Long unavailable to its legion of fans, CHAC THE RAIN GOD, made by Rolando Klein and released 1975, has been issued in a superb DVD edition by Milestone. It’s about time. This tale of pilgrimage, ritual and sacrifice in a Maya village in the Mexican wilderness has a magic and a wonder that few films achieve.
The story of a drought that drives a village to risk contact with a witch could be taking place today or a thousand years ago. In it, a shaman scryes a piece of glass by candlelight and Chac speaks to him, fire streaks across the sky portending doom. We are given clues, though, about the time frame: a cross, a flashlight, the story of a white man told by the leader of the tribe about steel eyes in the sky that can see the weather before people can. Note that even modern technology is filtered through the traditional world-view of this tribe for whom life has changed little since the dawn of time and for whom the white man is a curiosity, if he is thought of at all. The mythic journey and ritual that follows is led by that witch who is more than he seems and followed by a boy who learns more than he should.
Klein sets a mood of otherworldly mystery that is as vivid as it is enchanting, none capturing it more beautifully than a sequence where the pilgrims led by the witch seem to walk on water and then descend by the light of flickering torches into the darkness of the underworld. Using non-professional actors with faces as timeless as Mayan carvings, Klein creates indelible images of incomparable artistry that are at once familiar and alien and that will haunt you for years to come.
The DVD release of CHAC THE RAIN GOD includes a trailer and still photos that are interesting, but the real treat is the audio commentary by Klein, recorded 25 years after filming took place. That lapse of time adds a bittersweet quality to his commentary as he talks in depth about using the Mayan sacred book, the Popol Vuh, as his inspiration for the film, as well as the locations and people that he used to bring his vision to life. Much that is not readily accessible, such as the back story of the white-clad, cigar-smoking forest people that the pilgrims encounter, or the meaning of the glyph that starts each day is explained in a way that enriches a second or third viewing. And this is that most wonderful of films, one that deserves that third look.
CHAC: THE RAIN GOD
Rating: 5
Not a documentary. Saw this in the theater when it came out in ´75, knowing only that it presented native Mayans dealing with extreme adversity through a more powerful sorcery than their local shaman could muster. What unfolded was a deep story of native culture under duress and how far they were required to go in order to achieve success (rain for crops). Success was achieved in a penultimate resolution that the new shaman produced but at great cost. For the viewer the resolution shown is satisfying, but the cost will be very troubling to say the least.