The Goatherd (2009)

I always knew something was up with goat herders

Two women and a guy go trekking in the Chilean Andes Mountains. They're high, full of life and are taking their trip in casual stride when right away one of the women falls and breaks her ankle. They go for help and find a farmer who, instead of giving them hospitality, clobbers them over the heads with a shovel, ties them up and tortures them over a series of days that "actually" feels like days the way the bare bones story, if you can call it that, revolves in circles. "Why are you doing this?" says the male character, except with the audience wondering the more important question, "Why should we care that he's doing this?" You watch the goat herder, or as they call him "The Goatherd," go on rants, get drunk, yell at the animals, eat the male's body parts (implied) and abuse the women with some groping and off camera shenanigans. And then guess what? Let's do that all over again till an anticlimactic ending from getting one too many false hopes in between where the captives make pitiful attempts to escape. It's desensitizing and too random rather than inducing feeling.

When they get more dialogue to say in the beginning the acting is atrocious, as if they just went for it without practice or prewritten lines. Then after they just monotonously yell, cry, squirm and plead for help. It's a film that primarily attempts to show rather than tell, but the issue is they don't have enough interesting elements to reveal for a full length feature. The farmer goes about his peasant ways but then suddenly lashes out and has nightmarish visions of a past event that involved his own family members' deaths. They make him troubled but partially sympathetic, as if he's fighting off his own demons with the occasional one getting the better of him. This is supposed to translate how desperate and desolate their situation is and how possibly out of touch the goat herder is to civilization but there isn't enough range to steadily carry it and there are too many filler shots with the audience expected to fill in the gaping blanks for themselves. The Andes themselves are periodically shot but not enough to become another dark character all their self. This isn't going to be the "Stranded" documentary that shows the harshness of the area that's ready to swallow you up if a false move is made. This could have been any remote area with a psycho waiting for three innocent people--something you'd dream up, rather than actually happen in real life.

The verdict: "The Goatherd" is a chore to sit through with all too similar situations shuffled around to the point of redundancy.

Writer's note: This was filmed in Chile, so I'd imagine certain restrictions don't apply. A small goat is stabbed in the neck, only to cut to another scene with its skin removed, and three others are hog tied and carelessly thrown on their backs in a pick up truck. This was stated at the end of the film: "No animals were harmed during the production of this movie. The production of this movie only used animals husbandry, managed by their owners on their usual purposes."

Rating: 1/10

From Black to Red recommends instead: "Roadkill." This short film has an unwashable atmosphere that manages to effectively show a demented person that lives alone, kidnaps and tortures humans and doesn't let their flesh go to waste.

Director: Leon Errazuriz (Mala leche)
Link: IMDB

I Am Alive (2010)

Like ants placed in the middle of an ice box

Since two motion pictures, A & E, PBS and National Geographic have jumped in after the newspapers and best selling books, The History Channel gives it their turn surprisingly with a formative take even after all of the documentation before it. This time around the main perspective comes from Fernando "Nando" Parrado who played a key role in the Andes plane crash of 1972. The Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 involved 45 passengers, including a team of rugby players called The Old Christians and other family and crew, who were on their way to Chile with no danger in sight until the pilot makes a grave error that caused everyone involved to make impossible decisions to hang on for survival in a weather stricken region with no wildlife or vegetation in sight.

A share of the tone of this documentary is somewhat calm and relaxed and more text book at first than other mediums that have concentrated on putting the audience in the now from a dramatic side. Towards the latter half with Nando and Roberto going through the mountains, they can't help but tell the story with straight feelings, as that's all they had to back them, apart from their skin and bones which nearly gave out. Both of the segments from A & E's "Minute by Minute" from 2002 and National Geographic's "Trapped" from 2007 tried to do the subject in under an hour by concentrating on the main portions of action, but still didn't give a completely thorough approach or show exactly how they got to each one of their motivations apart from jumping dot to dot. Those served more as introduction pieces to further the ambitions of upstarting TV shows and point to another medium. Though "I Am Alive" stands on its own by being thoroughly researched, even if you've seen the other documentaries on the subject. It doesn't seem forced with distracting poetic license or snazzy filmmaking. While they still give some brief reenactments, this focuses on getting a clear perspective from facts and fine details with passionate interviews from the survivors and related experts who still find the experience endearing and engrossing this many years later. This includes mostly spoken English with some overdubbed Spanish.

