Stunningly shot in the Bolivian mountains and jungles, and in contemporary La Paz, the film follows Elder who arrives in the capital after a seven-day journey seeking to get back his work at a mine. Once in the city, Elder gets a job but his health soon deteriorates. An elderly woman known as Mama Pancha sends him to Max, a mysterious man who resides in the rainforest and occasionally heads to La Paz for work as a street performer. To save Elder, Max performs a series of shamanic rituals that slowly bring the young man back to life.
“Packed to the gills with formal and thematic playfulness. A dark film, but a fun one too.” —David Jenkins, Little White Lies
“With its conspicuous montage, distortion of perspective by means of various lenses, and depiction of the city as a character in itself, El Gran Movimiento EL GRAN MOVIMIENTO wears its influences — Dziga Vertov’s MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA and Godfrey Reggio’s KOYAANISQATSI — very much on its sleeve.” —William Repass, Slant
“In its mix of social realism and dream-like strangeness, this Bolivian film is pretty much Ken Loach meets David Lynch.” —Tom Shone, The Times (UK)