Film Analysis: Even The Rain

The film, Even the Rain, is about a Spanish film crew that travels to the underprivileged city of Cochabamba, Bolivia during the intensifying Cochabamba Water War to shoot a film about Christopher Columbus, his first explorations and the way the Spaniards treated the Indians during the conquest of Latin America. Executive producer Costa (Luis Tosar) convinces film director Sebastián (Gael García Bernal) to shoot in Bolivia because of the film’s tight budget and so they could also hire the local people, who very closely resemble the Indians of the time, for little money to use in their film. Everything goes smoothly for Sebastián, Costa and their film crew until a conflict erupts because of the privatization of Cochabamba’s water supply. One
Costa manages to bribe the police chief to temporarily release Daniel so they could shoot a vital scene for the film. After successfully shooting the scene, the police arrive to detain Daniel again as was agreed between Costa and the police chief. Daniel, however, manages to escape with the help of the other local actors. The protests start intensifying; violence increases and things begin to get uneasy in Cochabamba. The following day, as the filming crew is preparing to leave the city to film in a more secure place, Daniel’s wife, Teresa (Leónidas Chiri) comes pleading for Costa’s help to find her daughter, Belén (Milena Soliz) who has run off into the protests and got wounded. Costa, with a heavy conscience, decides to help Teresa try to find Belén while the rest of the crew leaves the city. The crew gets stopped by a military blockade and at that moment everyone decides that it is time to go home; everyone except Sebastián who does not accept the fact that he will not be able to finish his film. Costa ends up finding Belén, taking her to a hospital and saving her life. The film ends with Costa and Daniel meeting one last time; Daniel gives Costa a little vial of Bolivian water as a token of gratitude for saving his daughter’s