"I Am Alive" unfolds like a picture book with a share of information and visual representations of the accident and the 72 days that followed. While moving "Stranded" documentary from 2007 focused on the spiritual bonding of friends and how they viewed their situation from an emotional context, this is by far out of the documentaries that I've seen the one that gives the most clear and concise technical understanding. For instance, precisely how and why the plane crashed. There are even diagrams with historians telling their track record. "Of the 78 Fairchild FH-227s built, 23 crashed, and there were a total of 393 fatalities." There are real life pictures of where they hit the mountains, and then CGI graphics to show how lucky they were to land just so to have not made a sudden impact and disintegrated. The surrounding area is shown of exactly where they ended up on the side of Argentina, not in Chile like the pilots anticipated.

As the events come up, the experts give facts about head injuries, starvation, avalanches, inventing devices from supplies, traveling through the Andes and mountaineering. A climber and a team went back to cover some of the same distances Nando and Roberto did, which took them 10 days and 37 long and hard miles till they seen green. Photos were taken of the road that Roberto saw from the top of the first summit that they argued about at the time if they should head that way, but at that point being lost, unsure and hungry and then making the wrong move could have been life or death. I found it interesting that they discussed if they went east towards Argentina instead of west towards Chile if their chances would have improved. In the after author Piers Paul Read talks about his book "Alive" and the fear from the survivors of how it would be written after all of the sensationalist press around the globe.

What's mostly effective about "I Am Alive" is they weren't frequently making justifications for their actions after the fact. Nando carries the bulk and speaks somewhat unscripted as if he knows the story like the back of his hand. At times they still speak their piece, such as Nando calling what they did "anthropophagy" rather than cannibalism, since it didn't follow murder. At other times he speaks rather candidly, such as explaining that the avalanche saved the remaining people's lives due to it covering them from further storms, and then incidentally taking 8 more bodies that they used for food for the remaining days till they could trek out when weather conditions improved. It says a lot for him and the 15 others, but not so much for those that didn't make it out. It does state some facts a little directly and somewhat coldly as a result, though, on the other hand, it leaves room for the viewer to decide their stance. What makes this work is it's capable of uncovering more answers from stepping back somewhat and not making this completely a heavy hitter that "Stranded" already did so well.

Rating: 9/10

Director: Brad Osborne
Link: IMDB

Stranded (2007)

United in the Andes

Native Uruguayan director Gonzalo Arijon, who later located to France, was friends with some of the survivors from the 1972 Andes plane crash where only 16 came back alive and many others were lost over the course of 72 grueling days. With his "Stranded" documentary celebrating 35 years since the devastation turned miracle for some, he's capable of getting the survivors to open up--in their mother tongue of Spanish with subtitles--much more than on past documentaries. However, even this many years later, they still get choked up when talking about certain people or scenarios. Each of them gives their own varied interpretations, yet compared to "Alive: 20 Years Later" from 1993 it follows a more gradual flow along with a time line to keep it focused and capable of growing from the outset with a viewer latched on to each word and picture of their harrowing story.

