RIFLE RANGE BOY: Carribean

Burn! (Queimada; 1969)

Director: Gillo Pontocorvo

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064866/

The legendary Tamil actor Sivaji Ganesan mentioned in a local interview that Marlon Brando was the Hollywood actor he admired most professionally. He had previously had a one-to-one meeting with Marlon Brando in 1962 when the Screen Actors' Guild and the American Embassy invited him for a two-month tour as a cultural ambassador. He was introduced to Brando during the shooting of 'The Ugly American' as 'one of the greatest actors from India'. There are unverified reports quoting Brando as saying that 'Sivaji can act like me, but I cannot act like him' (as quoted from the then CM of Tamil Nadu, Annadurai). It was during this tour that Sivaji was presented with the key to the City of Niagara and was unceremoniously elected as the Mayor for a day.

Marlon Brando began his promising career positively, earning praise with films like 'A Streetcar Named Desire' (1951) and 'On the Waterfront' (1954). His films did not perform particularly well in the early 1960s. 'Burn!', however, remains Brando's favourite. It is also the favourite of many historians who praise it as an accurate depiction of the colonists' modus operandi in the regions, claiming that they bring civilisation and modernisation; in reality, it is all about business.

Sivaji Ganesan & Marlon Brando (1962)

This story reflects real events across many nations. Historians say that the story of 'Burn!' bears resemblance to what happened to some of the smaller islands in the Caribbean. Fun fact - there was a time in our history when Caribbean countries like Jamaica and Haiti were the jewels of the New World that Columbus discovered. Haiti (then known as Saint-Monique) was the most profitable colony in the Americas, with sugar and coffee as its leading exports. They were more vibrant than the United States.

With fertile land, sunny weather, and a compliant population that could be manipulated to the whims of the colonial masters, every maritime nation raced to become their owners.

The fictional nation in this film may represent Quadelope, a location in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. It has a turbulent history, being tossed back and forth like a ball between Spanish, French, English, and even Swedish and Danish influences. Slave trading was a primary industry here. When slavery was abolished, bonded labourers were brought in from other colonies, such as South India. During the period depicted in this story, Quadelope was under Spanish rule. However, because the filmmakers did not want to offend the authoritarian Francisco Franco at the time of making the movie, they chose to portray the colonists as Portuguese instead. Today, Quadelope is a French Protectorate, part of the EU, and uses Euros as its currency.

The film vividly depicts how Western powers have long operated under the pretence of bringing development, modernity, and civilisation to the indigenous populations.

The island state of Queimada was colonised by the Portuguese, who enslaved the local population to work on the sugar cane plantations. In 1884, the British Crown sent Sir William Walker to survey the island. He encouraged the locals to rebel against the Portuguese. He succeeds in establishing a puppet government that is subordinate to a British company, which then takes control of the sugarcane plantations.

Ten years later, Walker is deployed here to suppress rebel resistance. Walker, in modern terms, can be described as a provocateur, privateer, or pirate if he sailed the high seas. His mission is to deceive the local populace into supporting the covert operations of the greater powers. We saw that even during the Gulf War.

Walker now sees the same people who assist the British (i.e., the Plantation) as public enemy number one, since they are the ones helping the British defeat the Portuguese. Walker makes an emotional decision to try to help his old friend, who aided him in overthrowing the Portuguese, while still remaining loyal to his paymasters.

A similar instance of greed-driven interference in land acquisition occurred when colonial powers proposed building a canal at the Isthmus of Panama to reduce travel time between the East and West coasts of America.

A well-made movie that has stood the test of time. It has aged well, as what it depicts remains true to current reality. Nothing has really changed—perhaps the backdrop. They now wear branded suits and expensive watches. 7.5/10.