7 NEW FILMS IN LATIN AMERICA SERIES

The Political Cinema in Latin America series, which will begin today at the Fox International and continue for a week, will present seven new films and four revivals.

Ranging from primitive documentaries to sophisticated features--Mexico’s “Small Privileges” (Tuesday) being the revelation of the series--they add up to a portrait of contemporary Latin America.

“Grenada: The Future Coming Toward Us,” made by a film cooperative just before the U.S. invasion, and Estela Bravo’s “Maurice” (today), centering on the late Grenadian prime minister Maurice Bishop, lack context and clarity about the island nation’s complicated political history but do allow many Grenadians to speak their feelings about their country and ours. The gist of their sentiments, as expressed in these films, is that Bishop, who was slain in October, 1983, was improving the quality of life of his people.

Both “Decision to Win,” the first feature-length documentary produced by El Salvador’s own film and TV collective, and its 40-minute “A Time of Daring” (Saturday) are discursive, rambling efforts, but they do show the struggles of the FMLN (Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation) to build a new socialist society despite the heavy opposition of the United States. The more succinct “A Time of Daring” is more effective because it was filmed on both sides of the battle lines.

With the commentary of an exiled Quiche Indian woman, Rigoberta Menchu, as their point of departure, documentarians Tom Sigel and Pamela Yates in their 1983 “When the Mountains Tremble” (Sunday) survey the grinding misery of the poor and oppressed in Guatemala, the role of the United Fruit Co. in their lot and the growing coalition of peasants and Indians that culminated in the takeover of the Spanish Embassy in 1980 and the resulting blood bath. With it is one of the best offerings in the series, DeeDee Halleck’s 27-minute “Waiting for the Invasion,” composed of interviews with U.S. citizens living and working in Nicaragua. They’re a sharply divided group--from professionals involved with efforts to rebuild the country to those representing the U.S. government or multinational corporations.

Miguel Littin’s “Alsino and the Condor” (a 1982 Oscar nominee for best foreign film) from Nicaragua, with Dean Stockwell among its actors, is a highly effective contemporary retelling of the Icarus myth in the setting of an idyllic Central-American village about to be overtaken by civil war. Winner of a Filmex audience award, this well-known, widely praised film screens Monday.

Julian Pastor’s “Small Privileges” is as subtle as it is overwhelming, an instance of a film maker hitting upon an inspired idea and having the wisdom to carry it through without unnecessary embellishments. This 1977 film is timelier than ever and deserves more than a single showing. In essence, all that Pastor does is to contrast an affluent, self-absorbed young wife (Cristina Moreno), preparing carefully for the birth of her first child, with her 15-year-old maid (Yara Patricia), desperately seeking to abort the child she cannot afford to bear. Pastor wisely avoids the debate over abortion to depict an unspoken gulf between the haves and the have-nots.

Fernando Solanas’ 1971 “The Hour of the Furnaces,” whose first part screens Wednesday, is the foundation for an understanding of all politically committed contemporary cinema. A fresh synthesis of history, documentary and classroom lecture, it is a monumental study of Argentina, past and present, that more than any other film makes clear the concept of “cultural imperialism” and its consequences in the destiny of a nation.

Patrico Guzman’s “The Battle of Chile” (Thursday) should be seen in its first two parts--Part III really is separate--instead of just Part I, called “The Insurrection of the Bourgeosie.” A grueling, remarkable documentary of a country hurtling toward chaos with the inevitability of Greek tragedy, it proceeds to record the overthrow of the Salvador Allende government in a brisk, straightforward fashion, from an up-front leftist point of view.

Also playing is “Chile, I Don’t Take Your Name in Vain.” Serving as an update of the Guzman trilogy, this new film, shot clandestinely by the Colectivo Cine-Ojo, records a series of courageous protests against the Pinochet regime that marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Allende and his government.