También la lluvia (Icíar Bollían)

También la lluvia (2010) is the fifth feature-length film by Spanish film director Icíar Bollían and is a wonderful film for both the high school and university Spanish classroom.  The script is the work of Paul Laverty, Bollían´s longtime partner, and the film features big-name actors such as Luis Tosar (who appears in many of Bollían´s films) and Gael García Bernal.

Set in Bolivia in the year 2000, the film follows the action of a film crew which has arrived in Bolivia to shoot a movie about the arrival of the Christopher Columbus and the Spanish to the Americas over 500 years ago.  Woven throughout both the fictitious film about the conquest and También la lluvia are the themes of imperialism and the oppression of the indigenous peoples of Spanish-speaking America.  It is a complex story that explores many different cultural topics appropriate for the Spanish-language classroom.  Additionally, the movie itself is cinematographically stunning with beautiful vistas of Bolivia and well constructed scenes and sequences.  Plus, También la lluvia is readily available to rent, purchase and stream through both Netflix and Amazon.

I have taught this film in my 300 level survey of Spanish and Latin American film course* and it was very popular with the students.  Our previewing activities in this course include vocabulary and grammar study (to help students better understand and discuss the films), 7-8 minute cultural presentations by students (on cultural topics related to the film), and a preview of specific themes or cinematographic elements that I want students to take note of while they are watching.  All films are seen outside of class with accompanying comprehension and analysis questions to be answered, with post-viewing class time devoted to follow-up discussions, in-class writing assignments and explorations of ancillary materials related to the films (such as "making of" videos, reading and responding to movie reviews, etc.)

Possible student presentations on cultural topics:

• Indigenous peoples in the Americas before the conquest
• An overview of the Spanish conquest (dates, goals, and realities)
• Bartolomé de las Casas and "La Leyenda Negra"
• "La Guerra del Agua" in Bolivia 2000
• Evo Morales

For those who are interested in teaching film as a visual literature, También la lluvia offers an intriguing study of narrative structure as it interweaves the fictitious film about the Spanish conquest, a documentary shot by the film crew of this fictitious film, and the story of the making of this film itself.  There are several sequences that highlight the parallels in the treatment of the indigenous peoples of present day Bolivia (both by the government and by the film crew) to the the treatment of the indigenous peoples during the conquest.  The ever present christian cross as a symbol of both faith and oppression makes for a wonderful study of symbols and symbolism.   And there are several "making of" videos available on YouTube and on the CIMA (Asociación de Mujeres Cineastas de Medios Audiovisuales) website that bring the process of making the film to life for the students. 

I have used two earlier films by Icíar Bollían in my classroom as well and, although they are both wonderful films, they are more appropriate for the university setting and not for high school.  Flores de otro mundo centers on the themes of Caribbean immigrants in Spain (and the resulting racism and xenophobia), the depopulation of rural Spain, and interpersonal relationships.  This film benefits from plenty of exploration and analysis in the classroom, but can be successfully be used in a survey course.  Te doy mis ojos is a powerful film about domestic violence that should be limited to advanced, mature audiences only.  I have taught the film in my 400 junior/senior seminar, but only with an alternative offered to those students who may find the subject too graphic.


*I use the textbook Cinema for Spanish Conversation from Focus Publishing in this course (which I quite like), but typically create my own lesson for 2-3 movies that are not included in the text.

0 y Presidente Evo Morales