Salvador Allende (2004)

Director:

Patricio Guzmán

Writer:

Patricio Guzmán (writer)

Release Date:

5 September 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot:

From his childhood in Valparaiso to his death during the Pinochet military coup on September 11, 1973, the life and works of Chilean president Salvador Allende. |

Plot Keywords:

Salvador Allende | Pinochet | Chile | Augusto Pinochet

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Salvador Allende	...	Himself (archive footage)
Patricio Guzmán	...	Narrator (voice: Spanish version)
Jacques Bidou	...	Narrator (voice: French version)
Alejandro Gonzáles	...	Himself (as Alejandro 'Mono' Gonzáles)
Ema Malig	...	Herself
Anita	...	Herself
Victor Pey	...	Himself
Sergio Vuskovic	...	Himself
Edward M. Korry	...	Himself
Isabel Allende	...	Herself
Ernesto Salamanca	...	Himself
Carmen Paz	...	Herself
Claudina Nuñez	...	Herself
Volodia Teitelboim	...	Himself
Carlos Pino	...	Himself

Runtime:

100 min | Argentina:100 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

Belgium | Chile | France | Germany | Spain | Mexico

Language:

Spanish | French | English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Netherlands:AL | Argentina:Atp | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud)

Filming Locations:

Santiago, Chile

Company:

JBA Production

don't expect to learn too much about Allende and his time

28 years before 9/11, there was another 9/11 which represented a key date in the history of Chile, South America and the whole world. This was the date in 1973 when a bloody coup in Chile deposed Salvador Allende the first Marxist president elected democratically anywhere in the world and put an end to the Chilean experiment of a democratic transition from capitalism to socialism. Allende committed suicide when the armed forces attacked the presidential palace.

Unfortunately this film is too biased and too nostalgic towards the time of Allende's rule to be an objective rendition of the man and of his place in history. The times were troubled and Allende was a disputed figure in the history of his country and of the whole world. True, he was democratically elected, but his policies plunged Chile into economic crisis. He was deposed by a coup and a right-wing dictatorship followed with repression and flagrant human rights abuses, but he was also an ally of Castro who saw in his policies another way of making revolution. We'll never know if his tentative to build a socialist yet democratic society would have succeeded. The authors of the movie take a completely pro-Allende position, there is no opinion or point of view trying to explain the other side, to answer questions like why did the middle class oppose him, or how his democratic views could go together with supporting or being supported by Castro. The tone of the commentaries is nostalgic and apologetic, almost propagandistic. People who want to get a better understanding of this episode of the history need to wait for a more balanced and objective film or book in the future.