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During the last six months of
Chile’s Popular Unity government,
Patricio Guzman and a small crew
of filmmakers set out to record the
Complex social process that was
Chile’s road to socialism. Filming
Street demonstrations, television
debates, workers’ meetings and
interviewing countless Chilean
Citizens, the crew wound up
recording the growing polarization
of the Chilean people and the
drawing of class battle lines that
led to the brutal military coup.

Following the coup, the film shot
by Guzman was smuggled out of
the country and, one by one, the
filmmakers left—all but two. Jorge
Muller, the crew cameraman and

is companion, Carmen Bueno, a
well-known actress, were detained
by the secret police and disap-
peared into the junta’s con-
centration camps. Those who did
Set out spent almost a year and a
half editing their footage into a

Chile, two parts of which have now

three-part film, The Battle of

been released.

These two parts, The In-
surrection of the Bourgeoisie and
The Coup focus on the tactics of the
Chilean ruling class in their
struggle to isolate the Popular
Unity government of president
Salvador Allende and eventually to
instigate the military coup.

The first part presents the
maneuvers employed by the
reactionaries, ranging from
parliamentary obstruction to CIA-
financed strikes by truck owners,
and copper workers at the El
Teniente mine. ‘

Part II focuses on the growing
efforts at a military “solution.”
The March 1973 elections — when
the Popular Unity became the first
administration to gain support in a
non-presidential election — con-
vinced the reactionaries that
parliamentary obstruction would
not bring down the government.
The National’ Pary, aided by
sectors of the ‘‘Centrist” Christian
Democrats, began openly to

‘Chile’ a flawed but compelling film

THE BATTLE OF CHILE. Produced by the Equipo Tercer Ano in
collaboration with the Cuban Film Institute. Directed by Patricio
Guzman. At the Charles Tupper Auditorium, 419 E. 24th Ave.,
Vancouver, 7:30 p.m., Sept. 9 only. :

prepare for a coup. The putschists
within the armed forces moved
toward power by assassination and
raids on nationalized factories,
under the pretext of searching for
arms.

Guzman has given us a
panorama of the clash of forces in
those last months when the
working class fought to protect its
gains. There are countless stirring
moments in the film, and they are
not confined to the dramatic rallies
and battles. The quieter but no less
crucial struggle of senators like
Luis Maira, fighting against the
illegal impeachment proceedings,
or the simple strength of women
speaking of the need to defend the
price and supply boards that
fought hoarding by shopowners are
equally inspirational.

Unfortunately, the filmmakers
do not refrain from injecting their
own political view of crucial
questions into this documentary.
The divisions within the Left are
outlined in great detail, and the

- controversy over how to defend the

government’s actions is amply
considered. There is little doubt
that the filmmakers’ sympathies
lie with those who advocated more
violent solutions. This bias reveals.
itself sometimes overtly,
sometimes more subtly.

The government’s view — that
allies within the so-called ‘‘middle
strata” must be made—is |
presented by a voice-over
narrator, while the opposing view
is presented by footage of workers
pleading for arms in factory
discussions. This formal device
renders the filmmakers’ viewpoint

~

more ‘‘authentic,”’’ more
“militant.”” The debate over the
defense of the Popular Unity is
likely to continue for some time,
but The Battle of Chile’s con-
tribution as a document is limited
by its advocacy.

To point out this shortcoming is
not to undercut the tremendous
achievement of The Battle of Chile.
No other film has given us such an
insight into the moment-to-
moment sense of being caught up
in Chile’s revolution. Guzman has
said that Part III will -be an
homage to the gains of the
revolution, and this part may
provide depth and balance to the
generally negative viewpoint of the
first two parts.

In sum, The Battle of Chile is a
film that should be seen, but seen
critically, bearing in mind the
immense complexities of the
revolutionary period, and the
immense task of bringing that
experience to the screen.

«SS etessaecen

Info: 254-9797 254-9201

Vancouver Ticket Centres

QUEEN ELIZABETH —

Fishermen’s Hall

ANGEL:
LSAISEL
PAIRRIRA

IN CONCERT

SEPT 17
8:00 P.M.
1978

Tickets: Door $6.50, Advance $6.00

People’s Co-op Books

THEATRE

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' 2679 E. Hastings St.,
Vancouver, Bic
ASS Es CR he

Over a quarter million workers
face disentitlement by UI cuts

Continuing from pg. 1
effects of the unemployment in-
surance program.”

In announcing the cuts, Cullen
said that the government would be
creating some 113,000 new jobs —
considerably less than half the
263,000 people which the changes in
UIC would: disentitle.

