The Colors of the Mountain
Directed by Carlos Cesar Arbelaez
I don’t often review films on my blog, but this film is one of special merit. It’s also a foreign film and foreign films are not often picked up by the general public. I belong to a special film club and receive DVD’s every month from award winning foreign and independent films. This particular film I think has terrific messages for all audiences and is a wonderful film for young people. It depicts the struggle of war in Columbia through the eyes of children. It is wonderfully filmed and shows the contrast between the innocence of childhood and the horror of adult warfare.
The story revolves around a group of boys who love to play soccer in a small farming village. They are right on the edge of a mountain dividing a group of war-faring guerilla groups. Political groups are organizing to bring the farmers into the war against the guerilla groups and yet all they really want to do is live their quiet lives. Tensions are mounting and the children are just trying to go about their days learning, drawing, and playing soccer in the nearby field.
The scenery shifts with the conflict and war is depicted primarily through sounds and changing weather rather than gore and actual images of warfare. Instead the images are through the reactions of the children. It is a beautiful and emotional film with humor and insight into war from an incredibly creative perspective. This is a film that will not soon be forgotten and will lead to wonderful discussions.
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi402823705/
