Violeta Went to Heaven

Andrés Wood's biographical portrait of the life of Chilean folk singer and artist Violeta Parra dances through time in a fractured chronology. One minute, Violeta (Francisca Gavilán) is wandering through the Andes in search of a legendary singer, the next she's watching her unstable father perform in a rural bar; years later, she's reflecting on her career in a television interview (Wood recreates a 1962 broadcast). After her widowed father dies, Violeta sings on the streets, while her brothers and sisters beg for change. As they grow older, the siblings play music together, but Violeta eventually strikes out on her own to bring the songs of the people to listeners around the world. While on tour in Poland, Violeta loses an infant child, but instead of returning home she remains in Europe for another two years while her husband manages the household. Time passes, and the now divorced Violeta shacks up with a Swiss musician in Paris. When she finally returns to Chile, Violeta manages her own venue, but the townspeople gradually lose interest, and her confidence dwindles in conjunction with her income. Although Wood's puzzle-piece structure staves off the sense of familiarity common to most biopics, it lessens audience identification with the lead character. Fortunately, Gavilán's strong performance ultimately makes this a dramatically fulfilling film. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)