“They say they changed the river’s course toward Paraguay in order to water the land, and that’s why there’s almost no fish left. They say they are clearing the forest toward the north, and that’s why there are no hemp plants nearby. And the area floods as there are no trees to stop the water. They say the mines in Bolivia throw poison in the river. They say that children have to pray to someone else’s god. They say, everyone says,” calmly yet wearily says in Wichí the narrator of Tunteyh o el rumor de las piedras, the recently released documentary by Argentine filmmaker Marina Rubio about how the Nop ok wet Wichí community in Salta copes with pollution, the raiding of farmland, and our Western notion of progress.
An in-depth exploration of the current situation is what the documentary mainly proposes, and that’s exactly what it delivers. It first goes for a more general approach, and as it unfolds, it gradually completes the panorama with plenty of details, observations, appraisals and, of course, sound conclusions.
More than anything else, it’s a respectful inside look rather than a mere description of situations and facts. That’s where the commitment of the filmmaker lies.
So there’s not a single hint of exoticism or the usual commonplace found in many features which, regardless of their best intentions, end up depicting native communities as little children in need for help from the white man.
On the minus side, it’s too leisurely paced, so from time to time it does drag. Its sense of narrative does need a stronger drive that can truly move the story forward in an organic manner. As it is, sometimes you feel as though you were watching vignettes rather than scenes from an articulated feature.
On the plus side, the subtle cinematography — be it the composition, the use of textures and colours, the framing — is indeed alluring and does convey the vitality of the community it portrays. Not once is it an artifice for embellishment.
And yes, you will get to learn a lot about how the Nop ok wet wichí community in Salta exists, lives, and survives in an environment that often becomes hostile and unwelcoming.
