Free Paper Sample on Even the Rain (2010) - Netflix film

"Even the Rain" is a movie that was directed by Icier Bollain. The film involves a variety of filmmakers who got caught up in Bolivian protests that concerned water privatization—the movie highlights the impacts of colonialism in modern times. The center of conflict in the film is that privatization results from colonialism's effects under the theme of exploitation. The movies provide comparisons and contrasts in modern times' water privatization, which becomes viewed as a new form of colonization. According to the film, colonization still exists. This aspect becomes evident in how the "colonists" have focused on people's water. The individuals were more concerned with gold in the past day

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The director and screenwriter highlight two priests in the film who are resistant to and against the church. Costa, the film producer, tries to ensure that he appeases the director's vision while sticking to a tight budget. The two hire Daniel, a native, and later on becomes a leader in the protests against water privatization, but he becomes injured. Costa later realizes that Daniel is standing in the way of the Government and promises him a lump sum amount of money in case Daniel accepts to withdraw from the protests and do away with the filming. However, Daniel cannot stop himself from participating in the demonstrations, which means that he was against the Government, which leads to his arrest. Costa succeeds in bribing the police for them to film the most important part. The clashes between the protesters and the military police intensify and interfere with the filming. The film's climax occurs when Costa and Daniel's wife drive in the middle of the protests to save their daughter, who was injured.

The film directly relates to the real events that took place in 2000 in the Cochabamba water war. The actual event took place for roughly five months and not two weeks, as highlighted in the movie. The fact that Daniel took the leadership of the protests was stage-managed. The real event comprised of a coalition known as "Coordinator," which defended water and life. The union organized demonstrations in which Daniel took up the role of becoming the film's protest leader. The violence in the final protests indicated the water protests' real-life events that left many people dead. A scene from the movie that highlights colonialism's theme occurs in a luxurious mansion where the crew takes Champaign with an official as people take up the streets to protest against the hiked prices on water. The official explains that water infrastructure is a costly project that cannot be catered for by the Government due to lack of funds. He speaks a little bit of racist language, which portrays the public that he is a selfish and evil person. The official explains to his crew that it is not true that the top officials in the Government support the plan.

Among the protestors is Sabastian, who argues about the high prices of water and how the poor and most vulnerable families can afford such high prices. He urges, "If the price of water increases 300%, how can people making $2 afford it" (Even the Rain). The official does not hesitate to reply by urging, "That's what I am told you pay the actors." (Even the Rain). Sabastian tries to speak on behalf of the people by telling the officials that they work on a tight budget, but in his response, the mayor tells Sabastian that everyone is working on a tight budget, including him. The interactions between Sabastian and the mayor indicate neo-colonialism, which involves situations that involve vocal anger by people but are hardly noticed by the subtler groups (Wheeler, 2019).

The movie highlights a variety of themes, which include colonialism, privatization, and exploitation. The central theme in the film is colonialism; as much as the film tellers try to highlight a story that concerns the native exploitation, the whole idea of the movie is about Columbus and the Tainos (who had their territory in far most parts of the northern region) in Bolivia. The film crew was meant to highlight the challenging economic situation that exists within the area. However, the native seemed to be benefiting from their poverty situation by only paying two dollars a day for their extras. Occasional, Costa mentions that the natives were saving a tremendous amount of money. Later on, Costa's opinion that the natives had enough cash becomes an issue when Daniel overhears him conversing on the phone in English with other backers. Coats found it funny, as he mentioned on the phone how the natives were happy to work for only two dollars a day. This scene in the movie indicates how natives continue to be exploited even in the current society with the less they earn. Even though they aim to make a movie, the scene suggests that Coasts is on the same level as the cartels that control the water company in exploiting the natives.

In the scene when the film crew urges about the movie's historical and artistic authenticity, the Columbus actor turns to the priests. He asks him how long he intends to remember that "water "is "yaku." This scene foreshadows the movie's end where Daniel hands Costa a small bottle of their water that he will never forget. The film crew's exploitative nature related to water becomes highlighted close to the end of the movie when the crew asks the women to draw baby dolls in the water in the same manner that the natives did during their escape from the dogs.

Water privatization is another theme in the movie, which picks up when the locals dig a ditch to get water as their possible source of water since their well has dried up. The job that the locals indulge in is the responsibility of the water workers. Later on, the water workers lock up the well, and the natives scream at them, claiming that the water belonged to their children. The most important scene to the theme is when the locals meet with a government official who is part of the water privatization deal. Sebastian: "I don't want to be rude, but if someone earns two dollars a day, he can't pay a 300% increase in the price of water. At least that's what I'm told." Official: "How curious. That's what I'm told you pay the extras." Sebastian: "Yes, but we have a very tight budget." Official: "Don't we all?" (Even the Rain). The scene indicates how the natives are under the exploitation of the officials. At the end of the film, the protests rage through the streets, and Costa redeems himself by bringing an injured girl to the hospital. The protests become a success, and Daniel hands a bottle of water to Coats. The water bottle symbolizes how water is precious to the natives, just like how gold is precious to Columbus.

References

Wheeler, D. (2019). También la lluvia/Even the Rain (Iciar Bollaín, 2010): Social realism, transnationalism and (neo) colonialism. In Spanish cinema 1973–2010. Manchester University Press.