Locarno: A dumb judge

That common image that justice is blind, was adapted by Peruvian brothers Daniel and Diego Vega, already awarded a prize by the jury of Cannes for Un Certain Regard, runs through the movie The Mute, whose main character is a judge reduced to silence, without speech.

Judge Constantino Zegarra, in Lima, Peru, is a severe applier of justice, making somewhat quick decisions even for small offenders, thereby reaping threats from relatives of those who he condemned, disgusted with his judgements.

After a day of judgment, the work to which he dedicates himself seriously, Constantino finds the glass door of his car smashed on the left side, and on the way to his house, is targeted. The bullet hits his throat and then after receiving assistance, Constantino can no longer speak, he was reduced to silence and can only make sounds to practise exercises with the larynx.

Constantino does not practise, however, since he is committed to finding the perpetrator of the attack. But how to find the enemy when the Peruvian police lacked resources for a thorough investigation and even as gasoline is scarce as a resource for investigations with suspects?

In contact with the press, the filmmakers also revealed the precarious existing resources vis-à-vis the development of cinema. There is a bill to promote the cinema which has been waiting for twenty years, for an approval of parliament. According to Daniel and Diego Vega, although the current government has created a social climate of euphoria, the movie, film-making, is not yet part of the government priorities.

The film was made possible thanks to a co-production with France and Mexico. Diego Vega, director, is a professor in the School of Cinema and Audiovisuals of Catalunya in Barcelona. The film El Mudo had a good welcome by the critics in Locarno.


Rui Martins

Portuguese version

Pravda.Ru
Photos: Daniel Vega (first), Diego Vega (second)