Blame it on Fidel Directed by Julie Garvas
Foriegn Film DVDs-Main Level
Anna de la Mesa is a nine year old girl living a wonderful bourgeois life in France in 1970. However this idyllic life changes when her parents take in her Spanish refugee aunt and become left wing activists dedicated to helping the disenfranchised. Soon after this, Anna is forced to move out of her spacious estate into a cramped apartment where her parents hold late night meetings. Resenting these changes to her lifestyle, Anna struggles to make sense of the new philosophies and politics of her parents.
What makes Blame it on Fidel such a great film isn’t so much the politics involved, but how director Julie Garvas captures Anna’s perspective. A great deal of the film is shot from Anna’s eye-level, and small things like getting her height measured in the door frame remind the viewer of all the forgotten pieces that make up childhood. This childlike perspective also serves as a filter for some of the heavier material. Blame it on Fidel is also peppered with a good amount of understated humor. One such moment where this comes into play is when Anna is being lectured about the importance of group solidarity. After trying out the concept in class by raising her hand with her classmates who have responded incorrectly to a question, Anna innocently asks how it is different than sheep behavior. It's this childlike simplicity in the face of adult hypocrisy that makes Blame it on Fidel shine.