Xavi and Rosana, who were neighbors in the Montevideo of the early 1970s, find themselves in Spain, years after of the military coup of 1973. Xavi is playing professional soccer while Rosana has just discovered his whereabouts some twenty years after that fateful era in their country, Uruguay.
Xavi and Rosana were inseparable as children. His father, Manuel, had emigrated to Uruguay and had a small shoe store. Rosana's father, Roberto, was the chief of police of the city. In spite of belonging to two different worlds, Xavi and Rosana were too small to understand the tensions the country was going through. That politically charged time was basically overlooked in the international press by the coups in Chile and later in Argentina.
The period left scars on Xavi and especially Rosana, who had to deal at an early age with the death of Roberto, who is tricked by a superior into carrying out an order he did not feel comfortable executing. Xavi and Rosana's love endured even after having witnessed upheavals that marked them forever.
Directed by Ana Diez, "Little Country" is an ode to that bygone era. It is ironic that the actual president of Uruguay was himself involved with the "Montonero" leftist movement the government feared. The film captured the essence of the time where everything was in turmoil, as the military was battling that faction they saw as a threat to what they wanted for the country. It is seen from the viewpoint of two neighbors who did not agree in many points, yet were able to live next door to each other without the animosity that ensued as the army began a war that sent many to exile.
Mauricio Dayub is seen as Roberto, the chief of police, His take on the police man, is right on target. Emilio Gutierrez Caba plays Manuel, the Spaniard who emigrated to America perhaps after his own survival of the Spanish Civil War, only to find himself in the middle of the conflict that was created in his adoptive land. Nicolas Pauls and Maria Botto are seen as the adult Xavi and Rosana.
Good atmosphere created by the production team with good camera work by Alfonso Parra. Director Ana Diez, whose work we had not seen prior to this film, keeps things in rein in this portrait of a bygone era.
Xavi and Rosana were inseparable as children. His father, Manuel, had emigrated to Uruguay and had a small shoe store. Rosana's father, Roberto, was the chief of police of the city. In spite of belonging to two different worlds, Xavi and Rosana were too small to understand the tensions the country was going through. That politically charged time was basically overlooked in the international press by the coups in Chile and later in Argentina.
The period left scars on Xavi and especially Rosana, who had to deal at an early age with the death of Roberto, who is tricked by a superior into carrying out an order he did not feel comfortable executing. Xavi and Rosana's love endured even after having witnessed upheavals that marked them forever.
Directed by Ana Diez, "Little Country" is an ode to that bygone era. It is ironic that the actual president of Uruguay was himself involved with the "Montonero" leftist movement the government feared. The film captured the essence of the time where everything was in turmoil, as the military was battling that faction they saw as a threat to what they wanted for the country. It is seen from the viewpoint of two neighbors who did not agree in many points, yet were able to live next door to each other without the animosity that ensued as the army began a war that sent many to exile.
Mauricio Dayub is seen as Roberto, the chief of police, His take on the police man, is right on target. Emilio Gutierrez Caba plays Manuel, the Spaniard who emigrated to America perhaps after his own survival of the Spanish Civil War, only to find himself in the middle of the conflict that was created in his adoptive land. Nicolas Pauls and Maria Botto are seen as the adult Xavi and Rosana.
Good atmosphere created by the production team with good camera work by Alfonso Parra. Director Ana Diez, whose work we had not seen prior to this film, keeps things in rein in this portrait of a bygone era.