A PLACE CALLED LOS PEREYRA (Canada/Argentina 2009) **
Directed by Andres Livov-Macklin

Done cinema-verite style, A PLACE CALLED LOS PEREYRA traces a visit of a charitable mission of teenage girls from Buenos Aires to a remote elementary school in a village next to the heart of the second largest jungle in South America next to the Amazon.

With little voiceover, interviews or narrative found in a typical documentary writer/director ANDRES Livov-Macklin (What did he write?) tells his story by filming incidents that occur during the visit in the school.  The children are young and innocent and admirable of their Buenos Aires Godmothers, and the audience cannot help but feel for their need for education and to see what life is like outside the village.  Mackin’s camera work is often static showing the dawn, or rain, or animals like a donkey playing in the dust.

At the end of the visit, the teen girls cry and promise to visit again the following year.  Macklin surprises the audience with the fact that this was the last visit and no other visit occurred.  As his film progresses, though the plot is fascinating, he does not really connect his audience to the incidents.  A few segments like the description of animals of a zoo visit are both redundant and feel forced!  The film also moves at as snail’s pace and Maklin does not know when to end his movie.  It would definitely help if Macklin used more narrative as well as offer a hint as to what happened to the charity organization here.  He does arouse interest, undoubtedly.  Docs cinema verite style by directors Federick Wiseman and Allan King really moved their audiences.  Unfortunately, Macklin just touches the surface and is boring at most parts.