Readers will think I have something in for popes since my recent post on Benedict’s US trip, but I swear (though not in the sinful sense), that this is the title of the film, and its release in Brussels this same week is just a coincidence. The toilet in question is not for the Pope’s own use, but for the expected crowds of thousands who will come to see Pope John Paul II in Melo, Uruguay, when he visits in 1988. The visit is real; directors Cesar Charlone and Enrique Fernandez skillfully include actual footage from the visit on a B&W TV in the favela where the action of El Baño takes place.
Melo, near the Brazilian border, is a town that appears to exist for smuggling. Either you’re a smuggler on a bicycle (big time banditos have scooters), or you’re a merchant putting in your order for whiskey, batteries, anything really, or you’re a Customs official. The latter are mainly in the business of making life miserable for the poor cyclists, who mostly avoid the official border post and chance it in the fields.
We experience this through the travails of Beto, played with rogueish delight by Montevideo office worker and sometime actor Cesar Troncoso (who has said that he never wants to see another bicycle in his life). Beto is a man of Big Ideas, and when you see the wheels start turning, it’s usually the signal for trouble. Long suffering wife Carmen (Virginia Mendez) is the keeper of the cookie jar, and what little the family manages to own. Adolescent Silvia (Virginia Ruiz) sees the Pope’s visit as a chance to practice her secret longing to become a journalist.
Beto’s answer to how to make a quick peso on the Pope’s visit (everyone in town is doing it) is to build a pay-as-you-go toilet in his garden, on the route where in a few days hoped-for thousands of Uruguayans and Brazilians will come to see His Holiness. And that is the sum of the film.
At times funny, tragic, and visually stunning, El Baño del Papa will appeal to those who enjoy the slice-of-life social dramas of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach. It’s a rare chance to see life in Uruguay, through one of only 4 or 5 of their annual output of films - reason enough to see it. Film festivals have bestowed several awards on the film and its writer/directors, and it featured at the 2007 Cannes “Un Certain Regard” category.
I wish I could provide links and photos for you, but my blog service has been acting up again. Anyway, the film is a little gem, and a bittersweet time will be had by all.
Melo, near the Brazilian border, is a town that appears to exist for smuggling. Either you’re a smuggler on a bicycle (big time banditos have scooters), or you’re a merchant putting in your order for whiskey, batteries, anything really, or you’re a Customs official. The latter are mainly in the business of making life miserable for the poor cyclists, who mostly avoid the official border post and chance it in the fields.
We experience this through the travails of Beto, played with rogueish delight by Montevideo office worker and sometime actor Cesar Troncoso (who has said that he never wants to see another bicycle in his life). Beto is a man of Big Ideas, and when you see the wheels start turning, it’s usually the signal for trouble. Long suffering wife Carmen (Virginia Mendez) is the keeper of the cookie jar, and what little the family manages to own. Adolescent Silvia (Virginia Ruiz) sees the Pope’s visit as a chance to practice her secret longing to become a journalist.
Beto’s answer to how to make a quick peso on the Pope’s visit (everyone in town is doing it) is to build a pay-as-you-go toilet in his garden, on the route where in a few days hoped-for thousands of Uruguayans and Brazilians will come to see His Holiness. And that is the sum of the film.
At times funny, tragic, and visually stunning, El Baño del Papa will appeal to those who enjoy the slice-of-life social dramas of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach. It’s a rare chance to see life in Uruguay, through one of only 4 or 5 of their annual output of films - reason enough to see it. Film festivals have bestowed several awards on the film and its writer/directors, and it featured at the 2007 Cannes “Un Certain Regard” category.
I wish I could provide links and photos for you, but my blog service has been acting up again. Anyway, the film is a little gem, and a bittersweet time will be had by all.