Feature film
The Ghost of War
El espectro de la guerra
Ramiro Lacayo Deshon · 1988
Synopsis
Reynaldo, a young man from Bluefields, on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, dreams of becoming a professional dancer and trains for it, between rehearsals and the discos where young people dance breakdancing. But the war against the contras, armed and supported by the United States, catches up with him: called up for military service, he has to leave his career for the front, and the film alternates between dance and images of war.
Context
The film was produced by Incine, the public body of Sandinista cinema, with Televisión Española, the Cuban film institute and Mexican television; it cost three hundred thousand dollars, the most expensive production in the country until 2009. It was released in Managua on 18 April 1989. The Sandinista press reproached it for sacrificing patriotism to public taste, while the opposition newspaper accused it of praising military service.
Who it is for
A Spanish-language film of a little over two hours in its full version, little distributed; it assumes knowledge of the war that pitted the Sandinista government against the contras armed by Washington.
Prizes and reception
Best screenplay prize at the Havana festival in 1988; it was submitted by Nicaragua for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, without being retained among the nominees.
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