Nicaragua The Dream Of A Generation: Film Analysis

There are many sides to every story and Robert Persano’s documentary Nicaragua…the Dream of a Generation offers a unique view into the Sandinista Popular Revolution. The film interviews Argentine internationalists who contributed to the revolution in various ways, from providing medical care to fighting on the front lines. The filmmakers themselves talk about their own experiences in Nicaragua and the lasting impact it has had on their work. Most importantly, however, the documentary seeks to understand the forces that bound the Latin American people together during a time of war and pronounced division. The film opens with a series of reflections from Argentineans on Nicaragua and the Revolution. One woman recalls that, “For us, (revolution) was a dream. For Nicaragua, it was a reality.” During the 1970s, as the Sandinistas were fighting to overthrow the Somoza family, Argentina was facing its own challenges. Under a military dictatorship, thousands of people were taken to concentration camps, tortured, and killed. Several people, …show more content…
Felisa Lemos, a doctor who had gone to France with her husband after being fired from a hospital in Argentina, describes her decision to return to Central America after seeing “the progress Nicaragua was making.” For ten years, she cared for peasants in rural areas in Matagalpa and even led a vaccination campaign. However, the formation of the contra army in the 1980s made it more dangerous to remain in Nicaragua. Felisa lost her friend Ambrosio to contra gunfire and experienced multiple attacks, often in the middle of the night, where she feared for her young son’s life. However, she knew that “the Revolution would protect him.” Outside of the medical field, countless Argentineans, including Nestor Napal, helped with harvesting coffee, the livelihood of most peasant families. He says that they helped the Nicaraguans but that “they helped us