Chile Puede

VANCOUVER PREMIERE  │ Chile shoots for the stars in Chile puede, a satirical science-fiction comedy directed by Ricardo Larraín (whose acclaimed debut, La Frontera, won a Silver Bear at Berlin in 1992) and written by Boris Quercia, who also stars in the lead. (Two films directed by Quercia, Sex with Love and The King of Idiots, also screen in this series.) “Guillermo [Quercia], a schoolteacher, wins the contest to become Chile’s first astronaut. But soon after he is launched into orbit, mission control closes down when the mad entrepreneur who directs the project fights with his technicians. They make off with some of the equipment, Guillermo is stranded in space, and the United States mobilizes its military, fearing a rogue element is launching missiles against it. Ricardo Larraín’s outrageously entertaining satire makes light fun of the contradictions of a country in which aspirations of modernity co-exist with substantial poverty in areas like the Atacama desert, where most of the film takes place” (Film Society of Lincoln Center). Colour, 35mm, in Spanish with English subtitles. 85 mins. 

Guest in attendance, Friday, December 12.