This moves fairly steadily at first before the passengers make it to the plane as if it's just another day, despite the superstitious date of Friday the 13th, in October no less. As it progresses, it cuts to longer shots to get a contemplative grasp as well as a down and close perspective of the situation and time period of the early '70s in the surrounding region of South America. There are some current still shots with individual survivors, brief past reenactments and various shots of them with friends and family today. Some of them return to the area of the site and see it differently now from an older set of eyes, yet can still recall exactly what they felt at a particular moment like it's seared into their head. This begins with various points of views before even getting on the plane, from one feeling like something was going to happen, to another thinking everybody looked their happiest. They speak about those that didn't make it as if it was only yesterday in either what they were doing prior to the crash or what they had planned when thought to arriving in Chile. It gives a look at their moment-by-moment thought processes and how they struggled to react to it all and attempt to grasp exactly what's going to happen next. Some kept to themselves, while others jumped in to help as if by second nature. However, as it moved along, they eventually viewed themselves as a sort of "new society" that had to do unfamiliar things that they wouldn't have done before, along with the fuselage feeling like their home away from home, partly because with failing health they had no strength, never mind stepping out to use the facilities or to leave.

They went through a varied range of emotions from the outset, as each day they didn't know if it was their last. They got to the point where they accepted death and realized it would have been an easier way out. There were some black and white pictures taken during the ordeal where some smiles are on their faces despite. Out of boredom, there were even some bets and verbal guesses on who would die first. Some pushed away feelings to go on with determination, while others gave up and it lead to their deterioration. It seemed like everyday was different, with some having strength at one point and at another losing hope, but so long as they had a support system to stay united they could carry on. Today some have guilt about why they made it and others didn't, as it was completely random as to what happened to whom. Their outlooks after the fact can be somewhat philosophical and give something deeper to learn from watching this. Then, on the other hand, this can be candid at times, from including more details about the cannibalism portion of their survival, to even mentioning that they made powder out of the bones for calcium because they were low on essential vitamins and nutrients. They speak of having to hit and pound on each other to improve circulation or else the cold could consume them, or having to rotate or stack themselves for warmth.

Some things are included that weren't shown in the "Alive" film, such as the search effort from the surrounding countries and parents that wouldn't give up, as well as the factors of why it didn't work. A few aspects also differed, such as one of the other people mentioning eating the dead first, as well as a few people at once eating a small amount at the same time. After the avalanche they also had to eat their friends around them that just died since the other bodies were outside. In my own personal view, I feel the avalanche stands out as one of the worst of the scenarios, since they were already down and struggling and yet another accident took more people that initially survived the crash, weather and hunger before that. Though it's interesting that a few describe their near suffocation almost serenely, which I would have guessed would have made me feel trapped and helpless, but then coming to might be more hellish than those few moments of pain till the beyond.

From a filmmakers stand point, "Stranded" is capable of changing up into different modes, locations and interviews with ample time to get an overall feel of what happened without skimping or glazing over important areas. It's not grand on past reenactments, but, then again, it gives you a visual for context and leaves the cinematic experience for the movies "Supervivientes de los Andes/Survive!" and "Alive." This concentrated on bonds and emotions, rather than being flashy or coming with a filmmaker's signature. This was emotionally capable without being overly manipulative--bar slow pianos and extended strings--or even having to show the people break down on camera to get the message through. It puts the harsh realities into their place without always holding back, though still with respect to the other families and their friends, as a share live in the same area and word gets around for those that are trying to forget. This shows that they got bombarded with news stories--some sensational, some compassionate.

"Stranded" portrayed what took away their hope and also what gave them strength, such as their families back home, present friends and faith to give them a crutch to go on. There's something to learn here despite their circumstances being a special case that would more than likely never be repeated again. This was documentation at its finest, and stands as the definitive audio and visual experience of the Andes crash in 1972 at this point, even over both movies, which serve mainly as mere introduction pieces compared to the amount of information here.

Rating: 10/10

Director: Gonzalo Arijon
Link: IMDB

Alive in the Andes (2007)

A stylized retelling

This was fittingly the first episode for a National Geographic television spot with episodes that ran under an hour that focused on disasters that involved people who were "Trapped." Those involved in the Andes mountains plane crash back in '72 carrying a team of Uruguayan rugby players along with other passengers, weren't trapped in an enclosed place with walls, but still locked down to a certain area by harsh weather conditions in a remote terrain with no wildlife or vegetation.

