El Baño del Papa by César Charlone and Enrique Fernandez

The debut feature film, directed by César Charlone and Enrique Fernandez, presented in Un Certain Regard, tells the story of the inhabitants of Melo. In this small Uruguayan village, close to the Brazilian boarder, the inhabitants are convinced that the foretold visit of Jean Paul II will bring millions of starving and thirsty pilgrims to their village. They ruin themselves stockpiling provisions, with the belief that trade and riches will come tomorrow.

The beginning of the film is in the documentary genre. The sublime cinematography of César Charlone (to whom we owe the imagery in City of God) immediately transports us into a universe of film. Of the play of shadows created by people cycling their bicycles, of the sound of breathing and of the off the screen voice, this is how we are introduced to the world of these people, to their journeys and hopes. Remarkable one shot images reveal smugglers on bicycles who cross the border between Brazil and Uruguay to import the food into their villages. It is also beneficial for the smugglers that the pilgrims begin a journey towards hope. In the village of Melo, that God has forgotten, the villagers prepare food for that which they invest all their lives, the escape of misery.

The plot of the film centres on the arrival of the Pope ; the man, ‘long awaited’ and ‘invisible’, who will offer them a prosperous life. The character of Beto, a raving lunatic who is frantic for success, carries us into his delirium of ingenious ideas, gawping and open mouthed in his natural state of being.

The film is constructed in a tragic-comic mode, on the hope of a people, and on an arrival that could change their lives. Alongside this there is a message in the film - that ‘working is not enough to earn money’. It is a very touching story of dignity and solidarity, and of the huge hope of a people who want to change their destiny, in this there is a glimmer of hope.

Azra Deniz Okyay