In 1973, a military coup took place in Uruguay and nine members of a left-wing urban guerrilla group called the National Liberation Movement (Tupamaros) were held hostage. Among them were José Mujica, Fernández Huidobro and Mauricio Rosencof. These three were imprisoned for 12 years and their story inspired the movie: A Twelve-Year Night by Uruguayan director Álvaro Brechner (2018).
Captured on the same year of the coup, the prisoners were sentenced to solitary confinement and handed the following orders: no communication between them and anyone in their surroundings. But how could humans survive this deprivation of what is considered a basic necessity? The movie answers this question by following the prisoners in their 12-year sentence: moving between different prisons and surviving dire conditions — including physical and mental torture — that pushed them to the brinks of insanity.
Coincidence always put Huidobro and Rosencof in adjacent cells which makes them develop a tapping code similar to Morse that they use to communicate with each other, exchanging news, composing poems — Rosencof is a writer — and — astonishingly enough — playing chess; moving their pieces over the 64 squares of an imaginary board throughout the years.
The movie also highlights the struggle of their families outside the walls, who — like Mujica’s mother — keeps searching for them at different prisons to remind them constantly of the importance of staying sane when their surrounding conditions is pushing them otherwise.
It also includes a human streak, when one of the guards develops some kind of friendship with Rosencof who helps him compose a love letter to his beloved. In exchange, the guard would increase the radio volume at live football broadcasts or allow them a few minutes in the sunshine away from their dank, underground cells.
The movie is also filled with incredulous moments where simple decision could never be made by soldiers without going back to higher military ranks. The dictatorship comes to an end in 1984 and liberal democracy is restored back again. The prisoners are set free the following year — after signing a declaration of being well treated by their jailers — in an emotional scene where they’re reunited with their families again.
Under the new government, Huidobro becomes the Minister of Defence in 2011 until his death in 2016. Rosencof is now the Director of the Culture of the Municipality of Montevideo since 2005. He also published a few books including a memoir co-written with Huidobro called: Memoirs of the Cell. As for Mujica, he served as the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries before becoming the 40th president of Uruguay between 2010 and 2015. He was famous for being the world’s humblest head of state, donating 90 per cent of his $12,000 salary to charities that benefit the poor and small entrepreneurs.
A Twelve-Year Night was selected for the entry of Best Foreign Film category for the Oscars in 2019 but never nominated. The director and the movie were nominated in the 6th Platino Awards for Ibero-American films. It won the Golden Pyramid Award at the 40th Cairo International Film Festival.
What I liked most about the movie is the method acting followed by the main actors becoming so painfully thin to match the conditions of the real characters. Also, their ability to convey different emotions ranging between fear, hope and despair to their undecided fate through facial expressions. Silent scenes transfer the viewers into the cell with the prisoners where nothing could be heard but one’s own thoughts. The movie is captivating yet shocking with a clear uplifting message: human spirit always prevails. It’s recommended for real-life drama fans and available on Netflix.
Rasha al Raisi is a certified skills trainer and the author of: The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com
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