“This cynical action by the
Trudeau government is aimed at
serving notice on Canada’s
working people that they are the

main. target..of.. the. government’s...

attack,’’ provincial Communist
Party leader Maurice Rush told a
Labor Day audience Sunday in
denouncing the latest government
cutback proposal.

“Labor must unite its ranks to
fight back,’’ he declared. .

Rush told a Labor Day rally in
Parksville that the aim of the
program “‘is not only to cheat the
jobless out of millions of dollars,
but also to create a large army of
workers who will be driven by
economic desperation to take jobs
at any wages.”

“The government and big

business see this as a further
pressure to drive down wages and
the standard of living of working
people,’’ he said.
. “But there is an alternative,” he
declared, emphasizing the need for
new economic policies including
the 32-hour work week with no loss
in take-home pay, and a
redistribution of national income
and taxation policies aimed at
increasing workers’ purchasing
power.

Vancouver AUUC
School of Dance,
Music & Language

Registration and Classes
Saturday, Sept. 9
9:30 a.m.

805 East Pender St.

Boys and Girls 3 years and up
welcome to participate in a
variety of classes including:

Folk Dance * Piano

: Mandolin
Balalaika * Guitar

Ukrainian Language

For info phone Dianna Kleparchuk
879-2089. :

“We need a massive program of
housing construction and the
~ creation of new manufacturing and
processing industries to create
hundreds of thousands of new
jobs,” he said.

Earlier, Canadian Labor

Congress. secretary Donald
Montgomery had denounced the
changes to the UIC program as ‘“‘an
attack against the unemployed
instead of unemployment,” and
called for a new election.
- The -Trudeau- government,
Montgomery said, “has
mismanaged the economy to
standstill, creating the worst
unemployment in the western
industrialized world.”

At Tuesday’s labor council
meeting, delegates underscored
the criticism of the government’s
cutback program. Seafarers
delegate Tiny Himes told
delegates, ‘“‘This government first
made us the scapegoats for its
phony anti-inflation program and
now it wants us to pay for the
unemployment it created.”

Electrical Workers delegate Jim
Thomas said that if the govern-
ment was serious about reducing
spending, it should have cut back
on the military budget ‘‘and
scrapped the $2.3 billion fighter
plane project and put the money
into building housing and schools.”’

But Fishermen’s Union delegate
George Hewison set the tone for the
meeting when he told the council,
“These cutbacks make it clear that
Trudeau couldn’t care less about
working people — nor even about
their votes.

‘“‘He wants to move Tory leader
Joe Clark out of right field,’ he
said.

‘But I think he’s miscalculated.
I don’t think Canadian workers are
prepared to see their wages driven
down to minimum wage levels —'I
don’t think they’re prepared to
grovel before Vander Zalm for
welfare.

“T think people from Bonavista
right across the country, in
federations and councils such as
this, are going to demand more
than just resolutions. ;

“They’re going to be demanding
action to create jobs.”

Tribune fills
out next week

The Tribune’s fall publishing
schedule was delayed this week
due to the failure of the Post Office
to deliver our usual complement of
Canadian Tribune pages.

Commencing next
however, we will fill out to our
regular 12 pages.

COMING EVENTS

WANTED

SEPT. 23 — Don’t miss the 2nd
Solidarity Cafe; 8:00 p.m. at the
Russian Peoples’ Home, 600
Campbell Ave., more details
next week. :

SEPT. 24 — Public conference on
issues raised at the 11th World
Festival of Youth, 1978, Sunday,
Sept. 24, 10:30 a.m. Hastings
Community Centre. All
welcome, lunch available.
Festival slide show will be
shown. -

BUSINESS PERSONALS
ROOF REPAIRS
Reasonable

254-5836

SHEETMETAL WORK” -
Reasonable 277-3352

MOVING? CLEANUP? — Wanted
articles for resale. All proceeds

to P.T. Phone 526-5226. “The.

Goodie Bin’.
PA\

‘My name is Cyrus but I look like
Morris the cat. I need room and
board until my folks find a kind
landlord that will rent a house or
suite to them so that we can be
together. I’m housebroken and
quiet. Please phone 294-4373 after
6 p.m.”

HALLS FOR RENT
WEBSTER’S CORNERS HALL —
Available for banquets,
meetings, etc. For rates: Ozzie,
325-4171 or 685-5836.

RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME —
Available for rentals. For
reservations phone 254-3430.

' UKRAINIAN CANADIAN HOME
cultural CENTRE — 805 East
Pender St., Vancouver.
‘Available for banquets, wed-
dings, meetings. Ph. 254-3436.

CIFIC TRIBUNE—SEPTEMBER 8, 1978—Page 7

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