An outstanding adaptation of the book by Nobel prize winner Miguel Angel Asturias. Guardia's film shines through his astute use of very limited resources. The film's dark and highly stylized scenes set the mood of decadence and corruption that surrounds El Presidente's world. The mind-numbing effect of repeated phrases, the lack of distinction between dreams and reality, the use of "magical realism", all are cleverly translated into the film to tell a love story amidst the terror of a brutal and amoral dictatorship. As another reviewer already mentioned, the film had to be shot in secrecy, as the current Venezuelan government felt strongly identified with the portrayal of the corrupt regime of El Presidente. Any similarities with real life in Venezuela are very intentional. Watch it, you'll love it.
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