In The Pit shows struggles of Mexican construction workers
Documentary shows real life, unscripted
Jordan Collier
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: Features
When I first heard the title to the new documentary In The Pit (En El Hoyo), which just opened in theaters last week, I conjured images of men locked in mortal combat. I expected to see a struggle, two souls battling it out for martial supremacy.
But what the film actually documents is a different kind of struggle entirely. It's not about martial arts assassins or gladiators locked in a fight to the death, but working class men and women fighting to make ends meet.
The main characters are construction workers who are building Mexico City's Periferico Beltway.
Director Juan Carlos Rulfo's award-winning documentary takes its title from the massive pit beneath the bridge where the men and women toil, constructing elevated structures that will support the freeway.
The common construction images are almost all present and accounted for: catcalling at pretty women, crude humor, joking barbs, and typical male camaraderie.
But upon closer inspection, the lives of these people and the unexpected philosophy that guides them helps elevate this film beyond the every day surface glimpses. It's a powerful film, made even more powerful by the fact that it's entirely unscripted - a true documentary of real life as it unfolds.
Several of the workers describe the pit as hell. This theme runs throughout the movie in the form of a Mexican proverb: for every bridge built, the devil demands one soul.
The labor is arduous, backbreaking, and dangerous. The workers are scaling large towers. Fatal accidents happen throughout the construction process. At one point, one of the laborers is asked whether he is afraid. He responds that he is more afraid of not having food on the table come Saturday.
Police treat the workers as a nuisance because of the traffic problems the project causes. One driver said he thought they should be working 24 hours a day on the project. When he was told that they were, he said he was still annoyed.
The film lets viewers get to know a few of the workers on a very intimate level. El Chabelo is small in stature, but big in spirit. He goes about his job with an indomitable optimism while the other workers playfully jab at him about his bathing habits constantly. El Grande is a cynic and an ex-Mafioso. He reminisces of better days when he had a lot of cash and the company of expensive prostitutes.
He repeatedly labels the pit as hell, punishment for his sins. Even with all his self-professed character flaws, there's a certain charisma about El Grande that draws viewers in when he speaks.
Natividad is a superstitious flagger who has premonitions of accidents and lives lost. Her voice really adds to the somber tone of the movie.
If you're the kind of viewer that demands twisting plot points that are constantly throwing a narrative in different directions, this film is probably not for you.
But if you can appreciate the poetry of interesting people with real problems, then check out In The Pit. It will be shown on October 14 in the Crabbe Library as part of the International Cinema Series.
But what the film actually documents is a different kind of struggle entirely. It's not about martial arts assassins or gladiators locked in a fight to the death, but working class men and women fighting to make ends meet.
The main characters are construction workers who are building Mexico City's Periferico Beltway.
Director Juan Carlos Rulfo's award-winning documentary takes its title from the massive pit beneath the bridge where the men and women toil, constructing elevated structures that will support the freeway.
The common construction images are almost all present and accounted for: catcalling at pretty women, crude humor, joking barbs, and typical male camaraderie.
But upon closer inspection, the lives of these people and the unexpected philosophy that guides them helps elevate this film beyond the every day surface glimpses. It's a powerful film, made even more powerful by the fact that it's entirely unscripted - a true documentary of real life as it unfolds.
Several of the workers describe the pit as hell. This theme runs throughout the movie in the form of a Mexican proverb: for every bridge built, the devil demands one soul.
The labor is arduous, backbreaking, and dangerous. The workers are scaling large towers. Fatal accidents happen throughout the construction process. At one point, one of the laborers is asked whether he is afraid. He responds that he is more afraid of not having food on the table come Saturday.
Police treat the workers as a nuisance because of the traffic problems the project causes. One driver said he thought they should be working 24 hours a day on the project. When he was told that they were, he said he was still annoyed.
The film lets viewers get to know a few of the workers on a very intimate level. El Chabelo is small in stature, but big in spirit. He goes about his job with an indomitable optimism while the other workers playfully jab at him about his bathing habits constantly. El Grande is a cynic and an ex-Mafioso. He reminisces of better days when he had a lot of cash and the company of expensive prostitutes.
He repeatedly labels the pit as hell, punishment for his sins. Even with all his self-professed character flaws, there's a certain charisma about El Grande that draws viewers in when he speaks.
Natividad is a superstitious flagger who has premonitions of accidents and lives lost. Her voice really adds to the somber tone of the movie.
If you're the kind of viewer that demands twisting plot points that are constantly throwing a narrative in different directions, this film is probably not for you.
But if you can appreciate the poetry of interesting people with real problems, then check out In The Pit. It will be shown on October 14 in the Crabbe Library as part of the International Cinema Series.
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