Violence, nation and Peruvian cinema: a critical analysis of Bajo la Piel (Francisco Lombardi, 1996)

The official history of Peru is full of violent episodes and characters, from the brutal rituals and battles of pre-Columbian Chavín, Moche and Incan cultures, to tales of harsh subordination of the Indian peoples by Spanish conquistadors. Until very recently, reports of massacres and executions committed by the revolutionary group Sendero Luminoso dominated news within and about Peru. It is perhaps inevitable therefore that Peru’s national film-makers have chosen repeatedly to use violence as a thematic device in their works, drawing on both historical myths of official national importance and the more everyday crime stories that frequently appear in the daily papers. Indeed a centenary study of Peruvian cinematic themes by a collection of the country’s critics highlighted such ‘violence-related’ topics as: prison, cemetery, crime, delinquents, the military, death and terrorism amongst the work of its film-makers. Furthermore, the favoured genre of Peru’s most productive contemporary director, Francisco Lombardi, is the crime thriller, which he exploits as a vehicle for exploring such themes as destiny and conflict, both physical and metaphorical, and the often blurred boundaries between good and evil, hero and demon, victim and assailant, kindness and brutality. *** Cultural Identity Studies: This series aims to publish new research (monographs and essays) into relationships and interactions between culture and identity. The notions of both culture and identity are broadly conceived; interdisciplinary and theoretically diverse approaches are encouraged in a series designed to promote a better understanding of the processes of identity formation, both individual and collective. It will embrace research into the roles of linguistic, social, political, psychological, and religious factors, taking account of historical context. Work on the theorizing of cultural aspects of identity formation, together with case studies of individual writers, thinkers or cultural products will be included. It focuses primarily on cultures linked to European languages, but welcomes trans-cultural links and comparisons. It is published in association with the Institute of European Cultural Identity Studies of the University of St Andrews