Cassandra Medrano

This film is skillfully crafted and magnificently acted. The parallel between history the crew is re-telling and current events and attitudes is completely lost on the crew and completely understood by the indigenous extras. Maria is the only one who, in the beginning, recognizes that the water is a story worth telling. Sebastien and Costas, patting themselves on the back for making a film sympathetic to the Tainos and critical of the the policies and greed of Spain, nevertheless treat the Quechua with indifference to health, safety and economic exploitation. The film was everything, no different than the Empire to their predecessors. The look in Daniel's eyes, on camera and off, connects past to present. The depth of this film cannot be overstated. For those who deem it propaganda, I suggest that it is an accurate reflection of the history and attitudes of all parties involved. The resistance in the 15th century was real, the justification for exploitation, per the Doctrine of Discovery was real. Those attitudes persist in the 21st century, as does the exploitation. It is not a fault of the film if the audience exercises the privilege of comfortable dismissal.