FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE Birds Of Passage 

Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra's captivating gangster epic could just as well be considered an ethnographic documentary. We are in the late 60s, somewhere in the north of Colombia. That's where the Wayuu people live. A girl named Zaida (Natalia Reyes) has just finished the self-chosen ritual of isolation. Now her "emergence" can be celebrated. Zaida is ready for marriage. And the handsome young man from the neighbouring family, Rapayet (José Acosta), wants to marry her. Zaida's mother Ursula (Carmiña Martínez), however, reacts suspiciously towards him. She sets a dowry, of which she knows that Rapayet can awl. A multitude of cows and goats, in addition to a few necklaces. But it doesn't take long until Rapayet returns with the required goods and marries Zaida. The beginning of the thriller. Later, a woman from another Wayuu family will emphasize how they've always been pirates: The Spaniards or the English, finally various Colombian government envoys who wanted to control them. The Wayuu are tradition-conscious. They believe in ghosts and speak to the dead. Their greatest value is marriage. But the Wayuu's traditional way of life (irony of fate) was changed by a whole new enemy: The flourishing marijuana trade. A people who discovered the pleasure of wealth. Rapayet also earns his first money in the same way: he supplies the gringos in the mountains. They come in small planes to take over the cargo. As befits a gangster epic, Rapayet rises to the top of the merchant chain. His loads become bigger and bigger; they are no longer mules, but trucks transporting marijuana. The wealth goes to Rapayet's head - he reacts increasingly paranoid. His fiery partner Moises believes the gringos may have betrayed them. He kills two of them. These murders are an atrocity for the Wayúu, and Rapayets demands Moises executed. A family saga that drifts more and more into madness - but is structured by clear chapters. Each chapter lasts about half an hour and has an epilogue. Historically this time of the 60's to 80's is called "Bonanza Marimbera" because different tribes of Colombia were involved in the drug trade (more can be found on Wikipedia). Birds Of Passage deals with how much suffering and violence this caused. How many families and communities were destroyed! Fortunately not in Hollywood style, because violence often remains indirect. We see the dead bodies, but not the shooting. Gallego and Guerra attach much more importance to the nature of their characters and their culture. If you read more about the production, you will learn that the crew consists of "real" actors and lay actors of the Wayuu. Therefore even the details in this - as described - almost ethnographic documentary are correct. If you want to learn more about it, read Gabriel García Marquez, whose "Cien anos de soledad - Hundred Years of Loneliness" also shows influences of the Wayuu. Birds Of Passage could just as well be a classic tragedy. Or just a mafia epic like "The Godfather".