El Violin

Aroview: A one-handed violinist commands this potent political history of Mexico’s 1970s Guerrero peasant revolt.

Plotting to befriend the peasants’ oppressive military rule through music – all the while smuggling army ammunition back to guerrilla rebels – the film’s octogenarian star (Don Ángel Tavira) is a compelling, ill-fated central figure whose epic facial features are a prominent landscape throughout. Dir. Vargas further accentuates his impressive debut with stunning black and white visuals that, while occasionally self-conscious in their stylisation, evocatively convey the story and its grave importance.

NZ International Film Festival 2007