HISTORIA DO MEIDA/HISTORY OF FEAR

Argentina/Germany, 2014, 80 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Benjamin Naishtat.

The History of Fear perhaps would be better titled The History of Phobias.

This brief film is set in a gated area in Buenos Aires, a helicopter flying over the site at the opening of the film warning people of something impending. Then there are glimpses of people doing ordinary things in their homes, the old and the young, the married, children out in the park.

Gradually the atmosphere changes, the power goes out, there seem to be weird sounds.

The interpretation of the people in this community is that there is something threatening. Their wariness and phobias increase. They fear the sounds and think that there are animals threatening them. They are wary of young people and their behaviour.

The film builds up an atmosphere of tension, partly in the dark, older people with some emotional collapse, the puzzle about what the nature of this menace to them and their way of life actually is.

The film is exploring the detached middle-class of Argentinian cities, separating themselves by having gated communities. Their barriers are self-made – especially in fear of disruption of their lives and, of course, of their possessions.

The director notes that several years earlier during the Argentinian economic crisis, politicians actually exploited people’s fears in order to foster a general feeling of insecurity.

The film might have some impact in Argentina and Latin American countries which have similar experiences. But, the film will not travel well outside its country of origin except for festivals and, perhaps, some art-house cinema release.