The colors that paint this film are from an innocent and candid spectrum—an eight-year-old’s perspective of the crude reality demonstrated by the effect that the tragic state of Colombia has on its youth.
Manuel carries his ragged soccer ball everywhere, and between laughter and play, skips his feet avoiding landmines. The guerrillas determine the law in this land, but Manuel finds comfort in the colors that he paints his mountains. Yellow are his skies, green his fields, but it is red—the color of blood—that predominates in this region.
The film—directed by Carlos César Arbeláez—documents the tragedy of the “Desplazados” or those who are forced out of their native lands. The law that rules is enforced with a bullet; those who disobey disappear in the green landscape. Set in the beautiful fields of Colombia, The Colors of the Mountain presents the reality that children in this part of the world are forced to go through.
The simple manner in which the film was made serves as a realistic window to reality. The accents, the children’s mannerisms, and their innocence make this film a unique experience. The film is shot through the children’s eyes, giving this notorious Colombian tragedy a perspective from those who are touched on the deepest level.
At the end, the colors of hope lie in Manuel’s color box. He demonstrates that, despite the violence, nothing kills the magical beauty of a child’s world; a rifle is destroyed by laughter.
