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There's one particular part of Patricio Guzmán's documentary The Pinochet Case that seems like a spoof cooked up by Michael Moore and Christopher Guest. In the scene, British Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher meets with former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who is under house arrest in England for scores of human rights violations. Thatcher graciously praises Pinochet for "bringing democracy to Chile," which is quite a hoot considering the General gained power of his country via a US-backed coup that overthrew democratically elected socialist Salvador Allende back in 1973 (Brit filmmaker Ken Loach points out this happened on September 11 in the controversial festival short collection 11'09'01). No, she's not kidding, and she never asks why his amps go up to 11, either.
The rest of Case isn't that bone-chillingly ironic. Essentially, Guzmán's doc is two separate films: One deals with the massive struggle to re-try Pinochet for the horrible stuff he did (over 3,000 were murdered under his reign, and a million more went into exile), while the other features heartbreaking interviews with the loved ones of the many people who were brutally tortured and/or killed. The gruesome details of the latter aren't exactly the stuff of cinematic dreams, but it sure makes for an effective and persuasive documentary.
Aside from stumbling over some clunky visual metaphors - especially the repeated use of a chess board and pieces - Guzmán does a decent job of telling a story many outside Chile simply don't know. In a way, Case can be considered a fourth chapter to Guzmán's three-part epic The Battle Of Chile.
1:45 - Not Rated
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