Noviembre is based on true events that happened years before I was born, yet they're brought to life with such immediacy and humanity that it feels all too familiar to the present day.
It is 1985, the Palace of Justice has been overrun by the M-19 guerilla group. They've issued demands and taken hostages. These are not hardened criminals, nor violent military leaders – they're people at the end of their rope.
While the film removes the traditional focus on a clear protagonist, much of the tragedy, contradiction, and immediate terror is told through the expressive face of Clara (Natalia Reyes). When we first see her, she's asking after a lost comrade. The last time she saw them was in the stairwell, just before all hell broke loose. This sense of chaos continues throughout the expertly paced 78 minute runtime. There is always a "just before", and a terrifying knowledge that everything soon will be the after. For a little over an hour, we wade through the Rubicon.
This is director Tomás Corredor's first film and it's a remarkable debut. He knows precisely when to enter and exit a scene, and exactly how much or little we need to hear to understand major implications of things to come. Throughout the film, he smartly weaves in archival footage of the assault on the palace, not just for budgetary concerns, but for the audience to remember and understand how bad things got – and how fast it spun out of control.
We never leave the cramped bathroom the film sets up within the first few seconds. Corredor smartly establishes an after, then the geography, and slowly pushes his camera closer and closer until we feel as claustrophobic as everyone inside.
The taut script doesn't explain much, and it wouldn't be a surprise if this film sent audiences to read on the events from Wikipedia. Therein lies much of its potency and power. The history of that day is mired in controversy. Each side wants their view to be the ultimate truth. Yet we don't know for certain what happened, though most cases of government and military overreach were luckily documented by the journalists on location. But it is in the fog of war that Corredor finds humanity, and that is more important than a questionable history lesson.
Watching Noviembre feels like the air is being sucked out of the room. It is one of the most intense films released all year, and it isn't fun viewing. Yet there is grace in how eloquently and brutally efficiently Corredor directs his superb cast, and how he never slips into sensationalism or melodrama. Things happen, and there's a blunt directness to it happening that is admirable. This is a film that expects its audience to be adults and treats them that way.
I wouldn't recommend it for a fun Friday night at the movies, but I would recommend it for every other night. This is a vital document because of its ground level view and how unfliching its gaze proves to be. You will debate on the legality, morality, and even the successes and failures of it all. What you won't do is question the tragedy. It is the kind of film that is necessary the same way war photography is necessary.
