Night Over Chile

Fleeing Chile for the USSR, Sebastián Alarcón had quite a remarkable career. First he went to the all-union film school VGIK and then he was employed by Mosfilm where he mainly made gutsy, popular anti-Pinochet movies until the dictator’s fall.

Night Over Chile is his feature film debut, he was teamed up with a slightly more experienced – and local – director, Aleksandr Kosarev, one of the many remarkable craftsmen of Soviet cinema. The story is a classic: politically disinterested architect Manuel is arrested and imprisoned at the National Stadium. He sees Santiago de Chile in turmoil, is abused by his guards, witnesses mass executions – all while trying to find someone with authority to whom he can explain that he has no business being there. The cycles of abuse and violence, especially the sacrifice of a communist called Juan, turn Manuel into a resistance fighter – like many Chileans. Night Over Chile is arguably the most hard-hitting, relentless early vision of Chile right after the coup.

To add more realism, Alarcón and Kosarev use a lot of gritty documentary material. There’s a good reason why the film became quite famous: it’s engaging and effective.

– Olaf Möller

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