★★
An examination of the life, times, and legacy of Uruguay's last president, José "Pepe" Mujica.
Classification: 12A
For such an extraordinary or shall we say "supreme" life, director Emir Kusturica does very little to make this portrait documentary capture any enthusiasm to the history being presented. Opening with the titular "Pepe" former President of Uruguay José Mujica and Kusturica sitting in comfortable silence, drinking, smoking, just meandering in the moments as Mujica begins to share his stories. Kusturica places himself in the film, asking Mujica direct questions but El Pepe: a Supreme Life comes across more like an aimless puff piece as there is no real direction to how the film unfolds its story. Anecdotes of Mujica's complicated history with guerilla warfare during Uruguay's military dictatorship, along with his own tenure of leadership plus mixed with his personal philosophies, the film presents the audience a lot of Mujica and his associate's thoughts upon his legacy. The problem, however, is that they're all jumbled around as it feels Kusturica was more interested in socialising with Mujica than analysing him.
Those unaware of Uruguay's political history and Mujica's impact on global politics will get some contexts to history as Kusturica pads the runtime with plenty of b-roll of official state visits to other global dignitaries but there is no wider reflection on the achievements of the man. When the film ends you're left wondering what exactly was the point of the film than to just give a former politician a platform to address his own ideas but Kusturica to create any poignant narrative to his film. The director is a passive figure in his own film as the structure of the film feels random as it covers a manner of different fragments to Mujica's life and crams them into a short 70-minute runtime, audiences just feel lost and the film does little to inform those who may not be caught up to speed. Unlike Petra Costa's The Edge of Democracy, Kusturica does little to personalise the history Mujica speaks of, mostly using clips from the 1970s film State of Siege by filmmaker Costa-Gavras to serve as a visual aid to when interviews speak to their conflicts with the military.
Laidback in most places especially when Mujica and Kusturica interact with one another, El Pepe: a Supreme Life speaks to the clarity that comes from a life led by conviction. Mujica is likeable, seemingly easy to get along with and has a popular base of support in his country with his leadership however this how Kusturica presents him. The director isn't necessarily biased but not driven to provide any form of conflict, he speaks to Mujica about his regrets and his time in prison but it's just another moment for the former president to paint his own legacy. Kusturica fails to make his film a compelling account for the uninitiated to learn in-depth about the history Mujica represents. One moment of the film sees Mujica confronted by civilian about his actions with IMF, Kusturica has the camera hold on their uncomfortable interaction but does nothing to examine possible compromises Mujica had to make politically.
El Pepe: a Supreme Life is a reasonably short film by the metric of time but Kusturica just drags out every possible moment and doesn't create an engaging flow to the history and introspection. The access is impressive and interviews from others such as the late Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro make certain details about their guerilla warfare fascinating but everything feels rushed yet stilted despite the wealth of information as Kusturica poorly directs this documentary. It all feels oddly impersonal, and your left caring very little about what Mujica has to say about his life despite the immense impact he had on his country.
Director: #EmirKusturica
Release Date: December 27th 2019
Available exclusively on Netflix
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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