A Strange, Dusty Peek at Guatemala

Is this for you?

If you are the type of person who digs through bargain bins at library sales or watches old 16mm home movies just to see what people wore in the 1920s, you will probably find this fascinating. If you need a narrative, pacing, or even a reason for a scene to exist beyond 'let's film these people eating,' you will be bored to tears within three minutes. 🤷‍♂️

It feels less like a documentary and more like a series of sketches stitched together by someone who just got their first camera. The footage of the native markets is surprisingly intimate, though. You can almost smell the dust and the woodsmoke hitting the lens.

Notes from the screen

• The marimba music is actually pretty hypnotizing once you get past the lo-fi recording quality.
• There is a segment where a man is working on some pottery that lasts way longer than it needs to. It’s oddly meditative.
• The costumes they mention—the ones influenced by the conquistadors—look heavy and itchy as hell.
• The cameraman was clearly obsessed with getting close-ups of faces. Some people look terrified, some look like they are waiting for the guy to just leave already.

Watching this made me think about Damsels and Dandies, mainly because of that same weird, detached observational style where the subjects don't really know how to act in front of the lens. It's awkward. It’s raw. It’s barely a movie at all, honestly.

There is no attempt to explain the history or the 'why' of anything here. It just shows you a thing, then it shows you another thing. Maybe that’s the beauty of it? Or maybe it’s just lazy editing. I’m still not sure. 🎞️

The transition between the market scenes and the architectural shots is abrupt, like someone just cut the film with scissors and hoped for the best. It gives the whole thing a jagged, nervous energy that I actually kind of enjoyed. Don't look for a lesson here. Just look at the textures.