Chico (2001)

I would call Ibolya Fekete's "Chico" a comparison and contrast of intervention in the US and USSR spheres of influence. The protagonist comes from a Chilean intellectual family that idolizes all things socialist, but the family's flight to Hungary following the 1973 coup in Chile lets them see the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe. The peoples of Eastern Europe soon throw off the chains of Soviet domination and look to the US as a beacon of freedom, but the protagonist still remembers the US intervention in his native country. The moral gray area becomes apparent with the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s.The movie doesn't moralize, instead simply letting the viewer form his/her own opinion about the sequence of events. It's hard to truly take sides when one sees the raids on people's homes in Chile, and later the bullet-riddled buildings in the former Yugoslavia. I recommend the movie.

The main reason I like Chico by Hungarian director Ibolya Fekete is that it never tries to force you to make a moral decision, to view world in black and white only. It's almost opposite to The Hurt Locker (which I honestly dislike) on that matter. Ibolya Fekete narrate her story, allowing movie watcher to determine who is write and who is wrong. And this is not an easy decision... it's not like a primitive story about straight and heroic American soldiers (Hurt Locker).Also, people in 'Chico' knows what they are fighting for. They may be wrong and they are cruel, but the are not like Americans brought to Iraq by obscure political reasons of W.W...The more you see 'Chico' the more you start to empathize to its main hero... and you're becoming devastated together with him.I suspect, though, that it would be harder to understand this movie for people who were not born in USSR or other communist country, who didn't hear their propaganda for years.

This is a semi fictional memoir of an "international man" who have witnessed various political upheavals in recent 30 years.I was hoping that this film would offer unique insight into politics and war. I was also hoping that it would be touching and affecting. However, I was disappointed by this film. "Chico" seemed fragmentary, with the main character, Ricardo, staying in one country for 10 to 20 minutes. As could be expected, no detailed storyline could be elaborated in such time frame. The excuses of him moving to another place were often perfunctorily explained. The result was a disappointing collection of fragmented clips shot in various countries.

***Some Spoilers*** I gave this movie a rather high rating, but one has to be cautious when watching it. I didn't know how to write a review without referring to the story more closely, then the changing history of the 20th century plays an important role.The main character nicknamed Chico is not exactly an angel. Through his father he is raised as a true communist fighting for the world revolution. Chico is originally born in Bolivia, but is of Jewish-Hungarian-Spanish origin. During his life he acquires maybe a dozen languages and as many nationalities.It is quite painful to follow this character through many failed revolutions (Bolivia,Chile to name a few) and many failed identities (Secret Agent, Journalist, Mercenary) until he joins the Croatian army during the war against Serbia.This is the breaking point for the character and the watcher. Where the siege of Vukovar is shown with detailed cruelty.I like this movie because the main character is searching for a just cause to fight for, realising the more he takes part in the conflicts the more he looses a clear cause. He tries to take refuge in his many identities as a Jew, Christian, Hungarian, Bolivian, Journalist, Soldier but there is no redemption and no escape as to all his fights are vain.The drawback to this film is that at some points this message doesn't really come clearly out. Chico is very enthusiastic about war, speaking with terrorists like he is speaking to friends. He crosses the line between morality and amorality many times.The photography is realistic, coarse grained, sometimes a little bit cheesy looking. The scenes in Yugoslavia are nothing but terrifying. Real TV news scenes are interspersed giving the movie an even more realistic touch.To some persons maybe it seems too superficial to condense all revolutionary conflicts of the second half of the 20th century into one character, but it is well done.This movie is not for kids. For historic interested people it is a must go. But also the performance of the main character is worth the admission.