of Central and South America
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Plot summaries, photos, and information on movies featuring Native Americans of Latin America. Why not North America, too? Well, that would make this site too big, and most of those movies are already well-known. This project started out covering films about rainforest Indians, then expanded to include all of Latinoamerica.
The movies are arranged geographically, based on the setting of the story, rather than where the movie was made. If you have any suggestions or info to add, write to me at slipcat555@yahoo.com
Choose a Locale:
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The Caribbean Chile Ecuador Guatemala Honduras Paraguay Uruguay Venezuela Movies with multiple settings |
Argentina Bolivia Brasil México El Perú |
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| THE CARIBBEAN | ||
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1492: CONQUEST OF PARADISE Director: Ridley Scott Writer: Roselyne Bosch Cinematography: Adrian Biddle Music: Vangelis Papathanassiou 1992. 154 minutes. Rated PG-13. 2.20:1 Setting: Spain, Caribbean islands, 1491-1506 Languages: English, some Taino Availability: DVD (all region) 
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Amid magnificent cinematography and a transcendent score mixing Spanish, Moorish and tribal themes, Columbus is portrayed as a tragic hero with visions too grand for his time. He is also shown to be a protector of the Indians against other, more cruel Europeans. If all this sounds pompous, it is. It cannot be denied that Ridley Scott has created a sumptuous film, but a little more accuracy and balance would not have detracted from the epic swagger he has wrought. An all-region Brazilian DVD (in English, widescreen) has recently been released. 1492 was one of two films released that year in dubious honor of the quincentennial of Columbus' arrival in the Americas. |
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CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: THE DISCOVERY Director: John Glen Writers: Mario Puzo, John Briley Cinematography: Alec Mills Music: Cliff Eidelman 1992. 120 minutes. Rated PG-13. 2.25:1 Setting: Spain; San Salvador Languages: English Availability: VHS or region 2 DVD
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This film focuses more on Columbus' bargaining with Spain, and on the
sea crossing, than on his arrival. We don't meet the Tainos until the
last half-hour of the film, and they are little more than manequins
before the internal fueding of the Europeans deciding what to do with them,
and strangely passive when the Europeans get aggressive. Marlon Brando
plays a small role as Tomas de Torquemada, the archbishop who tries to
prevent the voyage. Brando tried to get his name removed
from the credits because the film glossed over Columbus' complicity in
the genocide that followed his actions.
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TAÍNOS: LA ÚLTIMA TRIBU Director/writer/cinematographer: Benjamin Lopez Music: Enrique Cárdena, Martín Veguilla 2006. 117 minutes. 1.78:1 Setting: Puerto Rico Language: Spanish Availability: DVD
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In modern Puerto Rico, a group of archaeology students accidentally discover a tribe of Taínos in a remote part of the island, where they have remained hidden for centuries. The premise is fascinating, but the low budget and simplistic characterization make this film feel like a telenovela at times. Cool soundtrack. Website: tainoslapelicula.com |
| CHILE | ||
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LA ARAUCANA La conquista de Chile Director: Julio Coll Writers: E. Campos Menéndez, Julio Coll, Alonso de Ercilla, Enrique Llovet Cinematography: Antonio Maccoppi, Mario Pacheco Music: Carlos Savina 1971. 81 minutes. 2.2:1 Setting: Arauco, 1540 Language: Spanish Availability: DVD-PAL; no subtitles
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This film chronicles a battle between the Araucana (Mapuche) Indians of Chile the Spanish Empire, or rather, a ragged band of mercenaries and missionaries. Like the English film Royal Hunt of the Sun, this Chile/Spain coproduction seems like a throwback to old-fashioned Hollywood costume epics, out of place among the grittiness of seventies films. Also like Royal Hunt, the Indians are played by Europeans. Nevertheless, the film has moments of great power. Based on the epic poem by the Spanish soldier Alonso de Ercilla (1533-1594). The poem, published in three parts (1569, 1578, and 1989), is considered the first work in European literature to deal with the New World. It is one of the texts rescued from the fire in chapter six of Don Quijote. |
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CAUTIVERIO FELIZ (Fortunate Captivity) Director/writer: Cristián Sánchez Cinematography: Pedro Micelli Music: Raúl Aliaga 1988. 118 minutes. (there is evidently a longer, 162-minute version) Setting: Cangrejeras, 1625-1677 Language: Spanish, Araucano Availability: VHS-PAL, no subtitles |
Based on the memoirs Cautiverio Feliz y razón individual de las guerras dilatadas del reino de Chile, by the soldier Francisco Núñez de Pineda y Bascuñán (1607(?)-1682), who was taken prisoner by the Araucano Indians for six months and learned to appreciate their way of life. He wrote his memoirs in 1673, but they were not published until 1863. |
| ECUADOR | ||
