Screened to rapturous critical acclaim at festivals worldwide, this exquisite, award-winning documentary from Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán (The Battle of Chile, Salvador Allende) is an extraordinary watch.
Guzmán explores the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth, where 10,000 feet above sea level, astronomers observe the stars in a sky so clear that views extend to the boundaries of our universe. But when eyes are lowered to the ground, this unique and wonderful place also shows us disturbing layers of human history. It’s so dry in the Atacama that bodily remains can’t perish, and so it’s possible to find pre-Colombian mummies and the bodies of 19th century explorers there, as well as the remains of political prisoners ‘disappeared’ by the Chilean army after Pinochet’s rise to power following the military coup in 1973.
So as astronomers look for gorgeous new vistas in the heavens, women search the earth for remains of their loved ones in hopes of laying awful ghosts to rest. Guzmán juxtaposes these celestial and earthly quests, reflecting upon the humanity inherent in both impulses – to explore and to recover. Visually stunning, this is a painful, profound film.
