| Crew | |
|---|---|
| PRODUCED BY: | Peter Kinoy |
| DIRECTED BY: | Pamela Yates Newton Thomas Sigel |
| Cinematographer: | Thomas Sigel |
| Film Editing: | Peter Kinoy |
| Original Music: | Rubén Blades |
| Orchestration: | Carlos Franzetti |
| Voice-over Engineer: | Mark Amicucci |
| Production Manager: | Ntathu Mbatha |
| Sound Recordist: | Pamela Yates |
| Camera Assistants: | Mike Barry Javier Bajaña |
| Associate Editor: | Tom Crawford |
| Assistant Editor: | Javier Bajaña |
| Sound Editor: | Margie Crimmins |
| Assistant Sound Editors: | Elia Arce Maura Gregory Allison Ellwood Eric Wales |
| Researchers: | Gini Reticker Maura Gregory |
| Studio Recordings: | Alan Cagan |
| Sound Mixer: | Gary Liebman |
| Typography: | Ricky Newman |
| Crew of The Labor Theater | |
| Assistant Director: | Chuck Potz |
| Production Managers: | Bette Craig Martha Yates |
| Assistant Camera: | Hugh Walsh |
| Gaffer: | Bob Waybright |
| Additional Sound: | J. T. Takagi |
| Boom: | Lisa Schnall |
| Art Director: | Randy Barcelo |
| Makeup/Hair: | John Michel |
| Grip: | Tom Nichols Jim Graniella |
| Script Supervisor: | Nancy Musser |
| Production Assistants: | Elia Arce Bob Yates Javier Bajaña Sharry Neretin |
| MPAA Rating: | PG |
| Distributors: | |
| Production Company: | Skylight Pictures |
| Release Date (US): | October 1983 |
| Major Cast | |
|---|---|
| Introduction: | Susan Sarandon (as Herself) |
| Storyteller: | Rigoberta Menchú (as Herself) |
| Dinner with Guatemala's President | |
| President Jacobo Arbenz: | Shawn Elliot |
| Ambassador John Peurifoy: | Eddie Jones |
| Maria Arbenz: | Linda Segura |
| Servant: | Frank Algarin |
| CIA Headquarters | |
| Col. Castillo Armas: | Shelly Desai |
| Col. Al Haney: | Ron Ryan |
| CIA Personnel: | John D. Swain James Steel Jonathan Heap Bob Miles Diana Shuback |
As with many Central American and Caribbean nations, Guatemala was very important to the United Fruit Company, which enjoyed the protection of the United States in its operations in those nations. This meant the local rulers had the full support of the United States in suppressing and even killing indigenous peoples who interfered with UFC operations.
This film documents the suppression of Guatemala's Maya-descended peoples by the government of General Rios-Montt, and the beginnings of a resistance movement. Two brief historical reenactments dramatize conversations which took place in 1954, while most of the footage was actually shot on location and used actual Guatemalans or was taken from newsreels. Rigoberta Menchú ties the events together with her narration. Susan Sarandon introduces the film.
My Rating:
10 out of 10
Capsule review: Filmed in Guatemala using actual Guatemalans, this is cinema verité at its best. Two 1954 events are reenacted based on historical documents, using actors, to establish the position of the United States at the time.
| IMDB Rating: 7.7 | Raters: 177 |
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