Nostalgia for the Light

Nostalgia For The Light

Patricio Guzman has directed an amazing film. There was so much information to digest that I feel the need to return and see it allover again.

We are introduced to an observatory in the Atacama Desert of Chile. It is 10,000 feet above sea level. There is no humidity in the desert. There are no insects or animals. A giant telescope looks out to observe the horizon.

Apparently astronomy is a passion in Chile. The scientists are gazing into the horizon trying to discover the past history of the universe.

A soft spoken astronomer tells us about his work. He states,” The mystery of science is eternal.” I was fascinated with his discussion about time. He said that the present doesn’t exist because in reality it takes a moment for information to pass through the senses which makes the item already in the past. The concepts were so interesting but I need to hear it all over again. The scientists spoke slowly and clearly. They were not using scientific jargon. It was understandable.

He showed us pre-Columbian markings on the sand and the dunes of the desert. All the information gathered is a gateway to the past. This was a lesson in astronomy and archaeology.

At the same time we are told about the mothers who are searching in the same desert for bones and fragments of their loved ones that were murdered during the time of leader Pinochet. The women scrape with their hands and small spades trying to uncover the past of their murdered loved ones. Some parts of bodies are recovered. One body was shown with the hands still tied together. Because of the conditions of the desert many bodies have been preserved. We see one body with the hands tied together .Apparently two guns shots could be seen in the head.

At the end of the film we are shown a room that is stacked with boxes up to the ceiling. Each box contains remains discovered in various parts of Chile. They have not been buried and the remains have been stacked for a long time.

Several former prisoners tell us of the horror of the Pinochet days. One man recalls how he measured the space of the camp where he was held prisoner. He made maps of the area on paper and then tore them up in little pieces. Years later when he was living in Denmark he was able to draw the maps from memory.

Over 30,000 people were tortured during that regime.

Both the astronomers and the women work in the same location. They are doing different jobs and both are trying to discover the past in different ways. Two amazing stories are intertwined. Both are amazing.

I enjoyed listening to the Spanish because it was spoken clearly and slowly. There are English sub titles.

Bravo to the TIFF Bell Lightbox for once again showing the best films in town. There are no commercials and often no previews. This is the best theatre in town.