By John Frame (August 2001)

Our Lady Of Assassins (La Virgen de los Sicarios) (2000)

Director: Barbet Schroeder

Writer: Fernando Vallejo

Actors: Germán Jaramillo as Fernando, Anderson Ballesteros as Alexis, Juan David Restrepo as Wilmar.

Our Lady Of Assassins showed at the 2001 Brisbane International Film Festival. It left me initially distraught and other members of the audience obviously felt the same.

After a bit of thought, I realised that it was indeed a powerful and beautifully created way of presenting the desperate nature of life in Medellin, the cocaine capital of Columbia.

Acclaimed Colombian writer Fernando returns to his birthplace after 40 years overseas, intending to live out his life in the house he recently inherited from his sister. He remembers how potentially violent the town used to be, and yet seems to be shocked by how much it has decayed. Anyone, at any time, may expect death. Youth find purpose in gangs and they always shoot to kill. It is strange that Fernando admonishes this violence, and yet is also quite complicit in inciting it. He is also looking for love and is wealthy enough to buy it from the rough male youths who take his fancy.

Barbet Shroeder took his cameras, crew and lead actor to the real city of Medellin to film. In true renegade film making, they risked being shot or arrested by filming in the most hazardous parts of the town. Local street youth were hired to play the supporting roles – adding realism that surpasses anyone’s criticism of their acting.

The stark contrasts in this film are exemplified in a scene where Fernando has taken his lover to a nearby hilltop to appreciate how beautiful Medellin is. Beside them is a sign saying "No dumping of bodies here" – the grass, however, is littered with corpses.

This is a film about real life, violence and decadence. It’s a big slap in the face for complacent westerners – whose societal demands compromise third world countries into ever more desperate lifestyles.