The Fall of Fujimori

I was looking for a documentary of the same journalistic quality as Frontline or "Fog of War" (by Errol Morris). Instead I was appalled by this shallow and naive account of a very complex and disturbing man and his regime: Alberto Fujimori. This movie should be called "The return of Fujimori". The director presumes she made a "perfect" movie because alienates both pro and anti-Fujimori factions when in fact it is a very biased and unprofessional piece of work.

The movie has few crucial facts wrong:

1) She uses the so called "landslide" election of 1995 in which Fujimori was re-elected with 65% of the vote, as an example of the massive popular support of Fujimori. But we all now know to be the fruit of a very organized electoral fraud.

2) The movie states that Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) killed 60,000 people. In fact, the Truth Commission's final report states that there were 69,280 deaths due to political violence in Peru. 33% of those were caused by SL. That leaves the other 67% in the hands of the police, military and other groups. The fact that she uses the same misleading information that Fujimori has been using for 10 years it is another example of how terrible this movie is.

For any person with some education on Peruvian politics and history, Fujimori is clearly a consummated manipulator, a delusional character and remorseless egomaniac. His regime was very far from being democratic. He is still a menace to Peruvians. Despite these facts the director lets Fujimori tell the story. Not only on how he wants the camera to be positioned but the narrative and direction of the film seem to be part of his political agenda. He always seems to have the last word. There are no journalistic "cojones", just soft questions and unchallenged remarks. Where is Oriana Fallaci when we need her? The director, when questioned after the screening, didn't hide the fact that she was deeply impressed by Fujimori, his charm and intelligence. Yes, she has been definitely charmed by him, and you can tell by looking at this film. It's obvious she has a very hard time to digest the multitude of facts that point towards his responsibility on the corruption, murder and deception that took place. She assured the gasping audience that Fujimori was really a "patriot" when few moments earlier, one of the leading Peruvian journalists was very adamant in telling us that Fujimori was, above all, a "traitor". She went on to say that despite all the accusations not "a single dollar" was found on any bank account on his name, etc, etc. It was like hearing again the same gang of ruthless thugs that ruled the country for 10 years defending their master. It was a sad moment for journalism.

This film makes injustice to history. It is an insult to hundreds of dead people, disappeared or unjustly incarcerated by Fujimori's regime. No wonder she later confessed that all the Peruvian intellectuals she befriended while making the movie felt betrayed by it. Unbiased? The words "oportunistic", "naïve" and "denial" come to my mind instead.

A friend and I went to see this movie. We have opposite opinions about Fujimori but after watching this movie we agree on the following: the easiest way to have an inaccurate documentary is to make it about a foreign country in which you were not present when the events happened, no matter how talented or how much you invest in the film. If you are truly looking to learn about another countries history, watch something made by natives of that country otherwise you won't be able step away from your bubble. And those who try to force their views and opinions about something to which they don't belong are really abusing their power. To make it even worse, the director chose to not talk about the embarrassing involvement of the CIA with Fujimori's regime. She decides to evade dealing with the only subject for witch her country has much to explain to Peruvians. But this is not surprising because, both, the director and the CIA are violating the sovereignty of Peru by trying to affect the democratic processes at very different levels of course.

If the director was really interested in helping Peru she would have financed a native to make the documentary. In any case there are numerous Peruvian made documentaries, films and books about the subject. Such include "Ojos Que No Ven", "Dias de Santiago", "Montesinos-Fujimori: Las Dos Caras de la Misma Moneda", "Montesinos: Poderoso Caballero", etc. The director of the "Fall of Fujimori" should spend her time analyzing the numerous problems in her own country or at least the involvement of her country in the matters of other nations.

The movie was a riveting account of the personal struggles of a man thrust into the daunting position of leading an entire country out of chaos that was Peru in the 1980's. Not only was it educational for me from a historical perspective, the director Ellen Perry did well to add a human dimension to the drama. The viewers were able to see how the dramatic and traumatic events of an entire nation and of ultimate responsibility personally affected Mr. Fujimori and his family.

Ms. Perry did well to give the viewer the space to decide their own verdicts and make their own opinions. I could see why Japan reveres the exiled leader as a hero. I could see why he is hated by some. She balanced the factual documentary style with the energy of human drama to make the film well worth watching.

For Ms. Perry to have a film of this magnitude under her belt at such a young age, speaks volumes about her abilities and gives everyone much to look forward to.

I saw the Fall of Fujimori at Sundance, with two senior Latin America diplomats, and we were all completely fascinated and impressed beyond belief by this film. Every filmmaker tackling a difficult subject should be required to see it. It is fantastic, moving, provocative... I wanted more! Others may naively claim that this film lets Fujimori off the hook, but on the contrary, Fujimori hangs himself in the film on several occasions. He doesn't come across as charming or patriotic or even particularly likable; he made a Faustian bargain with spy chief Montesinos, it appears, to stay in power, and it was that "deal with the devil" that ultimately brought down his administration.

This is an atypical American film in that it doesn't condescend to tell the viewers how they should feel, but instead gives plenty of data for them to make up their own minds. In other words, it is objective, which is unfortunately a rare thing in political cinema these days. It is a very complicated story, and the filmmaker did a wonderful job in sifting through the mountains of material to make a lyrical, cohesive, moving film.

A friend teaching at Harvard saw it at a festival in Boston (where it apparently won Grand Jury Prize), and was amazed that a non-Peruvian could even have made it.

Fall of Fujimori is the real deal. See it as soon as you can.

Either you become what you hate, or you fall victim to what you hate. THE FALL OF FUJIMORI can almost be viewed as a "political morality tale". This film demonstrates what happens when a hugely popular anti-terrorist Peruvian president transforms into something much worse than his enemy, or maybe, he does not. The filmmakers go out of their way to offer an in-depth, and multifaceted account of an important South American leader. And, in the end, I don't think that you can easily peg this man as a demon or a saint. I think that the case can be made that this man was a swindler and a crook, and, equally that he was a man who was absolutely driven by 'reform' at any cost. Maybe human beings, and especially political leaders, are just too convoluted to be pigeon holed. Absorbing and complex.