''Echo of the Mountain'' ( es, Eco de la montaña) is a 2014 Mexican

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about

Santos de la Torre Santos Motoapohua de la Torre (born April 28, 1942 in Santa Catarina Cuexcomatitlán, Jalisco) is one of the most world renowned Huichol artists. His works aims to capture the mystery and magnificence of Wixárika's cosmogony and his main works a ...

directed by

Nicolás Echevarría Nicolás Echevarría (born 8 August 1947) is a Mexican film director and cinematographer. He has directed over 20 films since 1973. His 1991 film ''Cabeza de Vaca'' was entered into the 41st Berlin International Film Festival. Echevarría draws ...

. It was one of fourteen films shortlisted by Mexico to be their submission for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

at the

88th Academy Awards The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2015 and took place on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m. PST. Du ...

, but it lost out to ''

600 Miles ''600 Miles'' ( es, 600 Millas) is a 2015 Mexican drama film directed by Gabriel Ripstein. It was screened in the Panorama section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the award for Best First Feature. It was one of fourte ...

''.

Synopsis

This documentary focuses on the work and life of

Huichol The Huichol or Wixárika are an indigenous people of Mexico and the United States living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, as well as in the United States in the states of California, ...

artist Santos de la Torre, whose paneled mural has been displayed, since its inauguration by former Mexican president

Ernesto Zedillo Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León (; born 27 December 1951) is a Mexican economist and politician. He was 61st president of Mexico from 1 December 1994 to 30 November 2000, as the last of the uninterrupted 71-year line of Mexican presidents from t ...

in 1997, at the Palais Royal station. However, the story that the audience learns from Santos is that he wasn't even invited to its unveiling and how it was wrongly assembled. This is only how the film begins reflecting the oblivion and marginalization in which Santos and his people live in his own country. Echevarría's camera follows the process of Santos de la Torre and his family helping him in the making of a new mural that illustrates the history, mythology and religious practices of the

people and also their pilgrimage to Wirikuta, the sacred place for them where he goes to ask their gods for permission to create his new work.

Reception

Echo of the Mountain had screenings from 2014 to 2015 at festivals such as

Cinéma du Réel Cinéma du Réel (Cinema of the Real) is an international documentary film festival organized by the BPI-Bibliothèque publique d'information (Public Information Library) in Paris and was founded in 1978. The festival presents about 200 films per ye ...

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

and the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

. At the Chicago Film Festival where it was awarded for Best Documentary, a review from The Focus Pull read "Echevarría’s film is powerful in its revealing of the stories and thoughts that inform a single piece of art that will undoubtedly be transposed into new cultures. It’s both a successful document of the creation of an affecting work of art, and an affecting work of art itself." Jay Weissberg of

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

celebrated the cinematography of the documentary writing "clouds reflected in puddles, awe-inspiring landscapes, the indescribable warmth of wrinkled faces: All these are lovingly captured via a masterful use of framing and a sophisticated use of focal ranges". Clarence Tsui from

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

also wrote "Echevarria’s documentary captures his anto'slife and Huichol culture vividly and poetically with some fluid camerawork. With the whole piece revolving around the de la Torre’s process of making a new mural, Echo of the Mountain resembles a ritual in itself."

Accolades

References

External links

* * 2014 films 2014 documentary films Mexican documentary films 2010s Spanish-language films Documentary films about painters Films directed by Nicolás Echevarría 2010s Mexican films {{bio-documentary-film-stub