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THE END OF THE SPEAR Director: Jim Hanon Writers: Bill Ewing, Bart Gavigan, Jim Hanon Cinematography: Robert A. Driskell Jr. Music: Ronald Owen 2005. 108 minutes. rated PG-13. 2.35:1 Setting: Ecuador, 1950s Languages: English, Embera, some Spanish Availability: DVD
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Missionaries attempting to befriend Waodani natives in the rain forests of Ecuador are speared to death. Later, the wives and children of the missionaries once again reach out to the Waodani and this time succeed in making peaceful contact. If the theme of forgiveness seems didactic and improbable, one should remember that it is based on a true story, as told in the book Through the Gates of Splendor (a documentary, Beyond the Gates of Splendor, was released to coincide with the movie). Beautifully filmed, with native actors speaking their own language. Website: endofthespear.com |
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LLOKSY KAYMATA ¡Fuera de aqui! (Out of Here!) Director: Jorge Sanjinés Writers: Jorge Sanjinés, Beatriz Palacios, Grupo Ukamau; improvised dialogue by los campesinos Cinematography: Jorge Vignati, Roberto Siso Music: Los Jatari (Ecuador), Los Rupay (Bolivia) 1977. B&W. Setting: Kalakala, an Andean community; 1970s Languages: Quechua? Availability: not available
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A Christian sect settles in an Andean community in Ecuador and tries to
persuade the natives that the end of the world is coming. The sect manages
to acquire some adherents. Shortly after, a transnational corporation
arrives claiming that the land is now theirs, and their tractors begin
destroying the farmers' lands. The men form an opposition and try to
block the roads, but the corporation marches on anyway. After they bury
their dead, the community reunites to plan what to do next. Based on
real events in Ecuador, where Sanjines moved while in exile.
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| GUATEMALA | ||
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THE FOUNTAIN Director: Darren Aronofsky Writer: Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel Cinematography: Matthew Libatique Music: Clint Mansell 2006. 96 minutes. Rated PG-13. 1.85:1 Setting: U.S., Spain, Guatemala; 1500s, 2000s, the future Languages: English, Quiché Availability: DVD
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This film is based on the Mayan myth of the First Father who sacrificed himself to found the tradition of planting a tree over the deceased to foster their rebirth. The film has three stories: 1.) the "real" story of a scientist trying to cure cancer while his wife is dying of cancer; 2.) the novel his dying wife writes about a Spanish conquistador who is sent to Guatemala to find the Biblical tree of life, hidden by God inside the triangle of three pyramids; and 3.) the final chapter of the novel, which the doctor attempts to write after his wife dies, in which he tries to figure out how it ends: as a conquistador, a doctor conquering death? By joining his wife in death? Or by planting a tree? The scenes of Mayans are very brief, and not flattering, and the film would not merit a place here if not for its high artistry. It is an extraordinarily rich and imaginative adventure of the mind, a new 2001: A Space Odyssey for our new millennium. |
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LA HIJA DEL PUMA Directors: Asa Faringer, Ulf Hultberg Writers: Asa Faringer, Ulf Hultberg, Bob Foss, Monica Zak Cinematography: Dirk Bruel Music: Jacob Groth 1994. 85 or 101 minutes. Setting: Guatemala; Chiapas Languages: Spanish Availability: none
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Based on the 1986 novel by Swedish writer Monica Zak, this political thriller recounts the story of a young Guatemalan Indian girl, Aschlop (played by Ángeles Cruz), who witnesses a massacre in her village of Kolchaj Nak Lu’um and is separated from her brother. After her family flees to Chiapas, Mexico, she clandestinely crosses the border back to Guatemala to find him. Pictured at left is the novel, published by F&G Editores. |
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EL NORTE Director: Gregory Nava Writer: Gregory Nava, Anna Thomas Cinematography: James Glennon Music: The Folkloristas, Malecio Martinez, Linda O'Brien, Emil Richards 1983. 141 minutes. Rated R. Setting: Guatemala, Mexico, Los Angeles Languages: Quiché, Spanish, English Availability: DVD
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A Quiché field worker is brutally killed while trying to orgazine a union in Guatemala. His son and daughter (played by David Villalpando and Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez), in their teens or early 20s, flee to Mexico, then to Los Angeles, where they attempt to start life anew by learning English, finding work, and facing the wonders and difficulties of a strange new land, encountering friends and helpers, betrayers and exploiters along the way. Blurry DVDs of this classic can be found on ebay. |
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MEN WITH GUNS (Hombres Armados) Director/writer/film editor: John Sayles Cinematography: Slawomir Idziak Music: Mason Daring 1997. 128 minutes. Rated R. Setting: unnamed Latin American country similar to Guatemala Language: Spanish, Tzotzil, Náhuatl, occasional English Availability: out-of-print DVD
