Sunday Sep 18th

My Best Enemy (Chile/Argentina, 2005) at Cosford Cinema
In 1978, Chile and Argentina were on the verge of war over three disputed Beagle Channel islands. Alex Bowen's film concerns a Chilean patrol unit that gets lost in the poorly defined border between the two countries, in the flat and desolate Patagonia region. They encounter an Argentine unit sent to patrol the same area. Since war has not been declared, they manage to negotiate a tentative, fragile accomodation based on need and mutual survival. Friendship blossoms under the most extreme circumstances. But how long can it last?
My Best Enemy was filmed on actual locations, and sides with the common men imposed upon by the military dictatorships that ruled both Chile and Argentina. Governments that exploit nationalistic sentiments for purposes of greed and vainglory. My Best Enemy is thus quite commendable, besides being engaging and nicely photographed. Yet the message lacks the impact of films like Fuller's The Steel Helmet or Malick's The Thin Red Line, for instance. Moreover, the characters are archetypes, not unlike those from John Ford's The Lost Patrol. My Best Enemy is not great, but it's a good movie that will not get the distribution it deserves.