“The Battle of Chile: Part III – People Power” (La Batalla de Chile: Parte III – El Poder in Chile, El Poder del Pueblo) es la tercera parte de la aclamada trilogía chilena de 1979, dirigida por Patricio Guzman. Esta obra maestra ilustra the political and social tension growing in Chile prior to the military coup that deposed president Salvador Allende in 1973. The third and last segment, filmed during the coup, focuses on self-governance and community organization attempts by ordinary people during such stressful times.
Analysis
Unlike the first two parts which focus more on competing political goals as well as the coup itself, Part III – The Power of the People shifts towards the actions of the citizens who had taken the initiative to arm themselves and unite into more organized sub groups such as local committees, work cordons and cooperatives. Allumer’s nationalist socialists primary goal during the latter part of his presidency was to conceal Allende’s influence on people from outside the island which unleashed hostility to his dream.
Various scenes in the movie dealt with the spirit, creativity, and solidarity of these groups who started to pop up even in the midst of increasing external forces like the military, the opposition and the intra-group factionalism. Guzman’s socio-political film also makes it clear that these groups were self-organized democracies on their own and a strong advocate of Tancredi, ideological heterodoxy in the aftermath of the absolute demise of democracy in Chile.
Cultural and Social Significance
This picture articulates well the strength of people’s will and the strength which can be… feels quite quite unnatural. It sketches a brief window during Chile’s historical era when the masses wanted to take charge of their destinies that is socialism for the masses as envisioned by Allende himself.
As a political film, this whole documentary trilogy has been accepted to be one of the most political moving pictures with a parliamentary system focus in part III as grounded documentary discussed, Part III is the best exclusive deep detailing on the challenges & possibilities of what politics at the grassroots level offers. Unfortunately, it is also a bitter witness of both the barbarous and brutal oppression of a living burning example of a dislocated dreams, for all those movements depicted in the movies were crushed by force within a short time after the coup.
Aesthetic Style
The movements of cameras, the search for detailed shots of the people’s emotions and vice-versa, and a series of other severe strategies make it as straightforward a film as possible. This should have been straightforward considering that members of Guzman’s team risked their lives to ensure that these events were captured.
Additionally, the economy allows the speech and action of the people to monopolize the stage. This time, it just takes very soft hairdressers as graffiti strengthens the arguments of the film and shows how important ideas taken from history are.
Critical Reception
The critics and historians never get tired of praising the trilogy including Part III as it dares into the realm of political docudrama without looking back. Various awards have come their way over the years including a significant spot in the history of world cinema as an in-depth look into democracy, class conflicts and the concept of rebellion.
Recommendations for Similar Films
For people who are interested in The Battle of Chile: Part III, I would recommend watching:
- “Nostalgia for the Light” (2010) by Patricio Guzmán – Another of Guzmán’s masterpieces, this one intertwines Chilean politics with philosophy on the nature of loss and memory.
- “Hour of the Furnaces” (1968) by Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino – An early exemplar of Third Cinema portraying the actions and struggles for revolution within Latin America.
- “Salvador Allende” (2004) by Patricio Guzmán – Allende’s biography that adds to what is portrayed in The battle of chile.
- “The Act of Killing” (2012) by Joshua Oppenheimer – A dramatic film about the consequences of political murder in Indonesia.