RKS 2024 Film: “The Settlers”: Chile’s Submission For Best International Feature Film in the Upcoming Academy Awards

“The Settlers” is Chile’s submission for best International Feature Film in the upcoming 96th Academy Awards. Given the slew of mostly documentaries chronicling the decimation of indigenous populations the colonization playbook is becoming well worn.

Colonize and destroy indigenous populations through violence, both cultural and physical then legitimization through treaties between the colonizers and the indigenous leaders. Then in some cases formal apologies and class action settlements by governments that continue the colonization!

Chile opens the playbook again to offer a Chilean perspective to its colonization.

Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago shared by Argentina and Chile. In “The Settlers” Don Josĕ or Mr. Menéndez (Alfredo Castro), as he more commonly is known as, is a sheep farmer with massive tracts of land in 1901 Tierra del Fuego. Sheep are so valuable they are referred to as “white gold”.

Indians have no value to Menéndez and is not beneath him to offer a bounty for Indian ears and uteruses. He has a vicious and brutal Scot Lieutenant MacLennan (Mark Stanley), also known as the Red Pig, working for him supervising building fences and then sends him with “half breed” Segundo (Camillo Arancibia) and American Bill (Benjamin Westfall) to find a transatlantic route for transporting his sheep but first he must “clean“ the area. Clean means eliminate the Indians that live within it which he undertakes with glee. And so they kill. They encounter a small Argentinian army unit mapping the Chilean-Argentinian border and a small group headed by a psychotic homosexual Scottish Colonel Martin (Benjamin Westfall). It is clear the colonizers and their hired help hate Indians considering them savages. The savages in “The Settlers” are certainly not the Indians.

The newly formed Chilean republican government some 7 years after the atrocities commissioned by Menéndez and carried out by McLennan wants to renew the agreement made by Menéndez and the Mapuche Indians and they want the “optics” on the treaty and treatment of Indians to look good. The Chilean government wants to build (at least theoretically and optically) a unified nation of settlers, Chileans and Indians.

The closing scene involving a film shoot of Segundo and his wife Rosa epitomizes the legitimization/public relations factor in colonization and the resistance it faces amongst Indians.

“The Settlers” makes its point exposing the brutality, hypocrisy, greed and underhanded manipulations of the colonizers.  It could be that Chile has moved on from the shame of the downfall and execution of President Salvador Allende and is examining itself from an historical perspective long before Allende.

There is nothing terribly novel about the film as it follows the colonizer’s playbook but it is perfectly done. What scenery! Momentary lapses into spaghetti westerns.

Directed by Felipe Gálvez Haberle.

You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGW_tKtxrMc

RKS 2024 Film Rating 86/100.

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: ? February1971: Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Dear Boys:

Just having a rest before going down to dinner. Tired from all the walking I am doing. I went to the other side of the island with a couple my age. They are from New Jersey. We shared the expenses. Honestly, I have never seen such a beautiful country. The lemon trees are full of fruit and the almond trees have pink blossoms. The olive trees are loaded with olives.

I would like to live in Spain when I get old-my back is fine with no aches or pain. It is so beautiful here. There is a tour tomorrow for 50 cents. I can afford it and I would like to go. If I stay another week and don’t continue to each too much I will not gain weight. I am wondering how long I can continue to wear my new suit. It is almost falling over my hips. Sometimes the food is so awful as they cook everything in olive oil and there is olive oil in everything and sometimes that gets to be too much.

Now I think about it Robert there is another pair of gloves in the drum that is in your room. I will bring back you another pair from Spain. How are you making out? I wish I could look in on you. I do miss you very much but I am determined to see something while I can.

Barbara has been furloughed until April.

Love Mum

RKS 2024 Film: “Beehive”: An Alien Invasion is All the Buzz with Stinging Analogies to COVID

Comets are seeing whizzing by in the night sky in a rural British Columbia area. Speculation in the media is that this may be an alien invasion. A crock of crap?

