From Epic Cinema to Social Cinema: the Metafilmic Universe in Icíar Bollaín’s iTambién la lluvia/i (2010)

Abstract

divThe aim of this article is to analyze Iciacute;ar Bollaiacute;nrsquo;s emTambieacute;n la lluvia/em, with a particular emphasisnbsp;on the questioning of two film genres that belong to the realist style of significance: epic cinemanbsp;and social cinema. On one hand, there is a critical use of conventional film narratives aboutnbsp;colonization; on the other hand, the film offers a reflection on social cinema as a tool ofnbsp;political change. One of the interpretive keys to examining emTambieacute;n la lluvia/em is Mariacute;a, anbsp;secondary character overshadowed by male protagonists, who shoots a documentary about thenbsp;filming and who will ultimately shift her gaze toward the ldquo;Guerra del Aguardquo;. How Bollaiacute;nnbsp;visualizes the gaze of the ldquo;ideal observerrdquo;, while simultaneously exploring the violence of thenbsp;cinematographic gaze and the moral limits of artistic creation will be the main aspects explorednbsp;in this article./div