Fizcarraldo

            There were two aspects of the movie Fizcarraldo that particularly stuck out to me, the contrasting treatment and disposition of Fizcarraldo towards the native populations and the aspect of race throughout the film. One scene I found particularly intriguing in the movie is when Fizcarraldo and his ship return to what appears to be an island to collect sections of the railroad track to be used for collecting rubber. There is a black man and his family there and it appears as if he is the only one left who has continued to build the railroad and he has been waiting for Fizcarraldo to return. This scene highlighted the impact of failed industrialization as well as the issue of race in the movie. The man was left to continue building a railroad that Fizcarraldo had known for a long time was never going to be finished – but he left the man there to continue working on it anyway. Further, when the newest shiniest way to make money came along for Fizcarraldo he was quick to destroy this man’s work by taking the parts from the railroad to help his rubber expedition. This left the man in distress as his hope had been broken. Further, the black man is very obviously portrayed as inferior to Fizcarraldo. He is treated almost like a child and he needs are not valued. This dynamic of white superiority is highlighted in this scene but is also shown throughout the film with the treatment of the natives. They are consistently seen and treated as inferior by the white settlers. This race dynamic adds to the tension in the film and I was left with questions like, was this man native to the area and if not how did he end up there? What were the race dynamics between black people and the natives?

            I was also intrigued by Fizcarraldo’s treatment of the native populations throughout the movie. He had a consistently changing relationship with them. One moment he would be working with them and calling his drunk cook, the smartest man in the world for thinking of the idea to use the ship to help with their rubber extraction. The next moment he would be plotting to use their culture against them, when he wanted to pretend to be the god they were waiting for to help ensure their loyalty. These contrasting behaviors shed light on the complex dynamic white settlers had with the native populations. In his critique Lund highlights how, this dynamic can be understood in a broader context when he writes that the movie displays, “the savagery of pure life in the jungle over here, penetrated and tamed by the sophistication of an ordered European life from over there” (209). This contrast was displayed not only in Fizcarraldo’s treatment of native populations but also in the difference in dress between the two groups of people and scenes that highlighted cultural difference like when Fizcarraldo was asked to drink a juice containing saliva. In conclusion, it was the obvious cultural distinctions throughout the film that I found the most interesting but also that left me with the most questions.