Who is this based on?
Who was the this movie based on? What's his name? I know that he was from Peru or something like that. Please tell me. I really want to read about him. Thanks.
shareThe film was based on a revolutionary, marxist, guerilla movement in Peru - called "Shining Path" ("Sendero Luminoso") founded in early 80's by Dr. Abimael Guzm‡n, who felt that the peasants, and other "plain folk", in his country were wrongly oppresed and exploited by the corrupt bureaucrat capitalist government, as well as form of, what he believed was U.S. imperialism. "Shining Path", in its peak had a membership of about 10,000 people, and had engaged in particularly brutal form of terrorism, including the indiscriminate use bombing campaigns, as well as selective assasinations. Almost every Institution in Peru has been their target, including several foreign diplomatic missions.
Unlike in the movie, Abimael Guzm‡n ("Presidente Ezequiel") in real life operated under the name of "Chairman Gonzalo."
I really don't anything about other ascpects of the film, particularly about the lawyer-turned-policeman, but I can tell you that most of the things portrayed were frightenly true. For example, Dr. Abimael Guzman, indeed had a skin Psoriasis condition, and wore glasses and beard... and had a devoted female comrade/lover in whose house in Lima, he was actually captured in 1992. And the house looked very much like the one shown in the film.
Both him, and his female comrade/lover Elena Iparraguirre Revoredo ("Yolanda"), were sentenced to life in prison, were they still are today.
However, it is widely believed that In rural areas of Peru, there are still about 500-1000 of his armed militants, supporters and sympathizers.
i know this is a movie-related forum and even i wont post this same comment everywhere where it's needed, i'm going to post it here: firstable, Sendero Luminoso was a TERRORIST organization. please, always remember that. they might had at the very beginning some 'idealism' thoughts, coming from their head Abimael Guzaman, but then it rapidly turned out in TERRORISM. they didnt revolutionate anything, they just murdered people, mostly andeans poor people. it was only when they've got very strong in Lima (capital city) that the central goverment fought them harder, and it was the character played by Bardem, the one who captured along with a group of excellent police man.
it was no guerrilla movement. they planted bombs to kill innocent people and cut the power supply for years, so remember, it was horrendous to live that way. they tried to show it in the film, but i understand it's based in a book which is also a fictious story based in the actual events.
pd. one a trivia fact: the music they play on the video where they see
Presidente Ezequiel dancing was in fact 'Zorba the greek' not the piece we hear on the film.
"Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they are not after you" -- Kurt