The Mountain: a beautiful documentary about the Zapatista epic
Published in La Jornada
March 8, 2024
By Gilberto López y Rivas
En espanol
https://www.caminoalandar.org/post/la-monta%C3%B1a-un-bello-documental-sobre-la-%C3%A9pica-zapatista
The documentary The Mountain, directed by Diego Enrique Osorno, documents the maritime journey, from Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico, to the Concello de Balona port, in Galicia, Spain, in the middle of the pandemic, of Squadron 4-2-1 Zapatista of National Liberation (EZLN), four women, two men and one non-binary person, elected in community assemblies for the transcendent task of representing and testifying, in the Europe of the people, that another world is possible.
This cinematographic log manages to capture and describe, through the camera of María Secco, the voice-over of Ofelia Medina and the sharp narrative of Javier Elorriaga, the odyssey of the Zapatista delegation and its companions to cross the Atlantic Ocean, for 48 days.
This cinematographic log manages to capture and describe, through the camera of María Secco, the voice-over of Ofelia Medina and the sharp narrative of Javier Elorriaga, the odyssey of the Zapatista delegation and its companions to cross the Atlantic Ocean, for 48 days.
The film shares the journey, on a century-old motor and sailing boat, interweaving, in the conversations of the travelers, the objectives of the unprecedented expedition, the dialogues of the Zapatista delegation among themselves, and with the German-Colombian crew, their deep reflections on capitalism, as a system of exploitation and oppression that penetrates and affects every area of life and survival in the ongoing collapse, which makes war on humanity and destroys mother earth, along with the activities of daily life on board, its disciplined distribution of tasks in which it seems endless navigation to rebellious Europe.
It is exciting to observe how the helm of the ship was steered by everyone, as were the night watch patrols. Diego Enrique Osorno affirms that what was important to him: It was to make a record of this experience in the terms in which it occurred, but in these post-truth times, it even seems that it is also proof that this journey did occur.
With timely cuts that lead from the ocean to the land, the plot of the documentary recalls the history of the EZLN, its founding on November 17, 1983, the initial recruitments into clandestine life, and its subsequent exponential growth in the number of insurgents, militiamen and support bases, the urgent call from the communities to the military political leadership to take the necessary insurrectionary steps, in the face of the efforts and privatization measures of the government of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, based on the reforms to article 27 of the constitution, that put ejidal and communal land for sale. Subsequently, his choice for life and the construction of autonomies, in response to the betrayal of the Mexican State to the San Andrés agreements.
The generational change is recounted, and the search for self-government based on commanding by obeying and the various autonomous practices in the economic, educational, health, justice, art and culture fields. The high degree of political awareness, the commitment and affection of the Zapatista delegation on the sea voyage towards their organization: the EZLN are moving. In the historical account, the organizational achievements of the Zapatista Mayans are shown in the peaceful seizures of cities of thousands and thousands of disciplined contingents marching in silence and raising their left fist when climbing the platform placed in front of the centers of racist and political power. mestizocratic, symbolically pointing out that power is exercised by the people and not by bureaucrats at the service of oligarchies.
In both journeys, firmness and security prevail in the verbalization of their reflections on the history of their people, the suffering suffered by their parents and grandparents, the arrival of the organization , and the intricate paths of awareness, not only political. , but ethnic and gender, reaffirming the Mayan identities that their ancestors gave them, and promulgating, before the uprising, the revolutionary women's law . Thus, Osorno points out, the film does not remain only a record of the trip, it also shows the other journey that Zapatismo has made throughout its 40 years of existence. The journey that it means today to be an idealist, a social fighter, the difficulty of having a utopia in times as cynical as those the world is now experiencing.
Indeed, the value of this rigorous film work is to present another way of looking at and living in the world. In fact, the Zapatista objective of traveling to the five continents, to listen to those from below and to exchange experiences of struggle, began in The Floating Mountain , where eight languages coexisted and relations of friendship and camaraderie were forged with the German captain and his crew, who cannot be forgotten. In fact, this unique democratic captain confesses to feeling overwhelmed when realizing the size of the Zapatista mission beyond the seas.
It should be noted that Osorno's work was at the express request of the EZLN, so its result covers, in my opinion, the expectations and political trust placed in him. Mission accomplished.
With timely cuts that lead from the ocean to the land, the plot of the documentary recalls the history of the EZLN, its founding on November 17, 1983, the initial recruitments into clandestine life, and its subsequent exponential growth in the number of insurgents, militiamen and support bases, the urgent call from the communities to the military political leadership to take the necessary insurrectionary steps, in the face of the efforts and privatization measures of the government of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, based on the reforms to article 27 of the constitution, that put ejidal and communal land for sale. Subsequently, his choice for life and the construction of autonomies, in response to the betrayal of the Mexican State to the San Andrés agreements.
The generational change is recounted, and the search for self-government based on commanding by obeying and the various autonomous practices in the economic, educational, health, justice, art and culture fields. The high degree of political awareness, the commitment and affection of the Zapatista delegation on the sea voyage towards their organization: the EZLN are moving. In the historical account, the organizational achievements of the Zapatista Mayans are shown in the peaceful seizures of cities of thousands and thousands of disciplined contingents marching in silence and raising their left fist when climbing the platform placed in front of the centers of racist and political power. mestizocratic, symbolically pointing out that power is exercised by the people and not by bureaucrats at the service of oligarchies.
In both journeys, firmness and security prevail in the verbalization of their reflections on the history of their people, the suffering suffered by their parents and grandparents, the arrival of the organization , and the intricate paths of awareness, not only political. , but ethnic and gender, reaffirming the Mayan identities that their ancestors gave them, and promulgating, before the uprising, the revolutionary women's law . Thus, Osorno points out, the film does not remain only a record of the trip, it also shows the other journey that Zapatismo has made throughout its 40 years of existence. The journey that it means today to be an idealist, a social fighter, the difficulty of having a utopia in times as cynical as those the world is now experiencing.
Indeed, the value of this rigorous film work is to present another way of looking at and living in the world. In fact, the Zapatista objective of traveling to the five continents, to listen to those from below and to exchange experiences of struggle, began in The Floating Mountain , where eight languages coexisted and relations of friendship and camaraderie were forged with the German captain and his crew, who cannot be forgotten. In fact, this unique democratic captain confesses to feeling overwhelmed when realizing the size of the Zapatista mission beyond the seas.
It should be noted that Osorno's work was at the express request of the EZLN, so its result covers, in my opinion, the expectations and political trust placed in him. Mission accomplished.
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