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A doctor (played by Federico Luppi) who had trained students to treat Indians living in remote areas finds that many of his students have disappeared. He goes in search of the medical camps, but the Indians won't talk. All he can learn about the fate of his scattered humanitarian projects is that men came. Men with guns. Gradually the doctor begins to understand the magnitude of the oppression wrought by opposing forces--the military and the insurgency. Like John Sayles' previous film Lone Star, Men with Guns is a dangerous Oedipal quest in which the searcher risks learning about his own culpability. Great soundtrack by popular artists from all over Latin America. Website: sonypictures.com/classics/menwithguns/index.html |
| LAS HONDURAS | ||
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MOSQUITO COAST Director: Peter Weir Writer: Paul Schrader, Paul Theroux Cinematography: John Seale Music: Maurice Jarre 1986. 119 minutes. Rated PG. 1.85:1 Setting: Massachusetts; Honduran jungles Language: English Availability: DVD
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An inventor, Allie Fox, disgusted with American greed and materialism abandons civilization and moves his family to the Honduran jungle. His idealism gradually becomes an obsession that turns his family into captives in his mad quest. Indians only play a small role in the film: the Miskito Indians help the Foxes build a new village, Jeronimo, and live there with them. Later in the film, Fox ventures deeper into the jungle to introduce ice to some completely unassimilated Indians, who are described (in the book) as being either the Paya or Twahka (Tawahka) Indians. Fox's growing obsession is comparable to that of Aguirre, and of course the ice theme echoes Fitzcarraldo. Starring a young River Phoenix, and Harrison Ford in one of his first "serious" roles. Based on Paul Theroux's 1982 novel. |
| PARAGUAY | ||
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LA HAMACA PARAGUAYA (Paraguayan Hammock) Director/writer: Paz Encina Cinematography: Willi Behnisch Music: Óscar Cardozo Ocampo 2006. 78 minutes. 1.85:1 Setting: Paraguay, 1935 Language: Guaraní Availability: not yet released
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Ultra-minimalist film told almost entirely through desultory conversation (in Guaraní) between an elderly couple (Ramon Del Rio and Georgina Genes) whose son has gone off to fight in the Chaco War with Bolivia in 1935. We see the elderly couple sititng on a hammock in a clearing outside their forest home, complaining about mundane annoyances like the heat, the impending rain and the barking dog, all of which mask their concern for their absent son. In other scenes we see the mother and father individually, threshing the harvest or washing laundry at the pond while they remember, through voiceover, conversations with their son before he left for the war. While occasionally effective, the film is also unrelentingly monotonous: it only has enough material for a half hour but drags on for 78 minutes. Paz Encina should have either made the film a short, or added more story (scenes of the son at war, for instance, or the community in which the parents live) to relieve the monotony of the film. The director has achieved artistic purity but lost his audience. Someone must have liked it, though: it won prizes in Argentina, Lima, Cannes, Rotterdam, and Sao Paulo. |
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THE MISSION Director: Roland Joffé Writer: Robert Bold Cinematography: Chris Menges Music: Ennio Morricone 1986. 126 minutes. Rated PG. 2.2:1 Setting: Paraguay, 1750 Language: English Availability: DVD
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Tensions between Guarani natives and Europeans flare up as unseen powers in Spain and Portugal negotiate their territories. The missionaries show the church and government authorities what they have accomplished with the Indians, but the authorities are only concerned with politics. This film has been criticised for portraying the missionaries as more benign, and the Guarani as more submissive, than they actually were. Take it with a grain of salt and enjoy the beautiful footage of nature and the natives who live intimately with it. The Special Edition DVD has a second disc with a documentary on the Waunana Indians who played the Guaranis in the film. |
| URUGUAY | ||
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TABARÉ Director/writer: Luis Lezama Cinematography: Ezequiel Carrasco 1918. 5 rolls. B&W. Setting: Uruguay, 1500s Language: Spanish Availability: lost
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Filmed in Mexico, Tabaré is an adaptation of the epic poem by Uruguayan writer Juan Zorrilla de San Martín (1855-1931). It tells the story of Tabaré (played by Enrique Castilla), the cacique of a Charrúa tribe, who is half Indian and half Spanish. He is captured during the days of the Spanish conquest, and in captivity falls in love with the Spanish Blanca, whom he rescues from other Indians, though he is ultimately killed by the Spaniards. The film is no longer extant, but a booklet titled Argumento de Tabaré (pictured at left) was recently discovered which includes the script, several stills and further information. Tabaré was remade by the same director as a U.S. production in 1946. |
| VENEZUELA | ||
