Postcards from Leningrad (Postales de Leningrado)
Mariana Rondón has been rewarded several times by the Latin American Film award circuit for her film Postales de Leningrado (Postcards from Leningrad). It was the first feature film to receive funding from the Chavez government, and was also the official Venezuelan entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category, at this year’s Oscars.
It’s a story of political struggle in 1960’s Venezuela, a theme not uncommon to Latin American films, but it has a twist: it’s the story from a child’s perspective.
Teo is the son of a young Venezuelan guerilla. Born on Mother’s Day, and at risk of endangering his family’s life with the ensuing publicity, he is taken, by his mother, to live among the rebels in the mountains.
Blissfully unaware of the political intricacies of the time, Teo relies on a fantasty world to help him make sense of the mysterious events around him: for example, the frequent disappearance of people who, unbeknown to him, have been captured and taken to prison. Unlike the adults around him, Teo isn’t seeking utopia: he simply aspires to be the “Invisible Man” which, he fancies, would protect him and his mother (who narrates the story) from being caught by the militia.
Postcards from Leningrad is a colourful and charming film, yet it doesn’t shy away from the violence of the times: we are made aware that people lived in fear, and were taken away and away and tortured. But there is a freshness to the telling of this story that is most appealing. We can only hope for more from this creative filmmaker.