17/08/2026 - Sergio Castro San Martín tells the story of a Chilean émigré in Turin who ends up getting involved in making bombs for a group of local revolutionaries

Known in particular for his feature The Mud Woman, which screened in the Berlinale Forum, Chilean director Sergio Castro San Martín has presented his latest work, The Chilean, an Italian-Chilean-Swiss co-production, on the Piazza Grande at the Locarno Film Festival. The film recounts the tragic and extraordinary fate of Aldo, a far-left militant and explosives expert forced to flee Chile, where he is wanted by the authorities. Concerned not only for himself but also for his wife and newborn son, the film’s protagonist emigrates to Turin with a compatriot. There, he gets by doing odd jobs in a local factory until, almost by chance, he defuses a bomb found in the factory’s basement.

The character of Aldo, the film’s protagonist (played by Camilo Arancibia), is inspired by the real-life far-left militant of the same name, whose life was recounted in Juan Cristóbal Guarello’s book Aldo Marín, Carne de cañón, on which the film is based. The story is set in the 1970s, in the midst of protests by Chilean miners. It was also an extremely difficult historical period for Italy, shaken as it was by bloody attacks carried out by far-right and far-left terrorist groups. It is against this backdrop of profound political instability that Aldo, frightened and confused, arrives in Turin, determined to scrape together enough money to be reunited with his family. Things do not unfold as he had planned, however: rather than his work as a labourer bringing him closer to achieving his goal, it is his talent for building explosive devices that does so. Almost without fully realising what he is getting himself into, the film’s protagonist becomes one of the central figures in a terrorist group led by a mysterious doctor, Luciana (played by Sara Serraiocco), who performs clandestine abortions.

Although the movie deserves credit for bringing to life, with great attention to detail – particularly in its carefully crafted costumes and production design – a key historical period in both Chilean and Italian history, Aldo’s psychology and the deeper motivations behind his actions would have benefited from greater exploration. It is unclear, for example, why he decides to help Luciana. Is he doing so simply to earn the money he needs to support his family more quickly, or is he primarily driven by a desire to challenge a system he considers unjust? The character of Luciana also feels overly contrived at times. It is never entirely clear why a young woman from Switzerland should find herself at the head of a terrorist group in Turin.

The historical period on which the film is based is so complex and sensitive that it would have warranted a deeper examination, a more nuanced analysis and a less predictable ending. Overall, The Chilean is a formally accomplished film, particularly in terms of its historical reconstruction, and benefits from convincing performances, but it does not make enough of the anger that permeated the entire 1970s.

The Chilean was produced by Italy’s Dispàrte, Chile’s EQUECO and Switzerland’s Cinédokké, together with RSI – Radiotelevisione Svizzera di lingua italiana and SRG SSR. Fandango is handling its international sales.

(Translated from Italian)