Democracy as Hostage

Picking stories about injustice in Venezuela is like picking a mango from a
tree during mango season. Often, there are too many ripe ones to consume,
and the task of picking a few good ones is cumbersome. Other times, the
perfect mango lands at your feet.

Such is the case with a story which recently came to my attention. It
entails a movie titled "Secuestro Express", the most successful Venezuelan
film in history, and one of the best films I have ever seen in
my life. "Secuestro Express" tells the story of a young and affluent
Venezuelan couple who, after a long night of partying, are kidnapped and
carted through Caracas by thugs bent on a hefty ransom. As the film
unfolds, so does the reality about the reasons that the kidnappers target
the couple, as well as other truths.

On the surface, "Secuestro Express" is an action film, esconced in the same
genre that Tarantino mastered. Upon closer inspection, however, the film
surfaces as a poetic treatise on the devastation of class conflict, and a
social commentary on the chasm between the rich and poor. If Margaret Mead
used documentaries to expose audiences to other cultures, Venezuelan
screenwriter and director Jonathan Jakubowicz uses the narrative of the
suspense film to explore Venezuela's endemic class crisis.

The kidnapping provides the plot's structure. However, the film's foundation
rests on its exploration of the why which lies beneath every crime – in
this case, the lonely desperation that leads to drugs and despair, inciting
men and women to commit desperate acts. The brilliance of the movie is its
relentless pursuit of the truth, portraying a ruthless rapist as a loving
father, a savior as criminal, and a criminal as a hero. While other movies
continuously resurrect stock characters, "Secuestro Express" creates new
ones, daring to expose the complexity of human nature, and the shades of
grey which define us.

Without picking sides, the film is political. Because behind every great
injustice is a great political failure, "Secuestro Express" depicts Caracas
as it has been for many years, steeped in violence and corruption. At the
beginning of the film, Jakubowicz uses actual footage of a shooting which
took place on April 11, 2002, when Chavez government supporters fired at
opposition protestors from a bridge. The images – televised throughout the
day – led several generals to demand Chavez's resignation, which Army Chief
Lucas Rincon later said he accepted. The events that day would later be
labeled a "coup", though the details of the shooting incident remain murky.
In addition, the film depicts images of the National Guard's violent
suppression of opposition protests, which would later be denounced by
international human rights organizations.

Because the filmmakers use real footage (which legally rests within the
public domain), the Venezuelan government has launched an effort to stop
the film from appearing in Venezuelan theaters. Shockingly, one of the
bridge shooters, Rafael Cabrices sued the filmmakers, claiming that the use
of his image within the film portrayed him in a negative light.

Two days after filing the lawsuit, Cabrices died. At his funeral,
Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel called the top-grossing
Venezuelan movie of all time "a miserable film, a falsification of the truth
with no artistic value". More alarming still, a Chavez supporter wrote an
article claiming that the film was being promoted by "Zionist Tycoons trying
to take Chavez out of power," referring to Jakubowicz's Jewish ancestry.

While a court ruled in the filmmakers' favor during the first trial, they
now face an appeals process, during which the film could be pulled from
theaters. In addition, they could face criminal charges for Cabrices's
death.

This legal incident is the latest in a litany of injustices – some more
surreal than others – which have recently plagued Venezuela. Without a
judicial system which protects the freedom of expression, artists such as
Jakubowicz face political and racial persecution.

Ironically, according to Jakubowicz, the film was a collaboration of
government supporters and opposition activists, "working together for the
first time in
contemporary history. We are just trying to bring peace and understanding."
The film has been popular within every social strata, gaining box office
strength every week.

Now more than ever, Venezuela requires projects which unite its classes and
political extremes with the objective of building bridges. It is time to
subdue the flames of hatred which the Chavez government has fanned to retain
control over Venezuela's poor. May brave artists such as Jakubowicz continue
to reveal the dark truths which keep Venezuelans repressed and oppressed.
Nothing less than the future depends on it.