Salvador 4K 1986 Ultra HD 2160p
A tropical paradise where all the pleasures of the world are available. A riot of colors, fantastic women, endless drinks, any drugs you could want — and all of it completely or practically free! Reporter Richard Boyle knows Salvador just like that; he spent many unforgettable months here.
And when, after his wife leaves him, he gets fired from his job and ends up behind bars, he persuades his fellow misfortune to flee here. Unlike Richard, who has been through hell, Dr. Rock is a simple, carefree adventurer. If only he could see into the future, or at least read the newspapers — everything could have turned out differently! The distant earthly paradise that Richard knew so well had become the scene of a monstrous, bloody civil war.
And as it was with him in Vietnam, in Cambodia — anywhere where the life of an entire country depends on the decisions of a small circle of people far removed from it — for Richard, this war becomes more than a job — it becomes his life.
User Review
What is El Salvador?
A small country, even by Mesoamerican standards, sandwiched between Guatemala and Honduras. It is covered in jungle, with the ruins of Mayan pyramids protruding from it. Nine-tenths of its population is of mixed Spanish and Indian descent. The population is small even for such a modest territory - less than 3 million people. Moreover, population growth from 1960 to 1980 was much higher than in subsequent years. Why? That's what this film is about. How did this become possible?
In 1980, an ultra-right junta came to power in the country. Juntas don't appear out of nowhere. They seize power because someone needs them. In this case, they were needed by the US “hawks,” who were frightened by the success of the Sandinistas in neighboring Nicaragua. The need to protect investments (in this case, purely nominal) from the specter of communism, which had wandered into the Mayan pyramids.
Out of fear of the notorious specter, the guarantor of human rights throughout the world supported fascist regimes in Spain, Greece, Chile, Argentina, etc.
And here he was frightened by peasants who had been deprived of any rights by their own government and took up arms — because that is so natural. The Marxist Front of F. Marti (FMLN) should have overthrown the right-wing junta back then, because that's what the people wanted. But those same “hawks” from Washington intervened, and the agony of the dictatorship dragged on for decades.
In general, the film is remarkable for its lack of the exaggerated grimaces so fashionable in Hollywood. There are no mouths wide open in furious screams, no bulging eyes, no heart-rending cries. Here, a father silently carries the charred corpse of his son. Here, Boyle silently weeps over the body of a colleague killed by the junta during the filming of a battle. Here, a raped nun does not scream hysterically. Here, scoundrels do not bathe in blood. But despite this, they create very vivid images of scoundrels. As a CIA colonel, with just a few phrases at the table, against the backdrop of nature, he creates the image of a scoundrel ready to kill hundreds of thousands of people out of fear of the notorious ghost. A movie maniac, covered in “blood” from head to toe, does not evoke hatred - only bewilderment. But this colonel in a clean suit does.
And to reinforce the effect of hatred, R. Reagan himself appears in the frame with arguments about the need to help the junta.
“A direct descendant of chimpanzees will become president of the United States!” Doc Rock utters this surprisingly accurate and succinct phrase about the current head of the United States (the film was made in 1985). That's the difference between our countries! Can you imagine such a statement in a Russian film? Even if it had passed censorship (which exists in one form or another), it would have been pelted with criticism and rejected by viewers.
However, Salvador only grossed $1.5 million in its home country. And Reagan has nothing to do with it. Popcorn doesn't go with a film like this. It makes you think. It makes you think about who you are — trash carried along by the tide, or a human being trying to save at least someone. You don't have to go to confession to do that, you have to do good. Not for show, but simply because it's humane. Even if you're hungover or high, it doesn't matter. What matters is being a Human Being.
But it's not that easy. Take Ambassador Kelly, a modern version of Pilate, an intelligent and fair man who couldn't muster the courage to say “No” at a critical moment and gave the order to continue helping the junta. The army, fueled by American oil, is crushing the rebel cavalry and the civilian population with American shells, and Kelly can only wash his hands of it as he leaves El Salvador.
This and much more is conveyed in a few strokes, not very vivid, but concise and deadly convincing.
As is the underlying hostility towards the yuppie culture (which has conquered the whole world!), towards the rules and laws that allow people to kill other people's dogs and send foreign children to their certain death...
It is worth adding that the film is not only about the monstrosity of mass human tragedy, which puts it on a par with Hotel Rwanda and Tears of the Sun (it also shares with them the presence of a caring hero who takes the pain of others as his own). It is also an ode to the war correspondent. It is the most thankless profession in the world. And the most dangerous. He doesn't even have a weapon, but he gets shot at. And if he isn't killed on the battlefield, he'll be killed in the doorway of his own home.
Well, the FMLN did come to power in 2009. The voice of the people was heard 30 years later. Now that the fear of the specter has moved from Washington to Moscow (who would have thought!), students are no longer shot in broad daylight on the streets of San Salvador, and nuns are no longer afraid of being raped and killed...
Realism, civic engagement, a humane message, and amazing directing work with subtle nuances and silent cries. Plus, Woods' magnificent work.
Info Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (81.6 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Info Audio
#English: FLAC 1.0
#English: Dolby Digital 1.0
#English: Dolby TrueHD with Dolby Atmos 7.1
#English: Dolby Digital 5.1
#English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Commentary by director Oliver Stone)
#English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Interview with director Oliver Stone (1986))
Info Subtitles
English SDH, Cantonese (Traditional), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Indonesian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese (Iberian), Spanish (Latin American), Swedish, Thai.File size: 74.84 GB
