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'The Motherland' is first and foremost a meditation on memories. The production takes the form of an essay at two levels, each with a different atmosphere: on the one level, there is a tortured lament over the loss of the motherland - Downey left his native land Chile in 1961 - and the political situation there under the current Pinochet regime; and on the other level, a more or less cynical parody of the sentimental myth of the return of the prodigal son. Personal memories of his mother, his birth and his family home are interwoven with dramatized passages from Greek mythology. These in turn are intercut with shots of a 'devout' Pinochet eagerly receiving Eucharist from a priest, and soldiers adorned with steel helwiths striking up the Chilean national anthem. Downey visualises his native land as a mother figure devouring the symbols of her culture.
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Erik Quint
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