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By the Fire

Name: By the Fire
Director: Alejandro Fernández Almendras
Released: 2012
Duration: 95 min

Representation Score

5.4/10

Fair

2012

TV-14

Director

Alejandro Fernández Almendras

Runtime

95 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Alejandro Fernández Almendras presents a work of social realism that avoids the sanitized, romanticized clichés often associated with rural life. The film provides a culturally specific Chilean perspective, grounded in the authentic struggles of the Andean working class. However, the film's scope is narrow, focusing solely on a heterosexual couple and leaving no room for LGBTQ+ representation. Additionally, while the depiction of illness is honest, Alejandra's physical decline limits her role in the story. Ultimately, the film's strength lies in its deconstruction of traditional myths, such as the masculine provider role and the pastoral ideal, offering a gritty look at systemic economic hardship and physical vulnerability.

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Category Breakdown

Does By the Fire have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses on a monogamous, heterosexual relationship and does not include any characters with non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth gender identities or LGBTQ+ narratives.

How does By the Fire portray gender?

Fair

The story explores the domestic life of a rural, working-class couple. While it challenges the traditional provider role through Daniel's helplessness, Alejandra's role is limited by her illness.

How racially and ethnically diverse is By the Fire?

Good

The film offers an authentic portrayal of the Chilean working class. It centers on a non-Anglo-Saxon, rural South American community, challenging Western-centric views.

How does By the Fire represent religion and culture?

Good

The narrative critiques socioeconomic structures, focusing on the struggle for land ownership and the hardships of rural labor. It portrays these issues as a cycle of frustration.

Does By the Fire include disability representation?

Fair

Alejandra’s illness is a central part of the story. The film avoids portraying her condition as inspirational, instead showing the unglamorous reality of chronic illness and the emotional burden on caregivers.

Present on Screen

Provides an authentic, localized portrayal of Chilean rural life and the Andean working class.
Challenges traditional masculine clichés by highlighting the limitations of the provider role.
Offers a realistic, unglamorous depiction of chronic illness and its impact on caregivers.

Limited or Absent

Lacks any representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth gender narratives.
The female lead's role is significantly constrained by her physical condition.
The narrative focus remains strictly within traditional domestic and heterosexual structures.

Official Synopsis

Daniel and Alejandra, a working class couple in their late 30s, move to the countryside near the Andes Mountains to begin the next chapter of their life together. Alejandra is ill, and Daniel looks after her, his soul mate. He scratches out a living doing farm work, while dreaming of buying his own plot of land. Over the course of a year, director Alejandro Fernández Almendras captures a life of love and frustration as Alejandra’s condition worsens, and Daniel can do nothing but keep on struggling.

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