South of the Border

2009 Documentary

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is a hero in Latin America for his willingness to stand up to the United States (both the government and the private sector) and his desire to use the nation's petroleum resources as a tool to bring a better way of life to the working class under his rule. But Chavez's policies have made him many enemies in North America, and in the American news media (especially conservative outlets such as Fox News), Chavez has been demonized for his rejection of U.S. policy, his pro-socialist stance, and his openly combative stance toward George W. Bush. Are either of these extremes an accurate portrait of the real Hugo Chavez? Filmmaker Oliver Stone presents a portrait of Chavez the politician and Chavez the man in his documentary South of the Border, which is built around a series of in-depth interviews Stone conducted with the Venezuelan president. Stone also includes interviews with a number of other major Latin American leaders, among them Bolivia's Evo Morales, Argentina's Cristina Kirchner, Brazil's Lula da Silva, and Cuba's Raul Castro. South of the Border was an official selection at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival. more..

Director: Oliver Stone

Reviews

  • Yes, Stone gets cozy with Hugo Chávez, soft-pedaling the Venezuelan president's crackdown tendencies, but he also captures South America in a paradigm shift, wrenching itself free of centuries of colonial control. The film is rose-colored agitprop, but it catches a current of history.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    27 April 2013

  • Good-humored, illuminating and without cant, Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone's documentary South of the Border is a rebuttal of what he views as the fulminations and lies of right-wing media at home and abroad regarding the socialist democracies of South America.

    Ray Bennett - The Hollywood Reporter

    27 April 2013

  • But to be fair, Stone doesn't seem even to think he's offering the last word here. Rather, he's trying to offer the first word, or at least a first opportunity to hear the other side, unfiltered by television media.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    27 April 2013

  • Engaging enough as polemics go, but unlikely to change many minds.

    Bob Mondello - NPR

    27 April 2013

  • Though he lavishes praise on his subjects for being hyper-masculine and free-thinking, Stone is downright girlish in his devotion, scoffing at charges made against the leaders rather than examining them.

    Michelle Orange - Movieline

    27 April 2013

Awards

No awards