Huacho

Rural traditions and modern life clash in Alejandro Fernández Almendras’s engaging feature debut, Huacho. Chronicling the life of a hard-working peasant family, Almendras paints an evocative picture of the many hardships experienced by millions of rural Chileans. An apt title for the film, huacho means “bastard” or “having no father” but can also mean “abandoned.” The family members are left behind by a modern way of life that does not include them. Faced with problems like electrical shortages, low wages and discrimination, they work hard just to stay afloat. Rather than intertwine the narratives, Almendras follows the characters one by one throughout their day, showing us the adversity each faces. Following in the tradition of much of the recent neo-realist cinema from Latin America by directors like Lisandro Alonso and Adrián Caetano, Almendras offers an original and affecting quasi-documentary look at these lives, never falling into sentimentality. The humanity and respect he affords his characters is evident throughout the film, and he gives a voice to so many of those who keep old traditions alive.