People from countries that suffered trauma from brutal authoritarian regimes struggle for decades if not centuries, to deal with the legacy of those painful times. No matter in what country or in what context, the aftermath remains similar. So it has been with Chile.
There are those who might argue that the military dictatorship in Chile succeeded in preventing Chile from becoming 'another Venezuela', but nevertheless, no authority, certainly no government, should ever treat its own citizens more brutally than those who seek to depose them. They should never assume themselves to be above the law. So, shortly after the Christian Democrat, Patricio Aylwin won the elections in March 1990 (after General Augusto Pinochet had stepped down in 1989) he set up the National Commission for Truth & Reconciliation (the ‘Rettig’ Commission) to investigate and prosecute the military human rights abusers.
The five military prisoners at Penal Cordillera.
The report led to a number of convictions of top Military personnel for crimes against humanity, including a group of five Generals and Colonels, who were held at the ‘Penal Cordillera’, an especially adapted prison at the foot of the Andes. These prisoners had access to cable Television, internet, tennis courts, swimming pools. mobile phones and even passes to visit their families once a month.
Writer/director Felipe Carmona knowing about the special prison wondered: “What do they talk about behind those walls? What are their thoughts so they walk those gardens? Do they have nightmares at midnight? This question led to his subsequent script and first feature: ‘Penal Cordillera’ which is now a worthy contender for the Sutherland Award at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival.
One of the five prisoners, General Manuel Contreras (previous head of the DINA Intelligence agency that was involved in the worst atrocities), rocks the boat when he decides to give a TV interview on the 40th Anniversary of the 1973 coup. “Look, I never killed anyone I never tortured anyone, yes there were punishments for the Marxist-Leninists who wanted to transform our country into a new Cuba.”
He almost denies being a captive and labels his guard his servant, merely there to carry his cane. The interview causes so much outrage, it seriously threatens their privileges, creating fear and friction among them all.
Carmona delves into the characters of these men and their relationships to each other and also to the men who are guarding them, who are as much incarcerated as the men they guard. It is an interesting dynamic. The location also has a powerful effect as the mountain range of the Andes is also like a vast wall, incarcerating the whole country.
Gendarme Navarrette played by Andrew Bargsted in training.
Set in 2013, 40 years after the coup, Felipe Carmona takes a fly-on-the-wall approach that works particularly well. He does not judge. The generals are interesting, well-educated people, while, at the same time, they reveal their ideologies and beliefs and all, to a man, are totally convinced that they did the right thing. The result is an amalgam of emotions, humour, the absurd and even horror, encapsulated in this surreal prison establishment at the foot of the Andes. Carmona had to understand the psyche of these monstrous men to find their humanity “… giving a voice to the victims but also to the murderers.”
Brigadier Marcelos Moren Brito (Mauricio Pesutic) admits: “I got blood on my hands for the good of the country and I would do it all again”. This, from a man, who, like the others, was deeply involved with the infamous Caravan of Death that instilled fear and terror into the population, and even the army itself. Here, in this prison, there is little time for doubts or regrets.
It is ironical that a number of the guards grew genuinely fond of their captives. They appreciated what they could learn from them, opening their minds to many issues, general knowledge, even books and music. Most of these guards had been recruited from simple, modest backgrounds, with little schooling and from the start, they were trained to respect their commanders
Then, in this elite prison, these gendarmes find themselves guarding generals, the top notch of the military, and they find it hard not to obey, even their own prisoners. However, there are also violent incidents among the guards as well, which also begs the question, who is good and who is bad? In the end, is anyone immune?
Bastián Bodenhöfer as Miguel Krassnoff
The Russian-born military prisoner, Miguel Krassnoff (Bastián Bodenhöfer) is a fitness fanatic and he has all the guards training intensively on a daily basis, where they improve their fighting and defensive skills way beyond their previous capacity.
All five of the prisoners had been involved with the notorious DINA intelligence services that was also responsible for the Caravan of Death, as well as brutal torture operations at Villa Grimaldi. Watching the film, it is hard to see how this motley crew of old men in their 80s, with one showing clear signs of dementia, could have had such had a dark and ruthless past. We see them doing their jigsaw puzzles, mending toy jeeps, caring for their small pet birds or having their hair trimmed by the guards and it becomes surreal.
This is an astounding first feature. Carmona has instilled depth and humanity into this film and it will be fascinating to know how the Chilean audiences will respond when it opens there in late November 2023.
Penal Cordillera (2023) (Prison in the Andres)/ Luxbox International sales
CREDITS: - Written & directed by Felipe Carmona Urrutia / Production: Omar Zúñiga/ Dominga Sotomayor / Daniel Pech/ DOP: Mauro Veloso / Art Director Francisca Correa / Editor: Olivia Brenga / Sound design: Daniel Turini /Original music: Maria Portugal
PRISONERS: General Manuel Contreras: Hugo Medina/ Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko: Bastián Bodenhöfer/ General Odlanier Mena: Alejandro Trejo / Marcelo Moren Brito: Mauricio Pesutic/ Pedro Octavio Espinoza: Oscar Hernández
GUARDS: Navarrette: Andrew Bargsted/ Galdames: Juan Carlos Madlonao/ Troncoso: Awkanaw Campos/ Muñoz: Rodrigo Calderón/ LunaL Jordan Barra/ Retamal: Victnete Larenas : Sánchez: Maruisio Valdés
ONG: Castro: Nicolás Zárate, Ravera: Rodrigo Mastridas/ Fuenzalida: Nicolás Mena.
