‘El Señor Presidente’: The Venezuelan film that said ‘NO’ to Hugo Chávez

A country that falls apart amidst the degradation of a shameful tyranny, the unimaginable levels of decomposition of a corrupted society and everything opposed to a love story, one that seems doomed from inception, are the key plot lines of “El Señor Presidente”.

The film, which premiered against all odds on November 2007 in many important theatres across Venezuela, is directed by Rómulo Guardia and co- produced with Jorge Granier and Caupolican Ovalles for RCTV and its partner The Angostura Film Company. RCTV is the 54 year old Venezuelan network station that was shot down by the Chávez government six months ago. Based on the 1946 Latin American classic novel “El Señor Presidente” written by Miguel Angel Asturias, Nobel Laureate 1967, the film is considered a faithful adaptation of what is defined by critics as Asturia’s master piece.

The story develops in a fictitious country “anywhere in Latin America”, where irrationality rules, degradation is the law, justice is a mockery and the political and military clique enjoy themselves amidst corruption, while abusing their fellow citizens under total impunity. Not a coincidence with today’s Venezuela. The cast, composed of some of Latin America’s most reputed actors, such as Carlos Mata, Gustavo Rodriguez, Chantal Baudaux and Javier Vidal, give life to a series of characters that faithfully interpret its obscure plot, in a surreal environment that clearly respects the original atmosphere of the novel. The anachronism of the “mise en scène”, the production design and contrasted photography situate and us in dark and cruel settings that pull us further down into the drama. Witout a doubt, director Rómulo Guardia defies Venezuela’s “El Señor Presidente” and at the same time challenges Asturia’s metaphors imposing the symbolism of his images and music, in a valid and courageous effort to translate for the public the force of the Latino American classic written by the real father and master of magical realism.

“El Señor Presidente” is Guardia´s opera prima for movie theatres after directing and producing highly rated and successful telefilms for RCTV. These television films scored high ratings for the station and were successfully sold to Hispanic stations across the continent by RCTV International, therefore watched by audiences of millions. Previous to filming “movies of the week”, Rómulo Guardia held a top production position with Discovery Networks Latin America & Iberia, where he was honored with several awards such as The Peer Award, Gold BDA/Promax and Gold Telly for his creative productions.

With “El Señor Presidente”, its directorial debut, Rómulo Guardia shares with us a strange vision of a reality only comparable to magical and surreal nightmares. Set in a semi-futuristic environment, where opulence is contrasted against sordid misery, and where the past and present intertwines within an atmosphere of cruelty and hellish corruption, the film could be considered an avant-garde expression of a common Latin curse: the wrong choice of those governments that rule for themselves instead than for those that first elected them. “*

*From: http://www.hispanicprwire.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

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