As a director and his crew shoot a controversial film about Christopher Columbus in Cochabamba, Bolivia, local people rise up against plans to privatize the water supply.
It’s an undeniably didactic drama, but scores points for stylistic ambition and its heartfelt sympathies towards the dispossessed.
Laverty and director Iciar Bollain keep the focus as much on the personal as the political, resulting in a piece that's both rousing and sharply observed.
If this were a Perils of Pauline episode, we'd laugh it off the screen.
Presenting the exploitation parallels with well-meaning if overly schematic bluntness, the hectoring tone they deploy undermines a film that chastises the movie industry for kowtowing to commercial demands while itself focusing on how exposure to real-life oppression mainly affects characters that can be played by world cinema box-office draws such as Bernal and Tosar.
A smart, socially aware fable.
Even The Rain is obvious and heavy handed in pointing out the never-changing struggles between the haves and have-nots but there are still some touching moments and strong performances to make it worthwhile, especially from Luis Tosar as pragmatic producer Costa and Juan Carlos Aduviri as Bolivian activist Daniel.
Drawing parallels between the white man’s treatment of the indigenous population, both now and then, this is a clever and important film.
Never really excels in any given area, and re-watch factor is a zero.
The film steers an awkward, unconvincing course between the cushy narcissism of the film-makers and the idealised nobility of "the people".
Gripping.
A film that resounds loudly with revolutionary events of the last twelve months and questions our ability to fully understand how capitalism can, has and probably will again, infringe on human rights.
General release. Check local listings for show times.