Rosy (Meadow Kingfisher) an energetic aspiring filmmaker at age 10ish lives with her father Frank (Stephen J.F. Walker) and her somewhat surly older teen brother Arron (Kaydin Gibson). Their recently deceased mom was Indigenous. Rosy out in the backwoods discovers a wasp or bee’s nest on a tree. Now the nest starts to grow and drip goo. Touch this goopy thing you get stung, develop a high fever and cough then die a la COVID. Again in the COVID mode mass panic swells with “public service announcements” i.e. propaganda advising all to lock door and shelter in place with the Canadian army being called on to save the nation.

A fair to middling piece of film sort of like COVID meeting “Alien”. Really no uniqueness for seasoned filmgoers. What is encouraging is the use of Indigenous actors in non-stereotypical parts. Considering that Canada’s APTN television network was involved in production of the film this is not surprising.

Broadcast premiere will be 9January2024 on Canada’s VOD channel Hollywood Suite.

RKS 2024 Film Rating: 67/100.

RKS 2024 Film: “Adult Adoption”: Lost in a Barbie Land of Not Belonging

Poor 25-year-old Rosy (Ellie Moon) is floundering in a pink obsessed Barbie Land. She is the perfect nine-year-old girl in her dress style, choice of music and her general level of maturity. Just look at her room! Even her sleeping pills are pink.

Rosy was in foster care at age 6 as her mother died at three, her father disappeared and then the grandmother she lived with moved into long term care. She fantasizes about what most of us have for most of our lives, a parent or parents. She is “out of the system” reaching the age of majority and suffering manifest massive anxiety resulting from this exclusionary twist in her life.

So Rosy searches “adult adoption” websites trolling for a parent. She connects with an older man and all goes well until he says to Rosy that she is his peer and they should move to “next level” and she should stop searching for a parent. Rosy doesn’t take that observation well and moves on a new possible mother Jane (Rebecca Northan) but her obsession with Jane smothers that possible relationship. In a brilliant performance Northan rips into Rosy shredding her immaturity and self pity. Rosy matures rather quickly after that summed up in the recorded meditation that she listens to advising her that she is the creator of her own life. In a remarkable transformation Rosy becomes an adult. It could be that this remarkable transition is so convincing and authentic due to Moon’s acting ability.  A delightfully frantic performance by Chelsea Muirhead as Nola.

A quirky storyline but this transformation of Rosy gives a deeper meaning to belonging and identity. A few jabs given to dating aps, religious cults and corporate office culture.

This Canadian film is directed by Karen Knox and it will be showing on the Hollywood Suite VOD system in Canada commencing 6January2024.

You can see trailer here https://www.google.com/search?q=adult+adoption+film&rlz=1C1CHBF_enCA811CA811&oq=adult+adoption&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBggAEEUYOzIGCAAQRRg7Mg4IARBFGDkYQxiABBiKBTIHCAIQABiABDIMCAMQLhhDGIAEGIoFMgwIBBAAGEMYgAQYigUyDAgFEC4YQxiABBiKBTIMCAYQABhDGIAEGIoFMgYIBxBFGDzSAQg2NDk2ajBqNKgCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:d0fd7432,vid:uVEQBP81eMg,st:0

RKS 2024 Film Rating 86/100.

RKS 2024 Wine: Chilean Wines a Flash in the Pan? Nationalism Losing to The Wallet?

In terms of price and quality here in Canada Chilean red wines rule the roost. I await export statistics as to both volume and monetary value for 2023.

In the Liquor Control Board of Ontario’s Vintages 6January2024 release there are 5 Chilean reds and they are all under $20. There are a paltry 3 Canadian reds (shame on you LCBO) one is $17, one $35 and the other $26.95. If the quality is there what are Ontario consumers going to be reaching for? As for many consumers at the LCBO I speak to they are grabbing Chilean wines and not even bothering to lament the poor selection of Canadian red wines.

With a name like Montgras Day One New Range 2022 Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon the North American and UK markets would seem to be the target.

Aroma: Opulent and thick raspberry, blackberry, cassis and all of this suggesting a powerful and rich red wine.

Palate: Blackberry, violets, cassis and dark chocolate. Moderate tannins and a medium finish.

Personality: A 360-pound linebacker wine that plays on the palate like a swift 264-pound tight end. Save me for your Super Bowl viewing. I am no flash in the pan.

