last resource to win. The title thus alludes to the family situation of hiding away from imminent peril as a final act of defiance before their ultimate downfall.
Politics in Argentine films
Kamchatka is part of what can be considered a second group of films to be made in Argentina since the downfall of the ProcesoNational Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...
dictatorship (1976–1983). Another film in the second group is Veronico Cruz
Verónico Cruz (film)
Verónico Cruz is a 1988 Argentine and British drama film. The motion picture is directed by Miguel Pereira, his first, and written by Pereira and Eduardo Leiva Muller. The movie was produced by Julio Lencina and Sasha Menocki and features Juan José Camero, Gonzalo Morales, among others...
(1988).
The first group, including such films as The Official Story
The Official Story
The Official Story is a 1985 Argentine drama film directed by Luis Puenzo, and written by Puenzo and Aída Bortnik. It stars Norma Aleandro, Héctor Alterio, and Chunchuna Villafañe, among others. In the United Kingdom, it was released as The Official Version.The film is about an upper middle class...
(1985), Night of the Pencils
Night of the Pencils (film)
Night of the Pencils is an Argentine drama film directed by Héctor Olivera and written by Olivera and Daniel Kon. It is based on the non-fiction book by María Seoane and Héctor Ruiz Núñez....
(1986), and Funny Dirty Little War (1983) dealt frankly with the repression, the tortures, and the disappearances during the Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
.
This second group of films uses metaphor and suggestive images, and hints at wider socio-political issues.
Critical reception
In a review, critic Anji Milanovic called the film an "heartrending drama" and liked the look of the film. He wrote, "The cinematography is gorgeous, and the Argentine countryside looks like a fairytale, all the more distressing given the killing and torture that occurred. The terror they feel is shown in little vignettes of family life."Film critic A. Fernandez-Santos, critic for the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
daily El País, wrote "Kamchatka has many features to be considered a masterpiece, it's cinema at its best, gifted with a great strength of emotional impact. It is a tender, grievous and touching elegy. Underneath the intense silent walls of captivity, it hides the thud and rage of the immeasurable collective tragedy."
Mercedes Santos Moray, reporting from the Havana Film Festival
Havana Film Festival
The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Spanish-language filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana, and in English as Festival of New Latinamerican Cinema of La Havana.The festival takes place...
, liked that director Piñeyro delivered in giving the audience a suggestive image of the tragic, historical events, and wrote, "The painful memory is represented in an intimate way. Piñeyro works both with the feelings and the reason. His film is a metaphor about the dimensions of freedom. The people still suffer but the danger has disappeared. There are only the phantoms of the past... A family in the film escape the repressions for a moment, but at last their lives are affected by the violent events."
Awards
Wins- Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor; Best Sound, Carlos Abbate and José Luis Díaz; 2003.
- Cartagena Film FestivalCartagena Film FestivalThe Cartagena Film Festival, or Festival Internacional de Cine y T.V. de Cartagena de Indias. is a Colombian film festival which focuses on the promotion of Colombian television programs, Latin American films, and videos...
: Golden India Catalina; Best Screenplay, Marcelo Figueras and Marcelo Piñeyro; 2003. - Havana Film FestivalHavana Film FestivalThe Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Spanish-language filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana, and in English as Festival of New Latinamerican Cinema of La Havana.The festival takes place...
: Best Screenplay, Marcelo Piñeyro; Grand Coral - Third Prize, Marcelo Piñeyro; 2003. - Vancouver International Film FestivalVancouver International Film FestivalThe Vancouver International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for two weeks in late September and early October...
: Most Popular Film Marcelo Piñeyro; 2003. - Young Artist Awards: Young Artist Award; Best Young Ensemble in an International Film, Tomás Fonzi, Matías Del Pozo and Milton De La Canal; 2003.
Nominations
- Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor; Best Actor, Ricardo Darín; Best Art Direction, Jorge Ferrari; Best Cinematography, Alfredo F. Mayo; Best Original Screenplay, Marcelo Figueras and Marcelo Piñeyro; 2003.
- Cartagena Film Festival: Golden India Catalina; Best Film, Marcelo Piñeyro; 2003.
- Flanders International Film Festival: Grand Prix, Marcelo Piñeyro; 2003.
External links
- Kamchatka at cinenacional.comCinenacional.comCinenacional.com is a web portal and web-based database about Argentine cinema.The site provides a vast array of information, including: films, television programs, directors, actors, cinematographers, film editors, production designers, and other production professions in Argentina...
. - Kamchatka film trailer at You Tube