My Life with Carlos Flashcards
My Life Director
Germán Berger-Hertz
My Life w/ Carlos about German ______
His family history, sequester and disappearance of his father Carlos Berger
My Life co-written by
Roberto Brodsky
first democratically-elected Socialist President (1970) in the Americas
Salvador Allende
Coup
US-backed coup Sept 11, 1973, General Augusto Pinochet deposed Allende
US and Chilean economy
US had begun by weakening Chile’s economy under Allende
VIolence Coup included
Aerial bombing of presidential palace
Who came into power after coup`
Dictator Pinochet for 17 years
How did Pinochet come out of power
referendum ousted him in 1988 (but still “senator for life”)
Caravan of death and character of My Life
Carlos Berger was dissapeared
The work of Germán’s mother
Carmen, a lawyer, with the Vicaría de la Solidaridad (collecting documentation of the abuses) served as evidence against Pinochet in Caravan of Death Case
What is My Life for family
memory exercise for Germán’s family and Chile.
What is My Life for Carlos?
The film is a wake for his father Carlos.
& a direct letter to him
Documentary is in _____ person
The documentary casts the spectators in the role of dissidents by breaking the 4th wall (we are sprayed) and addresses us (“you”) as if we were Carlos.
Grandparents floating in the water scene
Family photos of grandparents who died tragically do not appear at rest, but rather floating in purgatory.
Committed suicide
Carlos picture in desert (meaning)
The film literally and metaphorically unearths Carlos (Carlos’s photo) at the Atacama desert, his (extensive & imprecise) final resting place.
Caravan of death
The caravan of death was a squad (post-coup) tasked with “disappearing” and murdering dissenting people; they were also the group that killed Carlos.
My Life compared to Nostalgia
There are more first hand accounts and people in the shots in My Life with Carlos. In Guzman’s film we see more of the desert, telescopes, artifacts and other non-living things with an emphasis on narration.
My Life compared to Machuca
My Life with Carlos is a documentary that occupies a space of memory & reflection decades after these events, Machuca is a narrative that takes place before and during the first actions of Pinochet’s dictatorship.
How does the film engage in/with memory?
The film surrounds the murder of Carlos who has been not spoken of much since his death, the film is a brutal face to face with that memory (and a dark point in history_ that much of Chile is actively trying to forget.
How and to what effect does the film manipulate home video and family photos?
The film uses home videos to recount stories with a strong visual motivation and to show you what characters we see in the present were like in the past. We also see Carlos the only way his son ever got to (on film).
What do you make of Berger’s choice to shoot in film (celluloid) rather than digital?
It gives the film a more nostalgic feel and the look of a time it remembers and recounts.
