In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • The Short Life of José Antonio Gutiérrez
  • Aurora Camacho De Schmidt
The Short Life of José Antonio Gutiérrez. Directed by Heidi Specogna. New York: The Cinema Guild, 2006. 58 minutes. DVD. VHS. $350.00 purchase; $85.00 rental.

Heidi Specogna's award winning documentary, The Short Life of José Antonio Gutiérrez, is one of a distinguished group of new films that look at Central American migration to the United States (others are Tin Dirdamal's De nadie [2005] and Uli Stelzner's Asalto al sueño [2006]). Specogna does not emphasize the dreadful passage from Guatemala to Mexico's northern border, but rather the story of a Guatemalan-born Lance Corporal, who was the first marine to die in Iraq and the recipient of posthumous U.S. citizenship.

Gutiérrez was born during his country's civil war. His indigenous parents moved to the capital, and died shortly thereafter. Between this moment and Gutiérrez's exalted death, the film offers powerful images of the life of a bright child in Guatemala City's streets who loves to draw; an orphanage; friendship with Patrick Atkinson, the U.S. director of a children's project; the encounter with his lost older [End Page 654] sister Engracia; and the journey to California. In Los Angeles, Gutiérrez is mistaken for a minor and placed in foster care until his second 18th birthday. Soon he will join the marines, eager to earn the right to a free education and help his sister. He dies in Iraq on the first day of action, and is publicly hailed as the first war hero.

Specogna tells this vertiginous story in a skillful mix of narration, interviews with social workers, orphanage staff, the marine's platoon sergeant, a platoon fellow Guatemalan, U.S. foster families, and a recreation of segments of Gutiérrez's life. We are exposed to the beauty of Guatemala's countryside, and harrowing scenes of present-day street children. We see an intake interview at the orphanage, and learn that the war left 300,000 orphans after 1996. Impressive camerawork shows men and women as they hop on trains in Mexico, risking life and limb to be among the few who enter the United States.

The film contrasts Gutiérrez's destitute life with his acclaimed status in death and leads viewers to question his glorification. Seargant Marc Montez claims that friendly fire killed Gutiérrez, and Atkinson says that the boy never wanted to be an American nor a marine, belying the official story. That official story is revealed in the pomp of a U.S. military funeral; the U.S. ambassador's arrival to Engracia's home to inform her of her brother's death; the marine's burial in an elegant Guatemalan cemetery; and a scene in which Engracia's family enjoy legal residence in the United States, earned by Gutiérrez's sacrifice. Engracia states proudly that her son is an American, as his uncle wanted to be.

While the film gives us important historical context, the narrator makes vague reference to "documents" that define Guatemala's civil war as genocide, and "secret documents" that demonstrate U.S. involvement. Classroom use of this documentary requires a study guide with specific documentary references and discussion of the 1980s in Central America, Guatemala's historical social inequalities, undocumented emigration, Latinos in the U.S. armed forces, and the use of U.S. citizenship as enticement to military enrollment. These are elements students need to reflect on the true dignity of the short life of José Antonio Gutiérrez.

Aurora Camacho De Schmidt
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
...

pdf

Share