SummaryThe ocean contains the history of all humanity. The sea holds all the voices of the earth and those that come from outer space. Water receives impetus from the stars and transmits it to living creatures. Water, the longest border in Chile, also holds the secret of two mysterious buttons which were found on its ocean floor. Chile, with its 2,670 m... Read More
Directed By:Patricio Guzmán
Written By:Patricio Guzmán
The Pearl Button
Metascore
Generally Favorable
80
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.6
My Score
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
80
83% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
17% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Apr 7, 2016
100
This haunting Chilean documentary is more poetry than journalism as filmmaker Patricio Guzman compares the fate of the indigenous people of Patagonia with that of the disappeared of the Pinochet regime.
Sep 30, 2015
91
Guzmán's essential thesis seems to be that, in turning its back on the ocean, modern Chile lost a crucial part of its identity. But he also puts forward the extraordinary idea that the water has a memory, and that if you listen closely enough, you can hear the voices of the disappeared.
Sep 30, 2015
90
It is the director’s extraordinary intuition about the synchronicity of history, geography and the physical universe – a mysterious relationship that has nothing to do with cause and effect – that gives the film and its predecessor their undeniable power.
Mar 14, 2016
80
The connections might be a little more strained and diffuse than in "Nostalgia for the Light", but their cumulative power is strong nonetheless.
Dec 3, 2015
75
This is history of a personalized and meditative sort, and you ought to give it a chance.
Oct 23, 2015
63
For most of its 80-minute length, The Pearl Button meditates lyrically on water and its effects on humankind. Then it makes a sharp turn into evoking the horrors of the Pinochet regime, a transition that feels awkward and rather forced, diluting the film’s ultimate impact.
Nov 19, 2015
50
The Pearl Button may not answer all the questions it raises, yet it is an absorbing experience — at least for anyone with a taste for beauty over insight.
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.6
100% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Oct 27, 2015
10
This film is well worth a viewing. The message is poignant, even if you aren't familiar with Chile's history (and you should be). Beautiful imagery spun together into a compelling philosophical exploration about the lose of those who history along with its colonizers and dictators have erased from history, though signs of them remain. An interesting smattering of artists, survivors of Pinochet's dictatorship, and indigenous descendants are featured in the film along with Guzman's introspective narrative about the geography and history of Chile. The main thing that I would improve about the film is its description which doesn't really tell you much about what is in the film and might not grab attention enough to make people want to see it.
Production Company:
- Atacama Productions
- Valdivia Film
- Mediapro
- France 3 Cinéma
- France Télévisions
- Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC)
- Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes
- Ciné+
- Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)
- Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS)
- Generalitat de Catalunya - Departament de Cultura
- Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA)
- Programa Ibermedia
- SCAM
- Sundance Institute
Release Date:Oct 23, 2015
Duration:1 h 22 m
Awards
Biografilm Festival
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
Berlin International Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
