Ariel Dorfman Movies
- 2007
Based in part on the best-selling memoir Heading South, Looking North, Peter Raymont's documentary tells the remarkable story of Ariel Dorfman, the Argentinean-born author and one-time cultural advisor to the chief of staff of Socialist Chilean president Salvador Allende. The acclaimed author of such works as Death and the Maiden and Other Septembers, Many Americas, Dorfman was raised in New York but exiled to Chile during the Red Scare of the 1950s -- a happening which inexorably altered the course of his entire life. When Allende's democratically elected government was overthrown on September 11, 1973, and the majority of Allende's staff was systematically executed, Dorfman's life was spared, so that he could "tell the story." This is his story. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ariel Dorfman
Ariel Dorfman's acclaimed play of the same name serves as the basis for Roman Polanski's drama, which depicts a politically and psychological complex battle of wills amongst three characters in an unnamed South American country. The trio in question is made up of Paulina Sigourney Weaver, her husband Gerardo Stuart Wilson, and Dr. Miranda Ben Kingsley, a seemingly friendly stranger who provided Gerardo with a ride home after a car breakdown. The trouble begins when Paulina claims to recognize Miranda's voice, and accuses him of being the unseen doctor who had subjected her to horrific torture during her days as a prisoner of the country's former government. Miranda, flabbergasted, denies any knowledge of such events, but Paulina is determined to have her revenge. The uncertain Gerardo finds himself caught in the middle, forced to decide if his wife is telling the truth or reacting irrationally due to her past trauma. The confrontation and shifts in power between the three inevitably raises issues of justice and revenge, especially in relationship to the punishment of war criminals. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, (more)
