Sacred Earth

Sacred Earth is a video which wants to say something eye-opening and moving about the plight of the landless and deracinated peasantry of Guatemala, indigenous peoples caught in the cross hairs of history and deadly national politics. Unfortunately, both the focus and construction of the work are so weak and muddy that it's ultimately difficult to know exactly what's the point of the film. The video begins by spending an inordinate (and inordinately annoying) amount of time laying on the old "peasant reverence for Mother Earth" and "property belongs to God's children" shticks. It attempts to use these frayed anthropological conceits as a springboard to describe the sorrowful treatment of dirt-poor, migratory subsistence farmers and mozo colono (plantation workers) at the hands of wealthy landowners, government forces, and guerrilla rebels--all equally ruthless in their persecution of this population. In fact, the evil-doers and their motives for massacre and oppression are never adequately identified or discussed (other than lust for land and wealth). Without adequately developed historical or political context, all we're left with are indeterminate bogeymen. In between the tales of woe and struggle, there are lovely scenes of festivals and ancient tradition--an attempt, I guess, to show the capacity of simple people for joy, hope, and bravery in the face of suffering...yet another bogus image ripped from the pages of cultural stereotype. A marginal purchase for larger collections with strong Latin American studies components. Aud: H, C, P. (G. Handman)