Colonia

Colonia

Starring Emma Watson, Daniel Bruhl, Michael Nyqvist, Richenda Carey

Directed by Florian Gallenberger

The Story:
In Chile in 1973, European stewardess Lena (Emma Watson) takes some time off to spend with her activist boyfriend Daniel (Daniel Bruhl), who's been living in Chile for a few months as a member of an underground resistance group who want to bring deposed President Salvador Allende back to power, but then the country faces a coup from General Augusto Pinochet, and both are taken prisoner.  While Lena is released, Daniel is taken to a mysterious compound called Colonia Dignidad, under the leadership of Paul Schafer (Michael Nyqvist), a religious man who gives appearances that the place is a home for religious freedom, but is actually a cult.

Lena decides to infiltrate the compound, disguised as a pious Christian girl who wants to learn the ways of the Lord, and despite early apprehensions from Schafer, she is welcomed to the community.  She then learns that Schafer is a cult leader who separates the men, women and children, and that there's closer connections between the compound and Pinochet as she spends months searching for her lost love, who endured brutal torture.  That's just the beginning as they not only have to find one another, but find a way to escape a seemingly inescapable prison.

The Synopsis:
Based on a true story.
Those five words have been used throughout film history as a way to draw people into the story they're trying to tell.  Generally, after seeing many of these so-called "true life" tales, I've come to surmise that about 40% of any movie that includes that tagline actually has true-life events thrown into their imaginative tale they're trying to tell.

Such is with "Colonia," where the lead characters never existed, but the Colonia Dignidad sure did.  While most films try to exploit their true life stories, it seems that the real story of the Colonia Dignidad is much more dark and sick than even the film portrayed it to be. 

The tale is a compelling one, and given our freedom in America, something we don't necessarily think about.  In Chile in the 70s, there was an underground group that wanted to bring back President Allende (who was deposed) back to power, but a military coup sent the country into a tailspin, and people were taken captive.  In the film, this is what happens to Daniel, and he is taken to Colonia, which was also historically accurate as papers were discovered that connected the real Paul Schafer and General Pinochet, where he allowed his commune to be used as a place to hold and torture political prisoners.  Lena, the longsuffering girlfriend, decides to infiltrate the compound in disguise in hopes of rescuing her boyfriend, which is a unique tale in itself - typically it's the man who has to rescue the woman, but here the gender roles are reversed.

When Lena becomes a part of the community, she discovers a place closer akin to Jonestown (which happens years after) than a truly religious commune.  Schafer uses his power to segregate his people, splitting up men from women and separating the children from both.  The majority of his followers see him as a god, and even though he showcases misogynistic and pedophile-like behavior, he's still hailed as their supreme leader.  As the months go by, Lena learns more and more about the horrors they face.

The film could've done a lot more with the actual true story, but instead it focuses on the fictitious tale of our two lovers, who literally spend months within the same compound and never see one another.  This is a major sticking point I have with the movie, how it hops months at a time in minutes, and everyone looks exactly the same as they did before.  I don't mind a film that jumps time, but I would like it if they retained continuity.  Even in a month's time, someone looks different than they did before, even if it's in subtle ways.  However, here time seems to stand still as hair styles remain constant, weight remains the same, and they still wear the same outfits.

Taking a look at the main characters, we're given some great performances despite a generic script.  Emma "Hermione" Watson shows what it's like to be a diligent girlfriend who spends months in hiding in hopes of finding her boyfriend, and gives a steely performance even just in her face.  It's not necessarily a tour-de-force performance, but she gets the job done in maintaining my interest.  Daniel Bruhl plays his part off well as a man with a desire who will stop at nothing to bring the truth to light, even if it involves costing him his own life.  However, the performance of the film belongs to Michael Nyqvist, who plays the villainous Paul Schafer (not to be confused with David Letterman's band leader).  He fully envelops the part (even looking unnervingly similar to the real Schafer) with enigmatic glee, relishing his role as part cult leader, part political operative, but all psychopath.  He fully epitomizes the cult leader facade, keeping a vice-like hold on his followers by separating them and degrading them. 

Once Daniel and Lena reunite, the film takes on a "Great Escape" mantra as they find a way to get out of the seemingly inescapable place they find themselves in (in fact, in the closing credits, they state that only five people ever escaped the real Colonia), and the action jumps from 0 to 100 in seconds.  You're immediately drawn to the edge of your seat as they escape, even if the tale does fall of the rails here (this is where the typical impossible events occur that aids our heroes), and even though the ending itself seems very convoluted, you've already drawn a personal connection with our main characters to not see it through to completion.

The Summary:
While the actual real life story of Colonia is extremely dark and sickening, it seems that the film glossed over the more sadistic tale in lieu for a romantic tale of a couple who will stop at nothing to be reunited.

The Score: B+