By Dr Mary
MIAMI – Death By a Thousand Cuts is a documentary which has to do with “Dominican park ranger Eligio Eloy Vargas and his Haitian wife Calina, they led a life emblematic of the complex relationship between their respective countries—and, just as emblematically.
Eligio’s life ended when he was killed in a machete attack against the backdrop of an illegal trade in charcoal.”
This documentary was hard to follow for someone who does not know the language. It focuses on the Park Ranger, Eligio E. Vargas who was killed, presumably by a Haitian.
The thought that comes to mind is, why is this park ranger important? Why a whole movie about his death?
One can understand the importance of pointing out that natural resource crisis in Haiti maybe even the conflict with the Dominican Republic but why a story about this guy?
He is certainly a human and important to his family and people; however, what is the significant to the viewing public?
This question does not seem to have been answered by the movie nor is the murder of this man solved.
This movie leaves the viewer hanging, wondering what message the producer is trying to convey. Maybe someone who is from one of those countries would understand the importance.
However, a viewer who is looking for a documentary to move them would be in the dark about what is going on.
Movie schedule: MDC Tower Theater, March 11th at 4pm
Directed by: Juan Mejía Botero, Jake Kheel
Country: Dominican Republic, USA
Language: Creole, Spanish
Subtitles: English
Producer: Ben Selkow, Jake Kheel
Executive Producer: Jeff Skoll, Belissa Balaban, Christy Spitzer, Isaac Lee, Juan Rendon, Eic Douat
Music: Daniel Miller
Cinematographer: Juan Carlos Castañeda
Editor: Adriana Pacheco
Running Time: 73min
Film Year: 2016
Category: Special Presentation
