Revolucion!?
Directed by Charles Gervais
Classification: G
Rating: ***½
In Revolucion!?, Montreal director Charles Gervais provides an answer to a question that has plagued the current American administration for nearly a decade: How do you solve a problem like Hugo Chavez?
Ever since 1998, when he was democratically elected to lead Venezuela, a "poor rich country," Chavez has struck a revolutionary path, nationalizing its oil industry, building closer ties with Cuba and Iran, redistributing wealth at home and exporting revolutionary ideals to neighbouring Latin American countries, all as part of his "21st-century socialism." No wonder he's keeping Bush awake at night. The revolution is practically in America's backyard.
Gervais's probing, intelligent and engagingly told documentary, shot on location in Venezuela, begins by suggesting that perhaps Chavez himself isn't the problem. The real issue lies not in Chavez seeking out a revolution but in the telltale signs that he's losing sight of what that revolution has been about in the first place: a quest for freedom and liberation. As Chavez moves away from the ideals of Simon Bolivar and Che Guevara and closer to the dictatorship of Fidel Castro, he is demolishing with one hand what the other has inarguably accomplished. Will he stop before it's too late, or will somebody else (the Americans perhaps) get him first? History will tell what this documentary is careful not to predict one way or the other.
Gervais realizes that the story of Chavez is far from over and can't be reduced into moral absolutes one way or the other. This, in turn, lends Revolucion!? its absorbing, if unsettling, quality. If Chavez is deposed tomorrow, this doc will explain why. If he goes all Kim Jong-il on us, this doc will also tell us how that came to pass.
Although he's a director with an eye to the visual language of film - despite its revolutionary subject matter, the doc is luxuriously shot and impeccably edited - Gervais is above all a deft distiller of history. He contextualizes his scenes without losing sight of a limited but vital number of arguments. At less than 90 minutes, Revolucion!? feels both exhaustive and highly selective.
The feature is organized around what an old revolutionary narrator dubs as the 10 guidelines for a peaceful revolution, from first seeds to restructuring a nation to its leaders coping with being expendable. Each step is illustrated with guerrilla filmmaking, talking heads and animation sequences based loosely on the story of Don Quixote. (Gervais got the idea for this film in 2005 when he read a news story about Chavez distributing a million free copies of Don Quixote to Venezuelans.)
The business and social elite who had the most to lose after the revolution make some sound arguments. Those who were lifted out of poverty are equally convincing but are visibly motivated by nationalist fervour.
Gervais doesn't ask you to take sides (although he's clearly more sympathetic to the working poor) but presents one case after another with as dispassionate a tone as those fiery Latin American tempers will allow. Chavez didn't grant him an interview, but there are no shortage of scenes with the "presidente" in action.
I don't understand why Chavez is always referred to as charismatic, but political beauty is in the eye of the downtrodden beholder, I guess. To its eternal credit, Revolucion!? never falls for the trap of self-righteousness that characterizes every last speech of its leading subject. This makes it an exemplary documentary and recommended viewing for anyone who wants to know why bad things happen to good revolutions.