Even the Rain (Meme La Pluie) (2011)

88% of critics liked it
(58 reviews)
84% of users liked it
(5,385 ratings)

TAMBIEN LA LLUVIA sets up an intriguing dialogue about Spanish imperialism through incidents taking place some 500 years apart, while examining the personal belief systems of the members of a film crew headed by director Sebastian (Gael Garcia Bernal) and his producer Costa (Luis Tosar) who arrive… More TAMBIEN LA LLUVIA sets up an intriguing dialogue about Spanish imperialism through incidents taking place some 500 years apart, while examining the personal belief systems of the members of a film crew headed by director Sebastian (Gael Garcia Bernal) and his producer Costa (Luis Tosar) who arrive in Bolivia to make a revisionist film about the conquest of Latin America. Set in February and March of 2000 when real-life protests against the privatization of water rocked the nation, the film reflexively blurs the line between fiction and reality in what Variety calls "a powerful, richly layered indictment of the plight of Latin America's dispossessed." Carlos Aduviri is dynamic as a local who is cast as a 15th century native in the film, but when the make-up and loin cloth come off, he sails into action protesting his community's deprivation of water at the hands of the government. Meanwhile, Gael Garcia Bernal's Idealist film director is as relentless as Werner Herzog infamously was in making FITZCARALDO, pushing ahead against all odds, ignoring the prevailing danger about to disrupt at any moment. Despite the devastation emerging around him, Sebastian seems unable to engage with any emotion over than a dogmatic desire to get his film done. And of course, the film also recalls themes in Herzog's AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD and the film-within-a-film scenes are as brutal as any in APOCALYPTO. -- (C) Official Site

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 44 min.
Directed By: Iciar Bollain
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Feb 18, 2011 Limited
On DVD: May 16, 2011
Studio: Vitagraph Films

Critic Reviews

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
A film within a film within a film, Even the Rain holds up a hall of mirrors to the Third World and invites us to look in.
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star
The most outstanding performance comes from Aduviri, an indigenous Aymara from Bolivia, who was nominated for the Best Newcomer award at Spain's Oscars, the Goyas.
Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader
Director Iciar Bollain remains such an extraordinary director of actors that in every scene some surprising nuance counters the literalism of the script.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Well-acted and always with an ear for its own social relevance.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
Even the Rain strikes a deep and resonant chord.
Loren King, Boston Globe
An ambitious mix of politics, religion, art, and human drama.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
Gripping...
Shaun Munro, What Culture
Icíar Bollaín melds passionate art with profound politics in this well-conceived, brilliantly acted drama.
Allan Hunter, The List
Obvious and heavy handed in pointing out the never changing struggles between the haves and have-nots but there are still some touching moments and strong performances to make it worthwhile...
Allan Hunter, Daily Express
An ambitious, well-intentioned political drama from writer Paul Laverty and his director partner Icíar Bolaín.
Mike McCahill, Guardian [UK]
There are striking performances from Luis Tosar as a cynical yet flexible producer and Juan Carlos Aduviri as the native who becomes a figurehead for those who don't have the luxury of playacting.
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
Bolleín and Laverty punch up every icon and wingding in the arthouse cliché dropdown.
Sherwyn Spencer, Little White Lies
Never really excels in any given area, and re-watch factor is a zero.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Sharply directed and superbly written, this is a thought provoking and emotionally engaging political drama with terrific performances from Gael Garcia Bernal and Luis Tosar.
Dave Calhoun, Time Out
Bollaín and Laverty offer a cutting, self-critical analysis of their medium while finding an honest and effective perspective on history...
Tom Dawson, Total Film
It's an undeniably didactic drama, but scores points for stylistic ambition and its heartfelt sympathies towards the dispossessed.
Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
The film's heart is certainly in the right place, but its narrative is more of a scattergun affair.
Burl Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Advertiser
If you can handle a few scenes of hammeringly obvious metaphor, "Even The Rain" is a rich, multi-layered film that gives an involved viewer much to think about.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
"Even The Rain" is alive to the political echoes that reverberate between the 500-year-old film-within-a-film and its contemporary setting. Sometimes those echoes get a little too loud, but in general, this is thoughtful and relevant filmmaking.
Shawn Levy, Oregonian
It starts as clever, but it ends in real feeling.

Read all 24 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Reid V

Dedicated to Howard Zinn, the famous New Left historian, Even the Rain looks at imperialism from the perspective of the exploited. It is an interesting effort, but one that feels incredibly heavy-handed & propagandistic. I appreciate that the film has good intentions, but the… More
Dedicated to Howard Zinn, the famous New Left historian, Even the Rain looks at imperialism from the perspective of the exploited. It is an interesting effort, but one that feels incredibly heavy-handed & propagandistic. I appreciate that the film has good intentions, but the dialogue is so on the nose and the director has such a ferocious hatred for subtlety, that it makes me resistant to the whole endeavor. Not even Gael Garcia Bernal's dashing looks can distract me from the film's hagiographical take on peasant uprisings. If you are really swept up in the 99% movement, then this film is meant to arouse you. However, if you like films that make you think as opposed to ones that drown you in ideology, then this film will offer you little more than one cool homage to Fellini's La Dolce Vita.
Carlos M

An intriguing Spanish drama that raises many questions about morality without ever giving in to easy answers. All characters are well constructed and have solid motivations for their actions, and the story makes some curious parallels between the early colonization of America and… More
An intriguing Spanish drama that raises many questions about morality without ever giving in to easy answers. All characters are well constructed and have solid motivations for their actions, and the story makes some curious parallels between the early colonization of America and modern-day imperialism.
Walter M

On location for a film shoot in Bolivia, Sebastian(Gael Garcia Bernal), the director, arranges for an open call which brings out a very long line of applicants which ends up driving his producer Costa(Luis Tosar) to chocolate. At first, Sebastian agrees to compromise before going… More
On location for a film shoot in Bolivia, Sebastian(Gael Garcia Bernal), the director, arranges for an open call which brings out a very long line of applicants which ends up driving his producer Costa(Luis Tosar) to chocolate. At first, Sebastian agrees to compromise before going ahead and seeing everybody, anyway. Of particular interest is Daniel(Juan Carlos Aduviri) and his daughter Belen(Milena Soliz) which still does not make Costa happy until he sees a screen test of Daniel in full makeup. That's not the only local point of interest, as Maria(Cassandra Ciangherotti), a videographer assigned to the production, stumbles across some of the locals fighting for water rights. Written by Paul Laverty and dedicated to the memory of Howard Zinn, "Even the Rain" is a superb movie that has done a powerful job of linking Columbus' voyages to America, as seen through the eyes of Montesinos(Raul Arevalo), a Spanish monk who was sympathetic to the natives, to the recent Water Wars of Bolivia, showing the continuation of the exploitation in Year 508, as Noam Chomsky would put it, with the novel device of using a film production as background. Yes, Daniel does not need to say there are more important things than making a film but it is a worthy sentiment nonetheless. The movie also works on a personal level, detailing the loneliness of the long distance actor, via Anton's(Karra Elejalde) drinking, as one cannot be in one place for very long without being affected somehow. And I know Gael Garcia Bernal is supposed to be the star here but it is Luis Tosar who steals the show with his observational gaze.
Kyle S

A high 8, low 9 out of 10. More to come...