This is a high-octane version of the events that lasted 72 days in below freezing temperature, with a share of flashy filmmaking techniques to amp up the juices. Forty-five passengers get quickly dwindled down to sixteen and makes the Andes look like a serial murderer, with crude medical terminology to study its unfeeling ways. The reenactments--with English spoken with American accents--coupled with loud sound effects and bombastic performances hit the viewer with force as they over-emphasize to grab your attention by being the loudest person in the room. To its benefit, from what starts out in the viewer's face somewhat cools its heals and extends a few scenes to get some thoughts and emotional contemplation in about their impossible situation and what they had to endure. Though this still concentrates more on the action and movement of what they went through than always about the friendships, bonding or spirituality of what they felt, which ultimately helped them make it through. However, it did show the lengths Carlito's father went through despite it being a plane crash with record weather conditions and a number of days since. He felt his son was still alive and it was truly captivating by showing the other side of holding on to those that matter most.

This is challenging story to tell in under an hour's time frame for one of the most harrowing tales of survival in the last century since a share of landscapes turned into concrete jungles. "Trapped" did handle the events with more depth than A & E's "Minute by Minute" episode from 2002 titled "The 1972 Andes Survivors." Instead of learning from a spiritual stand point like the documentary "Stranded," that also came out in 2007, this takes educational facts about their surroundings with alternate scenes of CGI that shows a transparent human body, such as hypothermia and dehydration, and then what they had to do to overcome those obstacles. Still, there are chunks that are missing. At one point it's going with a day by day analysis, which helps to reasonably work up to why they had to eat human flesh for sustenance than sensationalizing it, then skips from Day 17 to 43. What's disappointing with a share of "Trapped" was it took an event from 1972 in South America and attempted to translate that to audiences nowadays. Though it feels like it carries more of the modern times than how those people lived or what was going through their heads that was relative to the year. It feels somewhat hip and trendy to 2007, and carries more a style and trademark from the filmmakers to the point of being distracting in areas from those originally involved. The narration adds flavor and includes a characteristic voice, yes, though it still seems out of place with his flamboyant, oddly syllabified proper English.

Rating: 6.5/10

Director: Tim Wolochatiuk
Link: IMDB, video on Youtube

The 1972 Andes Survivors (2002)

A pep-me-up retelling

This was a 45 minute spot from a TV show called "Minute by Minute" that ran from 2001-2002 on A & E. This recounts the story of the Andes survivors, from before the original 45 passengers stepped onto Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 destined for Chile all the way up to when the 16 remaining made it back home from two members of their party trekking over the mountains from rescues being called off. This is a good starting point if you've never heard of the events before, or only in passing and want to know more in 45 minutes.

This was a snappy retelling with the intention of getting a viewer's heart racing to see what happens next, rather than being thoroughly informative despite the show's title of "Minute by Minute." If you've seen either the films "Supervivientes de los Andes" or "Alive" or even read one of the books, this isn't going to say very much that's new, except to possibly show them at the 30 year mark still alive and living life to the fullest is captivating in itself. I did find it interesting to note that they didn't go straight from Uruguay to Chile, which some of the other retellings show, but had a layover in Argentina due to the weather conditions, but then proceeded forward the next day anyway. The meat of what they went through is here (no pun intended) with quick edits and clipped narration with a steady flow of information to get charged by. Though for an emotional context, this doesn't always leave room for the characters to truly open up, since a specific person never says more than a few lines at a time, rather than to give a brief and succinct factual version of their account with frequent time lines displayed on the screen for that "Minute by Minute" touch that makes it feel too planned and not translate that everyday was unsure as the last.

