The Dancer Upstairs, you may search it on google, and got two version of it: film and novel. Both are based on the story of Sendero Luminoso, the iluminating path, a Peruvian Maoist guerillas leading by Abimael Guzman, at the early 1980ies. By that time, it has all the reasons for going toward the revolution: racism against the Ayacucho, agrarian reform, lack of education, and another song with the same rhyme.

Nicholas Shakespeare, the author, was living at Peru when all this things happened. He flew back home, impressed, and felt unable to transforms any facts to papers. Later, instead of writing a long journal about it, he made a novel and reached the best seller. That’s how John Malkovich gets connected. Proposals made, sent, and got rejection from everywhere. ‘What’s the f***ing point of making this film?” “Who cares about terrorism?" "It's about European Mexicans." "It's not political." But they made it. The film shot at 2000, and released 2002. Since the first time the idea engage in their mind, it took seven years to be realized. It’s worth, it really is. Among the nationalities represented in the cast and crew were Spanish, Portuguese, Ecuadorian, Italian, British, German, Belgian, Mexican and American.

I really like using the terms layer cake as a metaphor to how the process going. Both Shakespeare and Malkovich, along with their creative teams, walk through the path illuminated by the spirit of making something as what they exactly want it to be. Javier Bardem, ironically by the delays, becomes the perfect nominations for the cast viewed by every side of interest. His bankable name after winning the Oscar for Before Night Falls empowered the producer’s confidence to funding this film; his English speaking ability develops better, both for his carrier, and also for playing Rejas. Malkovich’s idea about “characters speak in a language and with an accent that is not theirs, in a country which isn't theirs” comes true.

After all, what it is so important with this story? In my opinion, neither everyone nor every condition could be act or threat as “revolutionary” as Sendero Luminoso or Weather Underground, for example. Though I really miss those times. In a term to be revolt, one can choose any type of medium and style. Seno Gumira Ajidarma and Nicholas Shakespeare, they both are “manipulating” the same old trick: literature.... Anybody can shut the journalistic up, but “none” can be done with literature.

Eritis siçut dei, sewon, desember 2005