A LA CALLE Directed By: Maxx Caicedo, Nelson G. Navarrete
The documentary features interviews with prominent figures opposed to the government of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. (IMDB Synopsis)
This documentary follows a series of events that I did not have a lot or prior knowledge about other than knowing the overall situation of Venezuela. That being said, the amount of knowledge I got in this movie, was tremendous. La Calle helped shine a very well needed spotlight. A spotlight that more people need to be aware of. There is a lot of information and background that are shown in the documentary and it never got confusing or overwhelming. It honestly was structured in such a way that allowed me as the viewer to not only understand the events that were taking place, but also the impact it had on many different individuals that were involved. The fight for democracy and being able to provide help those in need, was the main topic. It's what was at the forefront of this story being told. We get to see important individuals who were involved and the impact they had on the movement. Presented with the corrupt government and how it was being run, gave me exposition of how drastic the situation was. Without a doubt there was a huge amount of dictatorship within the country and there is a need for this constant fight that is still going on today. As we see these events played out and the amount of organization that took place, it inspires the viewer.
Within this documentary, there are so many uses of live footage of the actual events.They also included very key interviews of people who were in the front lines of the movement. To illustrate some of these stories, the documentary had some animation to help convert some of the stories. All of these tactics in this documentary painted a perfect picture of what is going on with people involved, the government or events that took place. The real footage is terrifying to look at and relatable to an extent. The United States had numerous large protest nation wide all of 2020 and still some now. I've participated in a lot of these myself and I know how powerful people coming together can feel. I also have seen mistreatment of peaceful protests. Seeing all these videos reminded me of everything and I even broke down crying in a lot of these parts. A La Calle is even powerful for those who never been in this setting as well. It does such a great job at getting really deep into the story and the experiences everyone involved had. It dives deep on how hungry people are by showing what people are doing to get food. Consequences are shown even in animated form to express what would happen if you are going against the government. They show examples of how much money they needed to bring in cash to make a simple transaction. The documentary not only told us the problems Venezuela was going through, but they showed us with real life examples. We see that there is a lot of hope as well. Soldiers begin to stand down and fight along with the people. We get a very inspiring leader Juan Guaido taking up presidency that over 50 countries recognize as the true leader.
Overall I think this documentary is as impactful as they come. It holds a lot of great interviews from a lot of people that need to be recognized. The fight is constantly happening even today. A La Calle is the perfect introduction to learn more about the history and hopefully better future of Venezuela. I recommend people to please follow their website and help out in this effort. The link will be down below. Please try and check this movie out when you can. It's super effective in the message they are trying to come across. The fight for democracy and great leadership is still needed. There is a constant need for Humanitarian resources that need to be provided as well. Very pleased with this movie.