''The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez'' (''Das kurze Leben des José Antonio Gutierrez'') is a 2006

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 ...

directed by

Heidi Specogna Heidi Specogna (born 5 January 1959) is a Switzerland, Swiss filmmaker. She has contributed to the South American and African cinema by making the critically acclaimed films, ''Das kurze Leben des José Antonio Gutierrez'', ''Cahier africain'' a ...

about the second US Marine to die during the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

(Lt. Shane Childers was the first American to die in the Iraq war). Gutiérrez came from Guatemala and was a so-called ' green card soldier' i.e. he obtained American citizenship only after his death. He was killed by friendly fire. The film tells his childhood by interviewing people who had known him. Gutierrez had lived as a street child, like many other Guatemalan children who had lost their parents during a genocidal civil war in which the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

and the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

were actively involved. Later he found refuge in an orphanage and was able to find his sister. When he grew up Gutierrez decided to go to the United States because he wanted to become an architect. He was a talented draftsman and saw no possibility of realizing his dream in his home country. The film accompanies young women who, despite the risks of which they are aware, take the freight train as Gutierrez had done. In the USA Gutierrez was able to attend high school because he looked younger than he was. Because he was considered to be a minor he could not be deported. He received a green card. After high school he became a

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

which surprised some of those who had known him because he had refused to speak English and was proud of being a Guatemalan. It seems Gutierrez saw no other way to fulfil his aspiration than to risk his life for a country which he didn't consider his own. After his death Gutierrez' sister was informed by the American ambassador. She was offered a visa to the USA which she accepted. Although the film concentrates on Gutierrez and Guatemala it can, like other recent films (e.g. ''

Darwin's Nightmare ''Darwin's Nightmare'' is a 2004 Austrian-French-Belgian documentary film written and directed by Hubert Sauper, dealing with the environmental and social effects of the fishing industry around Lake Victoria in Tanzania. It premiered at the 2004 V ...

''), also be seen as an

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

Awards

''The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez'' received the 2007 prize for "Best Documentary" in the

Swiss Film Prize The ''Swiss Film Award'' (formerly ''Swiss Film Prize'', also called ''Quartz'') (french: Prix du cinéma suisse, german: Schweizer Filmpreis, it, Premio del cinema svizzero, rm, Premi dal film svizzer) is the national film award of Switzerland, ...

, alongside the also-nominated '' Hippie Masala'', ''Das Erbe der Bergler'', ''Ein Lied für Argyris'' and ''La liste de Carla''.

References

External links

*
US distributor's film page
2006 films German documentary films Documentary films about the Iraq War 2000s English-language films Swiss documentary films 2000s German films {{Iraq-War-documentary-film-stub

Awards

See also

References

External links