Food Match: Since we mention the Super Bowl give up your beer, at least until half time to educate your palate with this wine and pair the wine with a flank steak Fajita with guacamole and corn chips on the side.  Will win points as a sipper until the 3rd quarter starts and you have finished your fajitas and you may wish to switch to some sparkling water.

Cellarbility: Drink by 2025-year end.

Price: $17.95 CDN (Ontario).

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 89/100.

(Montgras Gran 2022 Reserva Day One Cabernet Sauvignon, D.O. Valle del Maipo, Vina Montgras, Chile, 750 mL. 14%).

RKS Literature: Cocktails and a Life of Nothingness of the Idle Rich

“Back in his apartment the grayness returned. His cocktails had died, making him sleepy, somewhat befogged and inclined to be surly. Lord Verulam-he? The very thought was bitter. Anthony Patch with no record of achievement, without courage, without strength to be satisfied with truth when it was given to him. Oh, he was a pretentious fool, making careers out of cocktails and meanwhile regretting, weakly and secretly, the collapse of a wretched idealism. He had garnished his soul in the subtlest taste and now he longed for the old rubbish. He was empty it seemed, empty as on old bottle- “

F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Beautiful and the Damned”, 1922

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: ? February1971: Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Dear Barb:

I went to the bank at 9:30 this morning to get my money situation fixed up and then I went to the market and bought 4 oranges huge and delicious for four cents. I ate some Mallorcian dish at a stand with a little beer for 39 cents. You should see this market which is about 4 kilometres away. The doorman at the hotel thinks I am nuts for walking so far.

Someone knocked at my door again and my heart goes in my mouth. It’s that man again. I think he is a con man. I am more curious than ever about him. VT thinks there is something screwy about him. I asked her if she ever found anything about him to let me know. You should get to know her. She is about your age and looks like your friend Sandy. Poor kid she has an infection in her eyes and throat and has been in bed for 5 days. I see her every day and sometimes bring her some food. Feels like she is you. It must be awful to be away from home and be sick.

I took the Time Man to see VT. He has been bothering her too. We are trying to figure out if he is a phony and we are both sure he is.

I am sorry if you have never discovered this beautiful heaven here. I mean it! I believe your only way to learn about a city is on foot even if they are sore at the end of the day. VT tells me she is sorry that she as not done what I am doing. She just never has the chance. If it wasn’t for you I never would have had the chance. Thank you.

Good nite.

Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog: The Final Cut :Rescue Dog Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Chapter Four

So here I am in Canada with my foster parents Anthony and Susan. Gradually I am starting to feel good about myself. I am gaining confidence. I am saddled with countless bad dreams about my treatment on the streets of Cairo, master Anwar’s state abduction and execution for simply being critical of the Egyptian government. But I can not change what has already happened. If I keep thinking about these negative human interactions it will be akin to chasing my tail and running around in circles. Although I can accept what has happened to me incessant worrying and judging translates everything to unhappiness. Perhaps one day I can forgive those who forever altered my life and took away Anwar’s.

I have forgiven the Rottenwhiler who attacked and injured me in Cairo as after all I was the one attempting to steal food from his bowl. Extreme hunger breeds desperation. Strangely if that big dog had not bitten me I never would have ended up in the Cairo pet hospital making it possible to leave Egypt and come to Canada. Unfortunately my fear of large dogs causes me to growl and sometimes lunge at them but Anthony and Susan are not angered by my bad manners as they have familiarity with my history. I am not ill mannered just frightened by this experience. After watching a BBC documentary with Anwar on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder of British soldiers in Ireland I think I am suffering from PTSD. This is why humans must have compassion for many rescue dogs. Their loving canine soul has been damaged by unpleasant if not horrific experiences.

I am now starting to forgive many of the Egyptian people for how badly they treated me. They have little compassion for street dogs because they have no tradition of loving and caring for pets but do they have to poison and shoot street dogs? They are slaves to their feelings as for almost all they do not know the concept and joy of having a pet. I would hope that time and education will help them like dogs and treat them better. A thank you for those Egyptians in the pet hospital that saved my life.

