Educational Media Reviews Online

Between 1956 and 1958, director Fernando Birri and his collaborators filmed residents of the shantytowns outside the Argentine coastal city of Santa Fe, Birri’s hometown, for the documentary short Tire Di'e. The narrator explains at the beginning of the film that Santa Fe had a population of 200,000 in 1958 and rattles off statistics that show Santa Fe to be a fairly prosperous city. But then he mentions that outside the city lies a world that is a very different one.

It’s a world of grinding poverty where what others think of as spare change can make the difference between eating and not eating. To get the precious coins, children run alongside the train that travels through the area and shout at the passengers “tire di'e,” meaning “throw a dime.” Some do throw money, but others are seen inside the train reading a paper and ignoring the kids or pulling the shade down over their window. One man on the train comments on the poverty of the area and says, “These people just don’t want to work.”

Tire Di'e was an attempt to give a voice to those who didn’t have one in Argentina. The villagers are not actually heard in the film, however. Apparently because of poor sound recording, statements made by the residents of the shantytown are read as voiceovers by the narrator, with assistance from a female voice when women are speaking. But the message of the villagers’ struggles comes through regardless of the voice heard.

This film was in the vanguard of a new Latin American cinema, one inspired by Italian neo-realism and aiming to take an honest look at the everyday lives of individuals. It’s recommended both as a social document and as a piece of Latin American film history.

Birri attended film school in Italy in the 1950s, and it’s fitting that the 2000 restoration of this film was done at Italy’s Cinecitta studios, under Birri’s supervision. This video release of Tire Di'e, the first to have English subtitles, is being accompanied by the release of a video made 40 years later on the same area. Called Los Pibes de la Pelicula (The Kids in the Movie), it unfortunately shows that not a lot has changed for the residents since the filming of Tire Di'e.

Awards

• Special Jury Award, 4th International Documentary and Experimental Film Festival, Montevideo, Uruguay, 1961