Fatherland
Description
La Recoleta Cemetery rests in the heart of one of Buenos Aires' swankiest neighborhoods. A city-within-a-city, it is an inward-facing place with its own interior geography. Like the Père-Lachaise graveyard in France, La Recoleta is the final resting place for key figures of its nation's history: statesmen and poets, founding fathers and oppositional voices. And with Argentina's history so fraught with unrest, this relationship between the necropolis, the city and the nation proves fascinating ground for Nicolás Prividera's new film. The grounds are laid out like city blocks, with wide avenues branching onto lanes filled with elaborate mausoleums. The film does not attempt to tour the cemetery as one would on foot, however, but rather moves chronologically through the history enshrined there. A series of individuals read aloud excerpts from the writings of noteworthy Argentines interred within. Revealed are civil wars, battles with the country's native population, conflict between the city and the provinces, and years of military dictatorship. The readings are intercut with sequences of daily life in Recoleta, including the cemetery's custodians, whose work amid the tombs alludes to the ongoing construction of the nation's history.
Runtime
1 hr 40 min 3 sec
Subjects
Database
Films on Demand
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