The Pearl Button

"Intelligent, magnificent film making." The Guardian
"Full of wonder and imagination, so worthwhile." Time Out
"Visual poetry." The Times

Around the story of Jemmy Button, a native of Tierra Del Fuego who briefly became a celebrity in England before returning to Chile, documentarian Patricio Guzmán (Nostalgia For The Light) has crafted a beautiful yet often harrowing account of Chile’s troubled and troubling relationship with the Pacific Ocean. Aided by interviews with eminent social historians, anthropologists and tribal elders, Guzmán links the virtual eradication of entire indigenous groups along Chile’s coastline in the 1800s with the Pinochet government’s dumping of thousands of ‘disappeared’ political prisoners into the sea over a century later. The director’s unrushed and persuasive narration, together with the stunning cinematography by regular collaborator Katell Djian, drives this evocative testament to lost cultures, both past and present.

The Pearl Button, dir. Patricio Guzmán, France/Spain/Chile/Switzerland 2015, 82 mins. Spanish with English subtitles.