PARIS.- “Mothers can also fight rifle in hand when democracy is in danger,” said the actress French Bénice Béjo, who plays a Guatemalan activist in “Mexico 86”, a movie shot in Spanish that touches the sensitive fiber of this daughter of Argentine refugees.
Mexico 86which opens these days in several European countries, is immersed in the fight against the military dictatorship in Guatemala of the 1980s and is based on the personal history of its director, César Díaz.
Béénice Béjo gets into the role of a Guatemalan revolutionary activist who flees to Mexico, where he tries to continue the clandestine struggle. Pursued by the Secret Police, he tries to raise his 10 -year -old son, whom the superiors of her would prefer to send a revolutionary orphanage in Cuba.
This role also echoes the origins of the 48-year-old actress, born in Argentina and whose parents had to take refuge in France, fleeing from the military dictatorship (1976-1983) when she was still a baby.
“We are exiled, with some parents who have allowed us to have a better life, but at the same time they have not really told us the story,” said the interpreter to the AFP.
“Next to the director we realized that we were not finally the only ones in this situation and that this did not prevent us from moving forward. I am very grateful for what my parents did, they sacrificed themselves so that I am here. I took the opportunity, I did something with her, and I succeeded, so they are super proud,” he added.
“But there will always be a story that will not be told,” continued the actress, awarded the film The Artistof his partner Michel hacanavicius, or The past, of Asghar Farhadi.
“Reflect”
Born in 1978 in Guatemala, the filmmaker César Díaz left the Central American country at age 9 towards Mexico to meet with his mother, who fled years before the civil war. From his father, a missing politician, he has no memories.
The 36 years of Guatemalan civil war (1960-1996) left about 200,000 dead and missing, according to official figures.
“The story of Mexico 86which reflects the mobilizations for democracy in Latin America of the 1970-1980, resonates with what happens in the world currently with the rise of authoritarian regimes, “the actress continued.
“Suddenly, we realize that at some point, when democracy is weakened … we must defend the things we love, freedom, freedom of expression, law, secularism. All this are rights that are won, and now when they are weakening, you have to go to defend them,” he said.
“When there are people who feel the courage to do so, to the detriment of their personal life, it is important to tell their stories, to say that it is possible, if you have the value, go ahead! You are already a mother, a single woman, a man, a father,” said the actress. “Actually, it’s not easy for anyone.”
“There is no reason for men to go and get involved, because in reality for men it is difficult to get involved, it is painful, it is a lot of sacrifice to abandon their wife and children,” he said.
“This type of movies makes reflecting. I, as a woman, tell myself: ‘Yes, it is true that it is possible,'” added the artist. “If you think you can go to fight rifle in hand, go ahead. Not because you are a mother means that you should not do it,” Béjo concluded.
