Beautifully written and directed documentary. It is emotional (but not too much) and represents the reality of almost all the parts involved in the conflict. Loved it!
5 Reviews
Poetic, brilliant
mariapianapoletano17 August 2020
A must see
douglasmba22 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This informative production is a must-see for all concerned, compassionate people. The story line is as follows; The government of Columbia wants the violent FARC guerillas to turn in their assault weapons and hand grenades. The killing should stop. FARC agrees upon the condition they receive jobs, housing and educational opportunities. The deal is agreed upon. FARC turns in all weapons and receives nothing in return. The army then shows up and destroys the cocaine plants FARC makes money from to survive. FARC then decides to turn over and burn some government vehicles as an act of reprisal. Then, while the citizens of the involved area are peacefully in a forested area the army opens fire, one gun is a rapid-fire. The people scatter; however, the result is men, in civilian clothing, women and children are left on the ground, bloody and dead. Surviving FARC members and then shown saying some countries provided financial assistance to help with the FARC transition to members of normal society. A large number of FARC members have also, reportedly, joined another militant group. Life apparently does not change. Circumstances are the same as before the FARC/government deal. You may watch and draw your own opinion regarding who is incorrect.
No context
ozxpat-no12 November 2020
I just don't understand what is up with these postmodern documentaries. I get idea that the film makers want to let the subjects speak for themselves, but sometimes people watch a documentary to learn something new. Learning is impossible here because it doesn't provide any history, text, infographics or summaries. It's just people talking. They could be credible. Truthful. Or complete liars. It's up to the audience to decide. Except we are given no information to do this with. This film is a waste of time that will leave you with nothing more than a notion of how the different sides of this conflict "feel".
Hard to watch
elvirasanchezblake8 April 2021
As a documentary, Colombia in my Arms is professionally done by addressing the extreme points of view of a very complex situation. However, by not providing any background, people are led to confusion. If you don't know who the people are, you wouldn't understand that the politician woman is one of the worst congress women in the history of the country, just to give an example. If the objective of the producers was no to take a stance, it did not fulfill the goal. More information and a narrative could have helped viewers to understand the film, which otherwise was technically a piece of art.
Unprepared viewers need patience to wade through the talking heads in the first 45 minutes, before understanding the political failures shown and what the message is
JvH4821 April 2021
Saw this at the Movies That Matter 2021 documentary festival, normally running in The Hague but now 100% online. An unprepared viewer needs lots of patience to wade through the talking heads of the first 45 minutes, before it becomes clear what is going wrong and what the message of this movie is. One should watch this documentary twice to get its intentions.
That first half is a commendable attempt to show many sides, but it seems to lead nowhere. We see and hear just talking, without a compelling narrative to bind it all together. A pity. Context is needed to follow this documentary and maintain interest in its cause and its message. Viewers like me, from other parts of the world, are not familiar with Columbia and its history hence fail to connect the dots.
The pseudo-philosophical 15-minutes finale about machism does not help in appreciating this documentary.
That first half is a commendable attempt to show many sides, but it seems to lead nowhere. We see and hear just talking, without a compelling narrative to bind it all together. A pity. Context is needed to follow this documentary and maintain interest in its cause and its message. Viewers like me, from other parts of the world, are not familiar with Columbia and its history hence fail to connect the dots.
The pseudo-philosophical 15-minutes finale about machism does not help in appreciating this documentary.
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