We Are Alive (2015) New York Film Festival 2015

Bensaid with Castillo

One of the dullest films ever at any New York Film Festival ever is Carmen Castillo's WE ARE ALIVE a political tract on how the Marxist/Leftist/Communist/ect/ect ideas that fueled the revolutions of the 1960's are finding real world success in various parts of the world.

A cinematic position paper framed around a celebration of Daniel Bensaid who was one of the loudest voices for worker/human rights over the last 50 years. Bensaid kept the fires burning even while all his contemporaries, including Castillo walked away. We visit various groups around the world, from building squatters in Paris, rebels in Mexico and land seizers in Bolivia, all of whom are fighting the good fight and meeting with some success.

The film sounded interesting going in. I thought we'd actually get to know the groups and what they were really doing and the situations around them, and we get that on a cursory level. There are few details and no back stories with the result the discussion of a strike at a ship yard means nothing.

What we get  are long winded discussion of the ideas of revolution. This is the language of Marx and Guevara where things like dialectics are discussed as if they are the most exciting things in the world. They aren't, they are boring as all hell. It's over intellectualization of  simple ideas. Worse here its ideas with little real world connection.

Its awful and it drones on for over 100 minutes. By the time the ship building union spokesman droned on about whatever the hell he droned on about a good many people at the press screening had fled into the lobby to wait for the next film.

This film will put you to sleep if the inane nature of it doesn't have you throwing things at the screen.

Not to worry the NYFF screening is done so you can simply put this film on your must avoid list and and do something constructive