Eckerd College concludes the fall season of its International Cinema Series with The Violin. Mexican filmmaker Francisco Vargas makes his feature-length debut with this drama that focuses on a simple village and a family of farmer-musicians — Don Plutarco, his son Genaro and his grandson Lucio — who use their humble livelihood to hide their support of a guerilla revolt against the oppressive government. When the military takes violent control of the village, the guerillas are forced to flee and leave behind their stock of ammunition. Old Plutarco has a plan, however, and it involves using his appearance as an innocuous violin player to win the trust of the military captain and soldiers while he figures out a way to retrieve the ammo hidden in his corn field. Shot in black-and-white and expanded from Vargas' well-received short of the same name, The Violin is a tale about social justice and the ongoing struggle between the poor and the powerful. Fri., Nov. 30, 7 p.m., Miller Auditorium-Eckerd College, 4200 54th Ave. S., St. Petersburg, free admission, 727-864-7979, eckerd.edu/film.
This article appears in Nov 28 – Dec 4, 2007.