Educational Media Reviews Online

In Chile on September 11, 1973 a four man Military junta staged a coup which toppled the Government of Salvador Allende. This was the beginning of a brutal Dictorship where thousands of Chileans were imprisoned, tortured, executed and expelled. This films’ emphasis is on what direct effects this coup had on the Chilean People. It examines the events of 1973 with specific emphasis on the area in the national Cemetery called Patio 29: There at Patio 29 stand 320 crosses- all marked NN or No Name. They represent but a portion of a national tragedy known as Los Desaparecidos - The Disappeared.

In 1973 massive raids took place against social leaders, active leftists and common citizens. Basically, anyone who voiced any opposition to the dictatorship was targeted. Hundreds were arrested, tortured and murdered. Still others where controlled by what is identified as forced disappearances. Between September and December 1973, 195 persons vanished. These particular persons are the focus of this film with its broader implications for all the forced disappearances.

The filmmaker does a remarkable job in conveying these events through the use of actual film footage, photographs and newspaper clippings. These media are then juxtaposed to present day interviews with those who lost loved ones during the coup and with shots of the most notorious areas where victim’s bodies were dumped. All these things come together and present the story of Patio 29 and the brutality of the period in a way that conveys the emotional impact of what happened without being overly sensationalized.

The film is broken into three parts: the events of the coup (rounding up of victims), the torture, murder and dumping of the bodies and the search for answers by people such as the wives, daughters, and mothers of Los Desaparecidos and the exhumation of the bodies in Patio 29.

This film was an advance “review” copy and not a final version thus, the only apparent negatives were faulty spellings of some English translations. However, these small spelling errors did not hinder the informative character of the documentary. The final version of the film will most likely have rectified these errors

This film would be a welcome addition to any Latin American studies program. The film was very well done, informative, and emotive. It also, induces or inspires a certain amount of geopolitical reflection.