While we would like to think that we would do all we can to fight against a tyrannical regime, it’s not as easy as we think, and there are plenty of consequences that we wouldn’t foresee, living in relative peace. Diego Vicentini’s debut feature is a portrait of Venezuelan dissidents forced to flee the country, expanding on the short he made five years previously to flesh out the double lives most exiles go through– the angry yet hopeful protests they left behind in their homeland, and the peaceful, yet guilt-ridden, traumatized lives they now lead in another country. While it’s easy to expect certain moments, especially for people familiar with the country’s situation, Simón nevertheless was a film that needed to be made in order to shed light on this issue.
Simón, a Venezuelan freedom fighter exiled in Miami, copes not only with trauma, but also deep guilt over a choice he must make: stay in Miami and start a new life, or return home to the losing fight against a tyrannical regime.
Forced to flee Venezuela, former freedom fighter Simón fled to Miami, scarred, traumatized, and feeling guilty for leaving his friends behind. Time is running out for him to apply for asylum, but immigration informs him that his only choices are to either return home to the tyrannical regime, or to stay in Miami and never return.
I like that they didn’t just present the events as is, and shifted the timelines in order to contrast the two different lives these exiles have lived.
Genuinely heartbreaking. I wish people around the world would never have to be forced into these choices, and it’s terrifying to see that this actually happened.
