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Directed by Patricio Guzmán
Chile/Cuba/France, 1976, DCP, black & white, 88 min
Spanish with English subtitles
DCP source: Icarus Films
The second part of The Battle of Chile begins with the Chilean military’s first attempted coup in June 1973 and tracks the steady deterioration of Allende’s position across the months leading up to September 11. Focusing on Allende’s attempts to stave off the splintering of his party from within, The Coup d’État captures the frightening escalation of violence that began in the streets and climaxed in the fatal bombing of the presidential palace by the CIA-backed military. Especially chilling is the transparency of the military maneuvers against the president-elect and the ways in which Allende’s sworn enemies, and eventually even his supporters, openly acknowledge that a coup d’état is inevitable. The resolution and bravery of documentarians like Guzmán is embodied in the figure of the cameraman Leonard Hendrickson, who filmed his own murder when he was brazenly shot by an Army soldier during the siege.
This screening is part of Chile Año Cero / Chile Year Zero
Special thanks: Haden Guest, Director, Harvard Film Archive
Presented in collaboration with Harvard Film Archive