¡Qué hacer!

An interesting semi documentary by American left wing activist Saul Landau about the 1970 presidential election in Chile, which socialist Salvador Allende won (he would, of course, died in an apparent suicide while being overthrown in the brutal 1973 coup by general Augusto Pinochet). The movie includes documentary material (including a brief Allende interview when he was on the campaign trail) with a fictionalized story, mostly about Americans working in Chile during the time. There is a minimal storyline there with the unlikely romance between a middle aged consultant to the mining companies who has right wing views (Richard Stahl) and a young left wing activist girl working for the Peace Corps.

The nice color photography allows us to see a Chile of the time that we usually see in black and white photos. There are many outdoor shots, with people walking in the street and commenting and arguing about the politics of the time. It makes the already distant era (43 years ago!) seems more vivid to us. The movie also includes a fine soundtrack by Country Joe McDonald.

Note: Landau has four codirectors, including the famous Chilean Raul Ruiz, who would make more than a hundred films, and would become an art cinema darling in his later career in exile in France.