Fatherland

The often horrifyingly violent history of Argentina is the subject of this arty documentary essay by Nicolás Prividera. Following a montage of archival footage showing battles between street demonstrators, police, and soldiers, Fatherland turns its focus on the La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires. This necropolis is virtually a city unto itself, featuring large marble tombs erected along wide stone walkways with smaller branching lanes—the whole contained within massive walls separating the cemetery from the adjacent neighborhood. Many of the country's notables are interred there, and Prividera situates participants alongside the mausoleums to read passages from the writings of the deceased, proceeding chronologically through Argentina's past, and thereby revealing episodes of civil conflict, political struggle, and social unrest that mark its history. Visually, the static shots are beautifully composed, alternating with footage of visitors walking the paths, caretakers sweeping the stones or transporting bodies for internment, and even cats lounging on the statues and porticos. After reaching the present, the camera offers an airborne view of Buenos Aires while a swarm of disembodied voices fills the soundtrack in a sort of symphony of the living and the dead. A hypnotic work built around a cascade of luminous images, this strange tribute to Argentinean history is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)