Can Dialectics Break Bricks Cinema: a night with Pepe Mujica (Rest In Power)
doors open at 20:00 * intro & film start at 20:30
A movie night in memoriam of Pepe Mujica, who described himself and his fellow Tupamaros as "politicians with weapons." Not the brightest of his famously lucid turns of phrase, if you consider that the Junta that eventually took power, held on to it, tortured and imprisoned him for over a decade were also, arguably, "politicians with weapons".
Short clips and a full-length movie:
EL PEPE: A SUPREME LIFE * (El Pepe, una vida suprema) * Directed by Emir Kusturica * 75 minutes * In Spanish with English subtitles
About a month ago the former Uruguayan president José (Pepe) Mujica died. In my book, he was maybe the only so-called politician that I think was sincere, thoughtful, and straightforward. He had a philosophical bent, and was on the right side of history. For the most part politics is game-playing involving vast amounts of money going to the top government officials. Mujica brought something radically different to the table. He had spent 14 years imprisoned and tortured under the Uruguayan dictatorship in the 1970s, and understood what's valuable about life. As president, he continued living on his small farm in the countryside, living there with his wife and his three legged dog. He would drive to work every day in his tiny Volkswagen beetle or his moped. In this film he is asked why he was so different from any other politician, why no limousines, huge palaces or red carpets? He responded “If it’s the majority of the people who elect you for office, one has to try and live like the majority, not like the minority.” Such clear-sightedness puts all other politicians to shame.
This documentary was directed by Serbian director Emir Kusturica, and it's clear that he went out of his way to make this film about a man he admired and loved. Kusturica spent three years filming him right up until the last day of his presidency. It's a pretty straightforward documentary, but one that covers a lot of territory and adds some lively music to the journey. There are a few documentaries about Pepe Mujica out there, and we wanted to show one of them because of his recent passing, and chose this one because it at least contextualises the situation of Uruguay and Latin America a bit.
Pepe Mujica had been one of the left wing guerilla fighters of the Tupamaros National Liberation Movement in the 60s, who robbed banks and staged prison breaks under the dictatorship in order to redistribute the money to the poor, Robin Hood style. The Tupamaros invented a new form of guerrilla warfare that became a role model for all Latin America. It was crucial for them to stay on the side of the people, and to do actions that the general people could understand.... He didn't just shoot off, wildly out of anger or desperation, they were incredibly thoughtful in everything they did. The film weaves together this past into the present, and includes discussions with his life-long partner/companion Lucía Topolansky who reflects “We united two utopias - the utopia of love, and the utopia of political struggle.”
