1976 - MIFF 2022

Set in Chile 1976, during the early years of Pinochet's dictatorship, Carmen and her well-to-do doctor husband head off to their beach house to spend time with their grandchildren on the holidays, and to prepare for the birthday party of one of their granddaughters. Carmen is a giving and caring person, and in her free time she reads to the blind at the local church. Essentially preying upon this kindness, the family priest comes to Carmen asking for her help to take care of a wounded man that he is sheltering within the church in secret. Her decision to help alters the trajectory of her life immediately and forever, as she is thrust into a menacing world she is unfamiliar with, a world where she can trust no one, and where a single mistake could cost her life or the lives of her loved ones, as her eyes are opened to the dangerous reality of Pinochet's Chile.

Director Manuela Martelli has created a wonderful and very powerful film in “1976”. It is such an intense ride that I found myself on the edge of my seat right from the very beginning. Martelli does an excellent job of setting up the drama right from the opening scene, as well as giving the audience a sense of anticipation of the world Carmen is soon to enter. We witness Carmen, at the local hardware store, buying paint, attempting to get an exact type of pink for the walls of her beach house. Whilst the paint is being mixed, suddenly there is a massive commotion outside where a girl is screaming for her life, before she is driven away and her cries are silenced. We never see the abduction, only hear it, as we stay indoors where Carmen in. In doing this, Martelli shows that while Carmen lives in Pinochet's Chile, a place where people seem to regularly disappear if they are against or show dissent to the current regime, it is a world that has yet to directly touch Carmen. However right towards the end of the scene, done via a fantastically simple yet powerful shot, a few drops of the pink paint drip onto Carmen's shoes. The drops symbolising blood, announce to the audience that the dangerous world outside that Carmen thought she was safe from, is right outside her door and she is about to step her foot inside it. It is a brilliant opening scene, economically directed, that says so much.

The early scenes of Carmen preparing the house, interacting with family and friends, and at work reading to the blind, are so important in showing the kind of happy and care-free life she was leading prior, because as soon as she accepts the priest's offer to help the wounded young man, not only does her life change forever, but so does the pace and tension of the film itself. Suddenly every decision, moment, thought or action that Carmen makes, the consequences are life altering. I must say that I am a huge fan of paranoid thrillers, and I am sure that “1976” will soon be considered a classic within this genre. The film continually builds and builds and builds, until the suspense and tension are unbearable, right up to the shocking finale.

Whilst the film is brilliant on a number of levels, the success of “1976” hinges on the performance of Aline Kuppenheim (who plays Carmen) who just delivers in spades. She is so light and carefree in the early scenes, whereas by the end you can feel the weight this entire ordeal is having on her, to the point that she appears to have aged years in just a couple of weeks. It is interesting that initially when she meets the hidden man, she chooses not to ask him any questions about who he really is, or how he acquired his wound, but you can tell that she knows that what the priest told her is not the truth. Carmen is not a stupid woman, but she is caught out of her depth in a world that she is not trained to be involved in. Whilst initially she is only meant to be helping with the wound of this young man, Carmen is soon thrust into doing covert and secret operations, delivering messages to members in the young man's group. Personally I think this is when Kuppenheim really shines in the role, as she is so convincing portraying this poor woman who appears close to a nervous breakdown, she is so terrified and paranoid of anything or anyone that is around her. She is also particularly brilliant in a scene on a yacht with her husband and friends. In the scene, she finds herself in a conversation that opposes the political decisions of the man she is helping, and her friends are not shy in relaying what they think should happen to such people. The pain you can see in Kuppenheim's eyes in this scene, whilst trying to still appear normal and relaxed, is just a sensational bit of acting. The poor woman is entirely alone whilst on this boat filled with her friends. You really understand what she is going through and just how alone she is, not even being able to confide in her husband. This is a woman who days earlier, the most stressful part of her day was trying to find the perfect shade of pink, whereas now she is doing things like trying to find medicine (behind the back of her doctor husband) on the black market for this wounded man, and where every conversation or interaction she questions, causing her paranoia to be massively heightened, while at the same time trying to appear calm and normal. Also, what happens if Carmen's paranoia turns out to be justified?? Anyway, it is a truly great performance from Aline Kuppenheim, she is in every scene of the film, and never puts a foot wrong once.

As I hinted at earlier, Manuela Martelli's direction is perfect in its detail and oh so confident in its execution. It is a classy looking film, with Martelli employing a classic style of filmmaking relying heavily on beautifully composed images, and perfectly timed editing to portray the immediacy and tensions of the world of “1976”. Equally as important as what she shows, is Martelli's decision in what she doesn't show. In a film in where she is exploring the world of Chile under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, she makes the bold and brave decision to not give his military power a face in the film at all. We do get to see from time to time the consequences of interactions with the military, however we never once see a soldier in the film at all. The story is told entirely from this woman's perspective which is another reason why I think “1976” is such a special film. What is also most impressive is that this is Manuela Martelli's feature length debut, although it has been made with the confidence and skill of a seasoned veteran.

Behind the camera, the film has been put together by a number of very talented women. I was particularly impressed by the period detail in the art direction by Francisca Correa. I love a film that highlights textures and different tactile materials in their production design, and Correa does so here to create a world that feels fully lived in. Soledad Rodriguez's cinematography is slick and precise, relying on images that are a little off tilt or regularly reflected off mirrors (particularly in the second half) which enhances the paranoia of the story. Probably the thing that I was most impressed by, and thought helped the movie enormously, was Maria Portugal's pulse pounding and very dark score. Being synth heavy, it felt very eighties, but it kept the tension of the film forever ratcheted at eleven.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed by Manula Martelli's “1976”, and thought it was a seriously intense cinema experience. Highlighting life in Pinochet's Chile via the eyes of a middle aged woman, without the representation of the military was a bold choice, but one that works wonderfully well. It was my second film at this year's MIFF, and a great way to start the festival. I was so impressed by “1976”, and thought it was an excellent example of the paranoid thriller. I recommend it wholeheartedly, but man, is it an intense ride. It is a fantastic film.

4 Stars.