Revolución
Seville
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Since 1998, a small country with vast oil wealth but an impoverished populace has followed a resolutely revolutionary path. Its leader defies the established order of things, leading his people into a fight to change the world. Heroes of the past provide his inspiration: not only revolutionaries like Simón Bolívar and Che Guevara, but Don Quixote, the legendary justice-seeker who tilted at windmills.

The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, provokes strong reactions from all sides. His close personal friendship with Fidel Castro and his virulent attacks on George W. Bush make him a figure both sympathetic and frightening. As the architect of a new Bolivarian revolution, Chávez not only wants to free the Venezuelan people, but help the world rid itself of North American imperialism. Is he a freedom fighter, or a dangerous madman? In the heat of revolutionary struggle, greatness and madness can be hard to tell apart. When idealism is the only guide, there is a constant risk of losing control. And threats come from every direction, even within.

Revolución is a journey through the tortuous paths of revolution.

Venezuela provides the framework for Charles Gervais's Revolución, a primer that dissects the many parts of a societal revolution.

As oil revenues continue to rise and gain importance on the global scene, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez suddenly sees himself as one of the world's most powerful people. He apparently speaks for the disenfranchised, although his strong-arm tactics lead some to call him a repressor. It's almost as though he's the Pauley Shore of world leaders – you either love him or loath him. Revolución offers a very balanced looked at the controversial figure, shedding both a good light on his rise to power yet also offering a caution as to his long-term goals and plans.

Where Revolución gets a little tricky is in its format. It breaks a revolution down into more than ten parts using Chávez's rise to power as an example. But with only a 90-minute running time, the complexity of things gets lost and a little confusing. For students of revolutionary theory, this wouldn't be too much of a problem. But for those of us whose knowledge of rebellion came with the teenage years and the light side on Star Wars, it's too much in too short a time.

Revolución has a very similar tone to the informative but over-long The Corporation, which did a similar thing breaking down the role of corporations in the modern world. The Corporation was a little too long and started to ramble by the two-and-a-half hour mark. Give it and Revolución two hours each and you've got yourself two films that are even more important and far reaching

Video: How's it look?
The Revolución comes in widescreen with a 1.78:1 aspect ration. Some of the news footage is blurry and grainy, but that should be expected when it's transferred to a film.

Audio: How's it sound?
Audio comes in a solid but not spectacular 2.0 stereo. It would have been nice to feel like I was in the middle of a protest or two, but alas I just had to feel like I was watching it from the comfort of my home with the best possible view – kind of like Hockey Night in Canada. There's also French and Spanish tracks.

Extras: What additional goodies are included?

• A 10-minute making-of featurette adds more context to the film and offers some interesting insights into political filmmaking.
• Two additional speeches from Hugo Chávez.
• English, French and Spanish subtitles.

Closing Thoughts
Revolución sheds light on a powerful world leader who isn't seen much on the Western media as his comments are often antagonistic towards it. However, it's important to learn more about Hugo Chávez as he appears poised to become the most powerful leader in Latin America. The documentary provides a good look at who he is but stumbles in its framing around what a revolution is.


Review brought to you by our friend Ryan @ Movie-Views.com