James Bond Film Rekindles Enmity as Chileans Portray Bolivians
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Expat Village is edited and published by
Iain Williams in Caracas and Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela.
A Bloomberg story by Matthew Craze at www.bloomberg.com
The new James Bond movie, ``Quantum of Solace,'' is providing little comfort to villagers in northern Chile and the government of Bolivia. Scenes from the Sony Corp. film were shot in Chile's Atacama Desert last week, using local Chileans as extras and shots of Chilean war monuments.
The trouble is the movie is set in Bolivia, the Chileans play Bolivians, and the monuments mark Chile's victory over its neighbor in the 1879-1883 War of the Pacific.
``This shows a lack of understanding about the social sensitivities between the two countries,'' Pablo Groux, Bolivia's vice-minister of culture, said in a telephone interview from La Paz, the capital.
The two South American countries severed diplomatic ties in 1978 after failing to reconcile territorial differences that date back to the war, in which Chile seized Bolivia's Pacific coastline.
``It's Chilean territory that is being dressed up as Bolivian,'' said Carlos Lopez, mayor of the Chilean desert municipality of Sierra Gorda, who said he was arrested when he drove onto the set on April 1 to protest. Sierra Gorda used to be part of Bolivia.
Why Bolivia
``Everyone was dressed as a Bolivian,'' said Teresa Ramos, a Chilean actress from the nearby city of Antofagasta, who was going to be an extra in the movie until Lopez interrupted the shooting. She said she witnessed his arrest.
The film's producers say any dredging up of old hostilities was unintentional. ``This is a fantasy film, an adventure film, so we're not dealing with any political conflict at all,'' Barbara Broccoli, a co-producer, said at a March 26 news conference at a desert observatory where some scenes were shot.
``It was set in Bolivia because the narrative for the story wouldn't work in Chile,'' co-producer Michael G. Wilson said during the news conference, a recording of which was provided by Sony Pictures. ``Audiences are sophisticated enough to know films are not necessarily shot where they are supposed to take place.''
``Quantum of Solace'' pits Bond, played by English actor Daniel Craig, against villain Dominic Greene, who is portrayed by Frenchman Mathieu Amalric. The plot takes the British agent to Latin America, where Greene is backing an exiled general's plan to seize power, according to the film's official Web site.
The film is scheduled to be released in November.
War Monuments
Lopez, 32, said he was briefly detained by police after he crashed onto the set. His municipality includes a collection of small villages with a combined population of about 3,000.
Some places that will be portrayed as Bolivia in the film, such as Baquedano and Cobija, a town inhabited by a handful of fishermen, are Chilean monuments to the War of the Pacific. Portraying them as Bolivia is offensive, said Manuel Rojas, a legislator in the national congress.
``We don't want to lose our own identity,'' Rojas said. ``We are talking about an issue that has been sensitive for more than 100 years.''
The film may benefit Chile by attracting other Hollywood productions, said Patricio Parraguez, an official at government promotion agency ProChile. ``Our country has enormous potential thanks to its geographic diversity, political stability, security and good business climate,'' he said.
Expat Village is edited and published by
Iain Williams in Caracas and Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela.
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