Heroes and Time

Arturo Ripstein happened to meet up with one of the political prisoners he had interviewed for his documentary The Black Palace which told the story of Lecumberri prison. Through this man he was able to make contact with another two former inmates, but he could not locate the fourth, who was replaced by another revolutionary. In six chapters we are acquainted in detail with the development of the Mexican guerrilla movement, where the parts entitled Arrest, Torture, Information and Period are extremely valuable as historical testimonies, all the more so since these facts are little known beyond the Mexican border. For contemporaries this film is a sad reminder of ideals which were never fulfilled. Ripstein’s work is more of a historical document than a film; even so, it was a huge success at a number of festivals and was screened in Cannes during International Critics’ Week. The film is intriguing for the fact that the director did not select his protagonists himself, but returned to them by chance in connection with previous film work. He allows them to speak in depth about their own political convictions, the methods of torture used and the daily struggle to survive thereafter. The audience gradually senses the disappointment and disillusion after years of continual effort, in light of which past suffering at the hands of the torturers is partly called into question. For today’s Mexican political elite, this film would certainly make for uncomfortable viewing. In fact, there were only a few isolated screenings in Mexico. This is another example of Ripstein’s restricted films to which his native country responded with indifference.