The aesthetic construction of the popular subject in the documentary "Mimbre" (1957) by Sergio Bravo

Abstract

In the framework of the Chilean cinema studies, which place the representation of the popular subject as the epicenter of an aesthetic investigation work, this article seeks to analyze the cinematographic and aesthetic operations that the filmmaker Sergio Bravo uses in his documentary "Mimbre" (1957), in which he tries to establish a language associated with an idea of ​​local identity. The analysis of the work indicates a counterpoint between popular subject and artistic avant-garde. It takes as a central motif the daily life of the artisan Alfredo Manzano, "Manzanito", posing a visual subversion to the idea of ​​Chilean reality proposed by the cinema of the period. In conclusion, Sergio Bravo's work is not only disruptive in form, but also in the political conscience of the role of images in a process that assumes the construction of a language of its own in a period that shows openness towards popular art.