El gran movimiento

After a long walk, miner Elder, together with his young friends Gallo and Gato, arrive in the high-up La Paz. A big city with enormous residential blocks and a tangle of electric wires, submerges in the deafening droning of construction and never-ending traffic. After a protest march for the closing of the mine where they used to work, Elder and his buddies get engulfed in the scary alleys of the widespread markets for the poor. Suddenly Elder does not feel well: is it his bad health; is his body torn because of all the hard work, or because of the excess consumption of alcohol? Or is it the height? At a medical outpost, they cannot find the cause of his dizziness. Elder ends up at Mama Pancha, who claims she is a family friend. She knows someone who could heal him: someone called Max. He is a kind of hermit and shaman who lives in the expansive green forest in the neighbouring mountains. He has apocalyptic visions and he comes to the city every so often, where the merchants know him very well. This time a white dog appears in front of him in the forest, which he follows all the way down to Elder in the deepest part of the city. The sick man is in a deep mystical trance.

The film, which was made on Super 16 mm which gives it a granular texture, is almost impossible to describe. Some call El Gran Movimiento a mix of social documentary and mystical fiction, or a city symphony mixed with ecological mysticism. Watching the film is a weird experience, as if you were getting more and more high while watching the film. Get enchanted by this unique film.