Re: Curiosity Corner #208: The Stamp Collection of 1



I guess we can now add this story to "Films about Stamps" category?



Tierra del fuego (2000)
Directed by
Miguel Littin

I hope this wonderful Chilean film finds a US distributor.
I saw this at an American Cinematheque presentation in
Hollywood. I had never heard of the director before.
The themes are somewhat hackneyed--the corrosive
and ultimately destructive influence of power and
megalomania on a seemingly stable personality;
the devastating effect of European colonizers on the
Indians; the frontier as a repository for all kinds of
misfits, adventurers, loners, and psychopaths.
There are signs of the influence of such films as
"Aguirre, the Wrath of God" and "Viridiana."
Yet, it all works, and powerfully.
This certainly deserves an audience
beyond the cinematheque and art house circuit. See it if you can!


Recalling Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God, acclaimed
Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littin directs this sweeping epic about the
true-life tale of Romanian engineer Julius Popper and his half-crazed
pursuit of gold. Set in 1850, the handsome Romanian rides into a
rough and tumble frontier town with his pockets full of gold. He uses
his loot to round up dazzled prospectors and seduce hard-bitten
brothel owner Armenia (Ornella Muti) into funding his expedition.
The band sets off for the rugged South populated by half-naked
indigenous people. Claiming the land for the Queen of Romania,
Popper captures the Indians as slaves and forces them to mine for
gold. They do find a scant amount of gold, which Popper promptly
mints into coins bearing his likeness. Popper's second in command, a
former Austrian sergeant named Novak (Nelson Villiagra), treats
Indians with appalling savagery in the name of civilization, though he
develops an odd respect for the tribe's beautiful, thoroughly-tattooed
and frequently naked Queen Mennar (Tamara Acosta). As the rainy
season sets in, the unpaid miners start to quietly talk of mutiny.
Popper makes a bagpiper an example and forces him to play until he
keels over. When this fails, Popper offers an ounce of gold for each
Indian ear, breast, and testicle. This film was screened at the 2000
Cannes Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide





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