This only gets a few perspectives of the account. It has spoken English interviews with Roberto Canessa, Canessa's girlfriend Laura Surraco, Fernando "Nando" Parrado, Carlitos Paez, Coche Inciarte and Inciarte's fiancee Soledad Gonzalez. Dubbed English with General Jorge Massa (Chilean Air Force), Carlitos's father, Father Andres Rojas and Dr. Jose Ausin (first doctor to examine them). There is still enthusiasm to tell their tale even after 30 years at this point. Though this isn't a story that can be effectively told in a short time frame, since major events don't happen one after the other. They went through 72 intense days with an array of emotions to battle, one of them being that they didn't know if they would live or die tomorrow or after going to sleep. What actually happened to them is more a slower crawl till the light at the end of the tunnel, than the usual survival in the wilderness story where you can put emotion on the back burner to stay alive. On the other hand, for a viewer who gets touched fairly easily, the tone here is kept somewhat upbeat and hopeful in most areas, despite what the survivors have stated they felt on other days in different interviews. I guess that shows what the power of editing can do.

Rating: 6.5/10

Link: IMDB, video link Youtube

Alive: 20 Years Later (1993)

From up to 72 days to 20 years later

"Alive: 20 Years Later" is a companion documentary piece to the 1993 film "Alive" that fills in some of the gaps of what the movie couldn't slow down to show in a reasonable time frame. This is broken up with spoken English and some dub overs in Spanish, along with a narration courtesy of Martin Sheen. Survivor Nando Parrado speaks a majority of the time, along with some others such as the Strauch relatives as the time progresses.

Twenty years later and a share of the sixteen survivors look back on what was going through their heads and how it has affected them up till the present day of the early '90s. There's behind the scenes shots of the movie "Alive" that show Nando and a few others visiting the set as technical advisors. Actors of the film are only shown from a distance as the focus is more on the real life people. Though there are some brief interviews with the filmmakers in between. The fuselage that was built to recreate the aftermath of their accident is so accurate according to one survivor that it brings back instant memories. They fill in some of the gaps of the 10 day journey through the mountains that also involves the final rescue and knowing that everything was okay at that point. Some black and white photographs are shown in the after with faces buried in beards but smiles of elation emerging from underneath.

Many of the survivors live in the surrounding area as not only to each other but also the ones that didn't make it out. Even though the families are reminded with their presence, they have to be careful with what they say, as it can get around to someone who is trying to forget. Therefore, the bodies that were used or in what order are never disclosed. They speak about some divided views of whether or not it was right that they ate their friends to survive, which was hot on people's minds right afterwards. I mean, "Soylent Green" had a related twist that caused people to reel in their seats just a year later in '73; not to mention that point was only in the script and not in the prior novel. Their priest gives his thoughts of the events, along with some who did the act and how it affected them, or whether they would do it again. There's honesty here with admitting to not being as strong and then others who did more not wanting to be considered heroes. No one wanted to be there but they made the best of it and use it as a growing point to live on. It's an inspirational story that shows how much spirit a group of human beings has. Most of us never had to do even a fraction of what they did, and probably will never have to, so it's something to hold in the back of one's mind as a reminder.

As a definitive documentary, this doesn't capture everything. Though as a piece to give a sampled overview of the events, "Alive: 20 Years Later" works in that regard as it gives out various snippets of information and shows some visuals of the then and now. The behind the scenes of "Alive" are only briefly covered and none of the performers spoke of how the role affected them or how they prepared, nor how it came to be made into a movie again. Also, some sections feel like they're too compacted and succinct to give room for contemplation or to feel the emotional impact. This is told somewhat out of sequence and with some roving thoughts pertaining to the events, which doesn't always make it progress or grow from the outset when it jumps back and forth. This is relatively brief and sometimes to the point in areas like either the filmmakers or the interviewed have somewhere else to be. That or the editor went a little overboard or they had to fill only a select time frame since it clocks in at around 50 minutes. There are still some interesting tidbits that aren't in the "Alive" film, nor "Supervivientes de los Andes/Survive!" from '76 based on the same events.

Rating: 6.5/10

Director: Jill Fullerton-Smith
Link: IMDB