In Iciar Bollain's film 'Even the Rain', a Mexican film crew travel to Bolivia to make a film about the historical exploitation of indigenous Americans by European settlers. But they're motivated by the low cost of filming, and, when the locals who play the movie's numerous extras get involved in a political revolt, it's unclear whose side the film-makers are really on. The crew includes an idealistic director, his hard-nosed producer and mentor, and a cynical, boozy leading actor: but the characters are in no way clichés, and the way that they develop is a key part of the real film's success. Gael Garcia Bernal is as usual good as the director, but the whole cast is excellent, the film raises serious questions about the control of common assets, and even the film within a film appears to be something one would pay to see. The sad thing is that the issues explored - a world where even the rain is privatised - are very real in the actual world.
Review of Even the Rain
