Film week 4

week 4

What political context shaped New Latin American Cinema (NLAC)?

Cold War + anti‑imperialist movements + 1959 Cuban Revolution.

What was the role of the Cuban Revolution in NLAC?

It inspired filmmakers to use cinema as a revolutionary tool.

What is ICAIC?

Cuban Film Institute created after the revolution to produce revolutionary cinema.

What earlier film influenced NLAC’s aesthetics?

¡Que viva México! (Sergei Eisenstein, 1931).

What two cinematic traditions influenced early NLAC?

Neorealism + art cinema.

Why is Tire dié (1958–60) important?

First filmed social investigation of underdevelopment in Latin America.

What stylistic elements does Tire dié use?

Neorealism: direct sound, nonprofessional actors, on‑location shooting.

What makes Araya (1959) significant?

Tripartite structure showing artisanal labor → abrupt industrial change.

What theme connects Araya to NLAC?

Representation of historical discontinuity and social transformation.

What defines the militant phase of NLAC?

Revolutionary politics, anti‑imperialist cinema, documentary activism.

What technique did Santiago Álvarez revive?

Eisenstein-style montage for political agitation.

What is Now! (1965) known for?

Radical montage using U.S. photos/music to expose racism and imperialism.

Why did documentary become central to NLAC?

Seen as a tool to analyze and transform reality.

What film is the paradigm of activist revolutionary cinema?

The Hour of the Furnaces (1968).

What structure does The Hour of the Furnaces use?

Three-part dialectical narrative explaining Argentina’s neocolonialism.

What political concepts does the film define?

Imperialism, oligarchy, class struggle, neocolonialism, liberation, violence.

What visual strategy does the film use to teach concepts?

Didactic intertitles + photomontage + documentary footage.

What Chilean film marks the end of the militant phase?

The Battle of Chile (1975–79).

What narrative structure does Black God, White Devil use?

Dialectical metanarrative with violent transitions between historical cycles.

What historical cycles appear in the film?

Coronelismo → beatismo → cangaço.

How does Rocha define revolutionary violence?

Violence that produces horror in the oppressor and reveals the strength of the oppressed.

How does reactionary violence appear in the film?

Slow time, enclosed space, stagnation.

How does revolutionary violence appear in the film?

Accelerated time, explosive space, dynamic camera movement.

What does the sea symbolize at the end?

Liberation and limitless possibilities beyond oppression.

What shift does Memories of Underdevelopment represent?

Transition from militant documentary to neobaroque, introspective cinema.

Who is Sergio?

Bourgeois intellectual observing early revolutionary Cuba.

What historical events shape the film?

Bay of Pigs (1961) + Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).

What is the film based on?

Novel by Edmundo Desnoes.

What theme defines the film’s perspective?

Tension between revolutionary change and bourgeois alienation.

What is Third Cinema?

Anti‑imperialist, revolutionary cinema rejecting Hollywood and European art cinema; aims to mobilize viewers.