CineTV Contest: Huelepega
How nice that this time CineTV opens the compass to talk a little of what is our country in the cinema. Well Venezuela has shot numerous films that even in several opportunities have won international awards, perhaps not have the best lineup of countless films, but if we have had participation of Venezuelans and filming in world famous films.
For this contest I want to talk about the film Huelepega: Ley de la calle.
It is a movie that I was able to see when I was about 13 or 14 years old, although it was a few years ago, it was until then that we could see it, I completely remember that we saw it on VHS tapes. It was a movie that showed the harsh reality of the streets of Caracas in our country. Venezuela at that time was undermined by a high rate of violence that was increasing with each passing day.
The film visualizes the devastating conditions for a group of people living in the neighborhoods and streets of the Venezuelan capital. We see a young man named Oliver is the face of the film who is abandoned like dozens of young people who have no choice but to be in the middle of the mess between groups and criminals. On the other hand we see the other side of the situation with the young Mocho who is the leader of this discomfiting group. It can often be seen how from the youngest children get involved in environments of robbery, death and above all huelepepega.
I would like to explain this word Huelepega because I know that some of you who are reading this post do not understand much. Huelepega, refers to the people who got high smelling the pega of shoe, it was one of the ways that children, young people and adults in street situation used to beg themselves.
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We see a crude reality in the case of Oliver who makes the decision to flee from his family because of the mistreatment and that his main refuge is in the broken conditions of the streets of Caracas. Hunger, pain and violence. I know that many felt identified with this situation Oliver was going through.
How does the film make you feel?
A sea of sadness and impotence because values, as we are taught, begin at home and here we see how everything is in disarray, the house, the school and the streets, what else could poor Oliver do, who was the symbol of hundreds of children and young people who daily go through these situations. No mourners, unmeasured.
What could have improved the film to better represent your country?
We see that the environment where it was filmed was a heavy environment full of violence and complete lack of control of values and not all the country was like that, the country had places where such cruel things were not seen.
Have you identified with the characters and their story?
I grew up in a town where it was not so common to see people in the street or the huelepega, but there were few.
See you soon.