My experiences in Canada show that Canadians love and care for their dogs but I am sure not all pets are loved and cared for here. I hear there are “puppy mills” where puppies are bred and kept in horrible conditions.  Roy, a neighborhood rescue dog, told me of the horrific conditions he was subjected to and how he survived his “imprisonment” in a Taiwanese puppy mill. How he survived is a miracle. There are 4 rescue dogs in our neighbourhood so I am not alone.

So here I am in Canada under the care and control of my foster parents and feel my luck is in an upward trajectory. I am in a strange country and a bit frightened as everything is so unfamiliar but I feel so much love and respect for me “just an” Egyptian street dog. I am tough and resilient and proud. I am going to show all these Canadians just how good Reggie the Egyptian street dog can be! I do this for myself, Anwar and all the street dogs in Egypt. Can my story be told one day?

RKS Literature: United States Congress as a Pigsty

“On this minor his dream faded-work to do: he tried to imagine himself in Congress rooting around that litter of that incredible pigsty with narrow and porcine brows he saw pictured sometimes in the rotogravure sections of the Sunday newspapers, those glorified proletarians babbling to the nation the ideas of high school seniors! Little men with copy-book ambitions who by mediocrity had thought to emerge from mediocrity into the lustreless and unromantic heaven of a government by the people-and the best, the dozen shrewd men at the top, egotistic and cynical, were content to lead this choir of white ties and wire collar-buttons in a discordant  and amazing hymn, compounded of a vague confusion between wealth and reward of virtue and wealth as a proof of vice, and continued cheers for God, the Constitution and the Rocky Mountains.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Beautiful and Damned”, 1922

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: ? February1971: Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Dear Barb:

And what a night. V.T. the ATS hostess whom I insist you must write to thank for her being so good to me gave me a ticket to the welcoming BBQ for the incoming tour. A women’s conference. Sure pick the winners but some had their sons there. Mostly dear old women like me but a few brought their husbands. If you ever have a chance to go to one of their affairs GO! We left the hotel at 7:30 p.m. for a twenty-minute ride in a beautiful new bus. There were 500 people at the do in a huge fabulous building and they started off with a Spanish cocktail party. Brother! Tables loaded with olives, almonds, you know the usual stuff. Then on to dinner. A bottle of red and white wine on each table. Started off with a huge salad, then chicken then a big suckling pig, then Champagne and ice cream. After this we went outside for an equestrian show. While sitting around the ring we were served hot rum. I will never ever forget this night. On the bus back to the hotel on the bus some 23-year-old asked me to go to Barcelona with him. I said NO! My daughter is your age! He said I figured you were 25!

I have a terrific tan and am too thin but I will put it back on soon. VT gave me a ticket for the farewell party for the outgoing group. There was salad, roast beef, potatoes, asparagus then fruit in brandy. No wonder Americans love their tours. They are fabulous price wise.

Tomorrow a real estate woman is picking me up to look at apartments as if you are still with the airline I will bring Rob here for the summer with Andy coming on his holidays.

I ate one of the oranges I bought yesterday and it was so sweet and full of juice.

Sunday

The real estate lady picked me up and we drove 12 miles to Palma Nova where the beaches are. The apartments all have marble floors and are absolutely new. A huge three-bedroom apartment rents for $300 a month and a smaller 3 bedroom for $200.

I had some money stolen from my purse after leaving it for a minute. It wasn’t much but they left the travellers cheques and Canadian cash. From now on I will go out with only the cash I need and put the rest in the safe. I will go out for my afternoon coffee and brandy at the outdoor café then come home for a bath and go out for dinner.

Once in bed someone knocked at the door at 2 a.m. then phoned at 2:15 and 2:45 and knocked at my door at 8:30 a.m. I was furious and answered nothing. I called VT at 10 a.m. to ask her out. We are getting a big kick out of all of this. He told her he’d been in London all day yesterday but I could have sworn I saw him out on the patio in the sun. So now we are more curious than ever.

Love Mum

Monday

Today I spent $25 on three pairs of shoes all gorgeous. One pair of these shoes in Montreal would be $50.

This place is heaven on earth and I love it.

Mum