Generation Exile (2010) User Reviews

Great editing but overall disjointed

[chanvat · 6/10 · 9 April 2010]

Saw this yesterday at the Full Frame Documentary Festival in Durham, NC (which I believe was the world premiere).

The narrative follows the filmmaker's life as he moved from country to country, all because of political exile from his native Chile. The documentary is also wrapped around a few other individuals who the filmmaker met while he was seeking spiritual enlightenment through Sufism. Their stories of exile are also told, as many were in the same religious group the filmmaker was. Also, this same religious community harbors a dark secret which is revealed in time.

This was a heartfelt film that had some of the best editing I have ever seen in a documentary feature, especially considering he is a first time filmmaker. However, though visually stunning, I really did not get the point of this film. The filmmaker seemed out of touch and in parts selfish, in his internal and external desire to have a sense of "self" in his community. I guess the filmmaker was trying to point out that this journey has no end, or at least a satisfactory one? If anything, it feels like it is a statement on the pointlessness of belief. Is agnosticism the answer?

a vast, complex, yet beautifully accessible film...

[DIsaturday · 10/10 · 12 April 2010]

Generation Exile is an intensely personal and stunning examination of the fallout that was born from the displacement, injustice, and cultural duality of the twentieth century. The various compelling story lines are flawlessly woven together through deft editing, incredible footage, and devastatingly lush imagery that literally seems to bloom from the film itself.

The true miracle of Generation Exile (from a first time documentarian, no less) is how it takes a world of seemingly irreconcilable contradictions, and presents them with such absolute clarity. There is not a hint of narcissism or self absorption that dogs many such undertakings. At no point is there any doubt what the filmmaker is saying; indeed, what makes the guiding narrative so effective is that it does not demand instant understanding or enlightenment from us. The director is unafraid of (in fact, he appears to be completely at peace with) allowing the viewer to continue on this journey long after the film has ended.