Journey of Disillusion Review
Journey of Disillusion is a 2017 short documentary about a small town in Colombia standing up to a mining company who threatens to destroy the land they rely on for agriculture directed by Ernesto Ciurlizza.
What I always have a deep respect towards documentary films for is the way in which they show you something outside of your normal view. As I sat down to Journey of Disillusion, I was instantly transported to a world I had almost no prior knowledge on at all.
When a mining company called AngloGold Ashanti proposed to expand mining operations throughout Cajamarca a small town in Colombia 230km west of Bogota, José Domingo Rodriguez elects to stand up and rally the people against an operation which will surely devastate the fertile land that they have been cultivating for generations. It is a true David and Goliath tale of this little town desperately trying to fight against a large corporation, seeing the area only for the potential of profits.
I commend Ciurlizza and his entire team for sticking with the story start to finish, showing us the power of what can be done when people all come together against one antagonistic force. It is a small story but one that provides hope toward the power that we all have to make a difference when we work together.
From a technical standpoint the pacing is spot on, with the editing being used effectively to keep the story going while never being jarring or slow. The score by Andrés Bejarano, Erik Leonardo Lopez, and Juan David Aristizabal only elevate the visuals and add an emotional punch throughout, especially in the ending moments. The overall look of the piece is very raw, only accentuating the transportation the audience takes in visually traveling to this tiny village in Colombia.
Out of my own curiosity I took a little bit of time to see how things were going in that same town currently in 2021. From what I found it seems that tensions are still high between the government, industrialists, and the people of the town despite the vote against mining activities. I hope as time moves on the people can continue to keep their land and more generations can be sustained through the agricultural industry that is so heavily used there.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Journey of Disillusion and I think it is definitely worth a watch. It is a story I can almost promise anyone reading that they have either not heard of it, or at least not taken this much time to learn about it. I congratulate Ernesto Ciurlizza and his entire team on making a well thought documentary and I hope they will continue making more great film work that I can watch as time moves on.
To connect on social media: Facebook, Bejafilms, Tato Ciurlizza, and Angie Garzon.
Cheers!
Daniel Hess
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