EL VIOLIN (Mexico/Spain/France, 2006) cont
Wednesday, 28th January 2009

(cont.) As the tale gets going, we realise that this is a study of how peasants living simple lives can find themselves so ill-used by the authorities that they become caught up in a struggle for survival. For many there is then no choice but to become guerrilla fighters despite the fact that initially at least this can make matters worse. It does so here when the military on being sent in to deal with the insurgents take women and children hostage and are indiscriminate in their actions. We see this situation as it affects one particular family. The film’s three main characters all belong to this family and cover three generations: there’s the grandfather, Don Plutarco (that’s Tavira’s role), his adult son Genaro (Gerardo Taracena) and the young grandson Lucio (Mario Garibaldi) who is still a child. When these three return to their village, Genaro discovers that his wife and daughter have been seized by the soldiers. To continue their resistance, the guerrilla group to which Genaro belongs are in desperate need of a cache of ammunition that has been hidden in cornfields belonging to the family. However to get hold of this item is quite a challenge since the soldiers headed by a captain (Dagoberto Gama) have taken over the area. If this were a more typical film drama, Genaro would be the central figure, but Vargas Quevedo gives that role to the violin-playing Don Plutarco instead. He may be elderly but he is ready to act when he realises that a violin case would be suitable for smuggling out the ammunition. The possibility of achieving this is higher because it transpires that the captain is himself a music lover and someone who might well not dismiss out of hand a land owner who turned up bearing a violin but actually take an interest in him.

I won’t say more about the plot and how it develops but can confirm that the situation steadily builds in suspense. As it does so, we start to feel that what we are watching is less a naturalistic piece than something that comes across as a folk-tale or legend. That, indeed, is the right way to take it, but you may well find the conclusion is such that the myth or legend proves to be of a rather different kind from what had seemed likely. It makes for a strikingly individual film and one which imprints itself on the memory all the more powerfully because of its leading actor.

Selected Filmography (Title underlined screened by the EFS):
Hay Mementos (1998); Conejo (1999); Tierra Caliente… Se Mueren Los Que La Mueven (2004); El Violín (2006).

“A majestic performance” – Philip French, The Observer.

“A terse little picture” – Daily Telegraph.

“A character you’re likely to remember – his face alone is worth a thousand words”
- Derek Malcolm, Evening Standard.
Programme Note by Mansel Stimpson