September 15, 2009 Fringe Arts

You say you want a revolución

Film dissects Hugo Chavez's 'authoritarian tendencies'

by Christopher Olson

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is the focus of the film ¿¡Revolución!? screening at Cinema Politica on Sept. 21.

Montrealer Charles Gervais tries to pin down what revolutionaries are made of in his film ¿¡Revolución!?, screening at Cinema Politica on Sept. 21.

The film casts a critical eye on Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and attempts to categorize his particular brand of leadership using 10 criteria of revolution, rules that range from “not becoming drunk with power” to making sure change is “established by law.”

As self-proclaimed leader of the Bolivarian revolution—and after holding onto the presidency for over a decade—Chavez remains in the grey area between revolutionary leaders and dictators.

Chavez has “authoritarian tendencies,” said one newspaper publisher who appeared in the film, calling to mind the way a child in kindergarten has “artistic tendencies” just waiting to be developed. While protesters can mock Chavez’s “orangutan face” without fearing for their lives, the president will also publicly denounce his critics as liars trying to stop the progress of the revolution.

Gervais was interested in doing a film about the Latin American leftist movement, but when he read a story that ran in Le Devoir which said that Chavez would be distributing 1 million copies of Don Quixote to the masses, he changed his focus to the Venezuelan revolution.

“I was caught by the charm of Chavez,” said Gervais. “After some investigation, I became preoccupied by where this revolution was really heading.”

The film also turns its focus to other “revolutionary figures,” people whose ideas have been compromised by a penchant for power—for example, anyone who has installed their slightly younger brother, prepubescent son or deceased forbearer as their successor. Chavez, for example, publicly announced he was grooming his daughter to be his replacement when he officially steps down from politics in 2021.

Most notably, geographic proximity and active trading between Cuba and Venezuela earn Chavez an unflattering comparison to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

“Castro has a lot of influence on Chavez,” said Gervais. “What Castro couldn’t do, [Chavez] is doing in Venezeula right now. [He] has a grasp on more power and he’s adapted his way to the reality of a post-cold war, media world, so it’s kind of a new Cuban Revolution, only in a new country.”

Gervais introduced the criteria of revolution, but instead of telling the audience just what to think of Chavez, he let the evidence speak for itself. The filmmaker didn’t attempt to provide an answer. He just stepped back and lets the revolutionaries fight it out.
“A revolution takes time,” said Gervais. “I think, in a way, we’re still engaged in the process of the French Revolution today.”

Director Charles Gervais will be around for a Q&A following the screening of ¿¡Revolución!? on Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in Room H-110 (1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W.). For a full list of future Cinema Politica screenings, check out cinemapolitica.org/concordia.