This is a look at the volunteer fire brigade in Valparaíso, Chile. Tasked with keeping the city safe they find that their job is being complicated by the increasing number of wild fires that are threatening the city and the surrounding area. As the men and women train they are joined by a crew from France with whom the exchange techniques Complicating things further is the civil unrest brought on by the countries attempts to rewrite the constitution.
First - if you can see this on a big screen do so. There are images here that will make your jaw drop open with their terrifying beauty.
This is such a great film. I went in expecting a film that was simply about fire fighters battling blazes and instead was confronted by a film full of wonderful people. This is a film that truly gives us a sense of life in Valparaíso and of the good people who live there. Going farther afield then just fire fighting the film becomes a portrait of a city and a country encountering change and trying to remain themselves - both politically via the changes in law as well as physically, via the fires that threaten to burn the city down.
Sure the images of the fires make us stare at the film as if it were a carnival attraction but it is director Nicolás Molina's presentation of the people on screen that make the film something much greater. We are among them and one of them so when things happen, like an impromptu sing happens we are tempted to sing along.
This film is a delight and a must see at both the Tribeca and Sheffield Film Festivals.
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