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AMERIKA: TERRA INCOGNITA (América, terra incógnita) (America: Unknown Land) Director: Diego Rísquez Writers: Diego Risquez, Luis Ángel Duque Cinematography: Andrés Agustí Music: Alejandro Blanco Uribe 1989. 95 minutes. PG-14. 1.37:1 Setting: conquista-era Spain Language: none Availability: VHS
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This is an experimental film with almost no dialogue, except for a few words in Italian in the middle of the film. Conquistadors capture an Indian (Alberto Martín) and bring him back to Europe along with birds and other exotica. He is kept at court as a specimen to be displayed and looked at. A princess in the Italian begins a clandestine affair with him and has a child. Eventually, the Indian escapes the castle, but only goes to a small island where they can watch him with a telescope. Slow, symbolic, and dream-like, this fascinating experiment might have benefited from more rigorous cutting. But the contrast between indigenous harmony with nature and European estrangement from nature has never been expressed better. Rísquez also made Orinoko. |
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DESNUDO CON NARANJAS (Nude with Oranges) Director: Luis Alberto Lamata Writer: Laura Goldberg Cinematography: Andrés Agustí 1994. 110 minutes. Setting: various parts of the Caribbean, during the Guerra Federal (1959-1963) Language: Spanish Availability: none
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An Indian captain in the Federal Army discovers a mute woman adrift in a small town where the army is fighting. After a fierce battle, only the captain and the mute survive, and so she follows him around as he decides where to go. At first he tries to abandon her, but eventually they fall in love. In the course of their wanderings the captain is tricked into buying a bilongo, an amulet of Afro-Caribbean lore that gives the owner luck in gambling but also condemns the owner to hell if he cannot sell it to another poor soul for less than he bought it. This is a charming film, full of surprises and symbolism, and beautiful cinematography, but it does not show any Indian culture. The captain is constantly called an Indian by other characters, but the actor, Daniel Alvarado, does not look like an Indian. Based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson. |
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LA DONCELLA DE PIEDRA (Stone Maiden) Director: Miguel M. Delgado Writers: Miguel M. Delgado, Rómulo Gallegos, Ramón Pérez Peláez Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa Music: Gustavo César Carrión 1956. 95 minutes. 2.35:1 Setting: a slave farm in Venezuela Language: Spanish; with a few phrases in Guajira Availability: DVD (no subtitles; fullscreen)
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Remota Montiel (played by Elsa Aguirre) is the daughter of a Guajira woman who died in childbirth and a Venezuelan man whom she never knew, who sent her to school in the United States. As a woman she returns to Venezuela to live among and help the guajiros, who are enslaved by whites. One of the guajiros believes Remota to be the incarnation of the Doncella de Piedra, the stone maiden, who according to their beliefs would become flesh and save them. He also tells her the truth about her father, who is the co-owner of the slave-owning company. Remota is sold to the richest of the Guajira chiefs, a man she despises, but her estranged father learns of his daughter just in time and prevents the marriage. However, he dies a few months later, and Renata must form an alliance with a neighboring community of Uriana Indians in order to free the Guajira slaves. Based on the 1943 novel, Sobre la misma tierra, by Venezuelan writer Rómulo Gallegos (1884-1969). The film was made in Mexico while Gallegos was in exile, having been ousted from the presidency by a coup d'etat. |
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JERICÓ (Jericho) Director/writer: Luis Alberto Lamata Cinematography: Andrés Agustí Music: Federico Gattorno 1990. 89 minutes. 1.85:1 Setting: 16th century Venezuela Language: Spanish; with some Omagua and occasional Latin (only the Spanish is subtitled) Availability: VHS
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Fray Santiago is more comfortable with his Latin books and students, but instead the church ships him off the New World to convert natives. Disgusted by the brutality of the Spanish soldiers traveling with him, Fray Santiago runs off with a small group of rebels, who are later killed. The priest is eventually taken in by a village of Omagua who teach him the language and accept him as one of their own. As the priest learns to stop converting and love the Omagua, he wrestles with the nature of faith in voiceovers (which are oddly spoken by a woman). Low budget but captivating. Contains graphic violence, and plenty of unabashed male and female nudity. |
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ORINOKO: NUEVO MUNDO Director: Diego Rísquez Writer: Luis Ángel Duque, Diego Risquez Cinematography: Andrés Agustí, Marieta Pérez Music: Alejandro Blanco Uribe 1984. 103 minutes. 1.37:1 Setting: Orinoco River, 15th century Language: none Availability: VHS
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Like other works by Diego Rísquez, this film dispenses with dialogue,
telling the story entirely through images and sound and music. The first
half of the film shows idyllic life on the Orinoco before the invasion
of the Europeans. Then a shaman has visions of the arrival of Christopher
Columbus and the Catholic mission of 1498.
