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Eldorado XXI

Name: Eldorado XXI
Director: Salomé Lamas
Released: 2017
Duration: 125 min

Representation Score

9.1/10

Excellent

2017

Director

Salomé Lamas

Runtime

125 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Salomé Lamas creates a sophisticated observational film that avoids typical ethnographic approaches. By avoiding a single main character, the film emphasizes the collective experience of survival in a challenging environment. The film excels in its portrayal of indigenous and non-Western cultures, presenting local perspectives without a colonial lens. It uses the environment to highlight the systemic economic pressures that force people into difficult living conditions. While the film doesn't specifically address LGBTQ+ identities or clinical disabilities, it effectively portrays the physical and social realities faced by its subjects.

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Category Breakdown

Does Eldorado XXI have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

Though the film doesn't include explicit LGBTQ narratives, it avoids traditional family structures, allowing for a more communal depiction of life.

How does Eldorado XXI portray gender?

Good

The documentary challenges traditional gender roles by focusing on women doing physically demanding work. This highlights their active role in the story, moving away from passive stereotypes.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Eldorado XXI?

Excellent

The film showcases indigenous communities in Peru's Andes region, presenting characters of color with significant influence over the story. It avoids an Anglo-centric viewpoint, emphasizing local perspectives.

How does Eldorado XXI represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film critiques global economic systems through the story of El Dorado. It portrays the settlement as a place of systemic struggle, rather than a traditional community focused on morality.

Does Eldorado XXI include disability representation?

Fair

The film addresses the physical hardships faced by the characters due to their labor and living conditions. It avoids romanticizing these struggles, focusing instead on the harsh reality of their situations.

Present on Screen

Centers indigenous and non-Western populations without a colonial perspective.
Highlights women's active role in physically demanding work, challenging traditional gender roles.
Critiques global economic systems through environmental and social contexts.

Limited or Absent

Could include more explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities.
Needs more focus on specific disability narratives beyond the general physical toll.

Official Synopsis

The panoramic shots are breathtaking: a majestic mountain landscape in winter, flat-roofed tin shacks cowering next to one other, women perched on steep slopes using primitive tools to break through pieces of rock. La Rinconada is situated over 5,000 meters high in the Peruvian Andes, on the edge of a gold mine. This 21st century El Dorado is an inhospitable place, where untold numbers of people live and work in the most precarious of conditions, hoping both for gold and a better life. Salomé Lamas has constructed a cinematic diptych to convey the extremity of this situation and the dimensions of its misery without having to resort to graphic images.

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