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108

Name: 108
Director: Renate Costa
Released: 2010
Duration: 93 min

Representation Score

6.9/10

Good

2010

Director

Renate Costa

Runtime

93 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

108 is a profound archival excavation that reconstructs suppressed histories within the Paraguayan sociopolitical landscape. By focusing on Rodolfo’s experience under the Stroessner dictatorship, the film disrupts conventional narratives that omit the intersection of political repression and sexual identity. The documentary successfully centers an individual whose identity was used as a pretext for systemic erasure, providing a meaningful platform for storytelling that reflects multiple aspects of identity. While the film excels in its exploration of queer history and regional political context, it maintains a primary focus on male subjects and familial legacies.

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Category Breakdown

Does 108 have LGBTQ+ representation?

Excellent

The film focuses on the historical persecution of homosexual individuals and examines the systemic consequences of state-sanctioned violence. It highlights the ways in which society sidelines those who deviate from traditional structures.

How does 108 portray gender?

Good

The film explores gender through the protagonist's choice to pursue dance instead of patriarchal blacksmithing, disrupting established family expectations and offering a nuanced view of gender performance.

How racially and ethnically diverse is 108?

Good

This work provides a crucial perspective on Paraguayan history by challenging Eurocentric dominance in documentary cinema. It centers the silenced history of the Global South within a specific post-colonial political context.

How does 108 represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The narrative criticizes institutional power and the oppressive nature of dictatorship. It portrays individual rebellion against a repressive regime as a necessary act of reclaiming identity against corrupt state authority.

Does 108 include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no explicit evidence regarding the portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities within the film.

Present on Screen

Exceptional centering of queer history and the systemic persecution of homosexual individuals.
Powerful critique of state-sanctioned violence and the erasure of non-conforming identities.
Vital representation of Paraguayan history and the Global South's political landscape.

Limited or Absent

The narrative focus remains primarily on male subjects and the subversion of masculine roles.
There is no visible representation of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Of all my uncles, Rodolfo was the only one who didn't want to be a blacksmith like my grandfather: He wanted to be a dancer. The search for the traces of his life leads to the discovery that in the eighties in Paraguay, under Stroessner's dictatorship, Rodolfo was included in one of the "108 lists of homosexuals", arrested and tortured. Rodolfo's story reveals a part of the hidden and silenced history of my country. In "Cuchillo de palo" two generations come face to face in a confrontation that ultimately allows each of us to understand our place in the world.

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