Note: Risquez's Orinoko should not be confused with the made-for-TV film Orinoco directed by Julian Pastor, which evidently was not a good film. (Risquez likes to use the pro-indigenista spellings using K and W instead of C and HU, as seen in his company Producciones Guakamaya.) |
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RÍO NEGRO Director: Atahualpa Lichy Writer: Eduardo de Gregorio, Antonio Larreta, Atahualpa Lichy, Manolo Matji Cinematography: Mario García Joya 1990. 117 minutes. Setting: Amazonias, 1912 Language: Spanish Availability: VHS
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Indians are mostly background figures in this film about a struggle for political power in the "wild west" of a remote Venezuelan town. But there are two scenes with a shaman. In the first, the shaman gives advice to Funes, the newcomer in town. In the second, the shaman performs a blessing of some sort and paints a cross of blood on Funes' forehead while they are standing in the river. Rousing Venezuelan music (possibly anachronistic) spices up the film. |
| MOVIES WITH MULTIPLE SETTINGS: | ||
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CABEZA DE VACA Director: Nicolás Echevarría Writers: Nicolás Echevarría, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Xavier Robles, Guillermo Sheridan Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro Music: Mario Lavista 1991. 111 minutes. Rated R. Setting: Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Texas, Mexico, 1528-1536 Languages: faked indigenous languages; Spanish Availability: DVD (out of print)
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The bizarre and disturbing true story of the Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, who was shipwrecked off the coast of Texas and had to learn to communicate and live with the Karankawa Indians, who migrated seasonally between the mainland and Galveston Island in the Gulf of Mexico. Cabeza de Vaca was forced to learn their native healing arts. He later escaped and lived with the Coahuiltecan Indians farther inland, and over the next eight years traveled through Mexico. The film is based on the middle section of Cabeza de Vaca's own memoirs, Naufragios (1555), available in many modern translations. Accuracy takes a back seat in this picture: the indigenous languages are simply made-up words, and the costumes were based on the engravings in Theodore de Bry's The Great Voyages (1590-1634) which was in turn a hodge-podge of different cultures mixed together indiscriminately. The results, however, are spectacular, as the film is unforgettable. If you like this Cabeza de Vaca, you should also check out Jerico (Venezuela) and Hans Staden (Brazil). [Note: Guillermo del Toro was the makeup artist for this film before he hit the bigtime with Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth.] |
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DIARIOS DE MOTOCICLETA (Motorcycle Diaries) Director: Walter Salles Writer: Jose Rivera Cinematography: Eric Gautier Music: Gustavo Santaolalla 2004. 126 minutes. Rated R. Setting: Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, 1952 Languages: Spanish Availability: DVD
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Before he became "El Che," Ernesto Guevara (Gael García Bernal) and his fellow medical student Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna) went on a road trip across South America, where they saw the poverty and injustice that would eventually make a revolutionary out of Ernesto. There are a few indigenous characters in minor roles, including a poor Bolivian couple traveling through the Atacama desert, and a young tour guide at Macchu Pichu who compares the building skills of "los Inca" and "los incapaz". Full of adventure, humor, and pathos, this is one of the greatest "road trip" films ever made. Based on Che's motorcycle diaries and Alberto Granado's Con el Che por America Latina. |
