The Film that said 'NO' to Hugo Chavez.
A country that falls apart amidst the degradation of a shameful tyranny and the levels of decomposition of a corrupted society, both opposed to a tragic love story that seems doomed from inception, are the key plot lines of 'El Senor Presidente'.
The film, which premiered against all odds on November 2007 in many theatres across Venezuela, an open critic against totalitarism, is directed by Romulo Guardia and produced by RCTV, the Venezuelan network station that was shot down by the Chavez government six months ago, along with its partner The Angostura Film Company.
Based on the Latin American classic 'El Senor Presidente' written by Miguel Angel Asturias, Nobel Laureate 1967, the film is considered a faithful adaptation of what is defined by critics as Asturia's master piece. The story develops in a fictitious country where irrationality rules, degradation is the law, justice is a mockery and the political and military clique enjoy themselves amidst corruption, while abusing their fellow citizens under total impunity.
With 'El Senor Presidente', its directorial debut, Romulo Guardia shares with us a vision of a reality only comparable to magical and surreal nightmares. Set in a semi-futuristic environment, where opulence is contrasted against sordid misery, and where the past and present intertwines within an atmosphere of cruelty and hellish corruption, the film could be considered an expression of the Latin heritage.
'El Senor Presidente' is Romulo Guardia's opera prima.