#7 - LIFE IS SACRED by Andreas Dalsgaard (Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Columbia)

ANTANAS MOCKUS is something of a legend of the political history in Columbia. His staunch preachings of non-violence, unusual in the stoic setting of the country, were so popular that he was the leader of the opposition by the Green Party to the notoriously corrupt powers that had held Columbia in under grasp for decades. LIFE IS SACRED is documentary that trails said journey of the 2010 elections. 

DALSGAARD gets great insight on the event and gets to take a close up and personal look at the machinations by the passionate activists and members of the party as well as MOCKUS himself, who is featured prominently in the film. But aside from the powerful documentation of the behind the scenes of such a historical event, LIFE IS SACRED, which claims its title from one of the slogans promoted by MOCKUS that represents his political ideals in a nutshell, also takes care of the human side of the story. And this is done through one of the leading voices of the documentary, the leader of the Youth movement of the Green Party, talking about what attracted her to the party in the first place. 

However, most importantly, the humanizing look at its leading subject, MOCKUS himself, is particularly impactful due to the way in which MOCKUS himself opens up to DALSGAARD almost completely. The film first looks at the charismatic leader and his infectuous philosophy, but also the man with his own conflicts and his own vulnerabilities, through a personal examination of his relationship with his family, and particularly his mother. On top of that, a physical affliction romanticises the character even more as somewhat of a fallen hero ala KUROSAWA, a fatal ironic twist that serves as a metaphor of his own struggles to change the destiny of his country and the aftermath of the post-election happenings in Columbia.

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