Men with Guns: A Latin American Film - Essay Example

Men with Guns: A Latin American FilmMen with Guns is regarded as one of the most renowned Latin American political films. The film was produced in 1997 having been directed and written in Spanish by John Sayles. Short in Mexico, the film is set in an unnamed Latin American country. It is a depiction of the atrocities committed at a time of war. The plot of the film is very captivating and emotional at the same time especially in the selection of its characters where it can be presumed that Sayles’ main intention was to demonstrate lack of a common means of communication.

For instance, there are American tourists, and four other Spanish speaking native with one of them being a mute young woman.The film is centered on one philanthropic professional doctor known as Dr. Fuentes, whose idea of improving the quality of life through science and technology stirs him to volunteer to teach some young men and women. These trainees were then disbursed throughout the country to help treat people. However, one day when Dr. Fuentes visits his trainees to assess their progress, he is met by a shocking encounter where he finds most villages in even more worse situations including his trainees.

This is a result of constant harassment and torture as well as killing by the “men with guns” from the government’s as well as the militia groups, who are blaming the nurses of treating their adversaries. Through the doctor’s long journey, he comes across a number of people from whom viewers learn the extent of the dehumanizing events caused by the “men with guns”. It is also horrible that in times of war, the society is forced to choose between lies and truth as well as right or wrong, with those opting to choose the truth or what is right being subjected to torture as revealed by the Conejo the young boy who served in the army.

In particular, one cannot help but to sympathize with the young Graciela, who was raped by the soldiers and has since remained mute. The film vividly presents the possible outcomes of a civil war including the killing of health service providers as well as young children by the same army that is supposed to protect its people. One admirable aspect of the movie is the fact that by not naming a particular country or time, Sayles seems to be asking the viewers to consider how this tale ramifies beyond one country and continent.

Moreover, it also questions how men with guns, in the name of revolutionary armies have wiped out indigenous communities. However, for some viewers, the film may fail to achieve its intended purpose of explaining the situation during the war as it sometimes tend to be rather complex in terms of unfolding of events. As a whole, the Men with Guns stands out as one of the touching Latin American films worth watching.Works Cited