South of the Border (-)
- Starring: Tariq Ali, Raúl Castro, Hugo Chávez, Rafael Correa, Cristina Kirchner, Néstor Kirchner, Fernando Lugo, Evo Morales
- Director: Oliver Stone
- Duration: 102 mins
- Year: 2010
There's a revolution underway in South America, but most of the world doesn't know it. Oliver Stone sets out on a road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media's misperception of South America, while interviewing seven of its elected presidents. In casual conversations with Presidents Hugo Chávez (Venezuela), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Lula da Silva (Brazil), Cristina Kirchner (Argentina), as well as her husband and ex-President Néstor Kirchner, Fernando Lugo (Paraguay), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), and Raúl Castro (Cuba), Stone gains unprecedented access and sheds new light upon the exciting transformations in the region.
Reviews
Alison Rowat's Review
Oliver Stone goes beyond Mexico way to find out what’s happening in Venezuela, Bolivia and the other Latin American nations that are taking a leftward turn.
With his principal focus on Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, the Wall Street director gives the other side of the stories which usually portray the president and his ilk as reckless autocrats.
It’s a commendable aim – and a necessary one, as the clips of US television news show – but Stone goes about his task in such a conventional, by-the-numbers way, using news footage and easy-going interviews, that it’s all a bit of a plod.
There are some choice moments, though, particularly when Argentina’s Cristina Kirchner tells him off for asking how many pairs of shoes she has.