The documentary details the plight of a small, isolated farming community in the mountain village of Junin when ore deposits are discovered underneath their land. Two mining companies attempt to take control of the area creating rifts between friends and families as one group fights against change and for their land, while the other wants the prosperity the mining companies are promising. As with many documentaries, When Clouds Clear ends up being better and worse because of how it’s put together. I found the award-winning film to be an above average documentary.

Rating:

Films often evoke some sort of emotion. Documentaries can evoke an even stronger emotion than a fictional cinematic journey with characters created in a writer or director’s head by using real people, whose scenes are cut to get the directors POV across in a compelling fashion. Throughout the film, the audience is treated to magnificent shots of the Ecuadorian countryside, and the simple lives of the farmers. This starkly juxtaposes to the latter clashes with the large mining companies that are trying to buy out the farmers, and the government that may, or may not, be helping the mining companies. Residents of the community of Junin are very, very proud of their home, and it’s made that much more apparent from each resident’s interview. The group leader of the residents of the small mountain community most predominantly shows this as he confronts police, political leaders, and representatives from the mining companies.

The film succeeds and fails on its use of, what I’d call, the Sergio Leone shot. Anyone that’s seen a Sergio Leone western, knows that the man loves to use long, drawn-out beautiful shots to express tension in a showdown or any number of other emotions being lived by his characters at that moment. A confrontation does break out as the paramilitary troops try to get through the roadblock, just outside of town. What follows is terrifying and captured on tape by a young girl watching from a nearby hilltop. When Clouds Clear uses many, many of these shots throughout the film, allowing the audience really get a feel for where they are. The audience has a clear understanding of what’s at stake, because of the sheer splendor of the Ecuadorian countryside. The downside here is for long periods of time, nothing happens. We see nice scenery, with local music (which I’ll come back to), but it doesn’t further the story after a while, and begins to feel, more and more like an animated slide show you would watch with your grandparents.

The music, on the other hand, is just a win-win situation that emphasized whatever was on the screen, and made the vibe of the film that much more brilliant. Mixed with shots of the surrounding land, the audience felt as if it had been transported to Ecuador. The fact that the Anne Slick and Danielle Bernstein did post-production in Ecuador, and used a local composer to put together the soundtrack for the documentary, only made the film that much better.

Each of the locals interviewed in the documentary brought their own stories to the ideals of the community, and the audience learns how hard Junin worked to grow into what it has become. It was an excellent way to show the hardships that had come to these hard-working farmers as they struggled to keep the community together for their children and all future incarnations of their family. The only problem was that everyone had the same thing to say. It really brought the feel of the togetherness to a head, but it also made the film creep along, slowing it down to a crawl.

When Clouds Clear is both inspiring for the triumphant people of Junin, who never back down and always fight for the good of their community, but is also infuriating. Not that the film itself angers the audience, but it really turns your stomach when you see just how far a conglomeration will go to get what they want. Yes, we’ve heard it all before, and seen it in countless fictional films, but until you see what real people go through, defending their land, you really don’t know. At all.

Overall, When Clouds Clear, is a solid documentary, that works on several levels, and sends the audience away thinking. This film will move you, taking you from awe-inspiring views to lows of corruption and hatred. As a documentary it does it’s job, but I was hoping for a little more from the other side, as well as more dialogue during the long montages of scenery and local music.

I was lucky enough to speak with one of the directors of When Clouds Clear, Danielle Bernstein.

How did you get motivated to check out what was going on in Ecuador?

We have been learning about Ecuador and this area of the cloud forest for most of our youth. The school that Anne and I attended bought 850 acres of cloud forest in the early 90’s. There was a passionate and eccentric science teacher who convinced our school to raise money to purchase the reserve, Siempre Verde.

The third is a woman who survived the Rwandan genocide and now lives in NYC. I am continuing to contact artist who have endured similar experiences and live in the US to fulfill their art making.

To check out more of what Clear Films is all about, stop by their website at:

Clear Films