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Audio Format: Dolby Digital Mono Video Format: Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic) Languages: Tzetal, Mayan Subtitles: English Region Code: 1 Year Made: 1974 Running Time: 94
A cult film from the 1970's, lost for years and now newly restored, Chac: The Rain God is based on ritual and legends from the Popul Vuh, as well as Tzeltal and Mayan stories. This gorgeous film, shot in the Chiapas region of Mexico by Chilean director Rolando Klein, focuses on a small Tzeltal village during a terrible drought. Desperate for relief, thirteen men set out on a quest to save their people from starvation. They seek a solitary Diviner who lives in the mountains and knows the ways of the Ancients; they hope they can summon Chac, the Rain God. The Diviner takes them far from their own land on a strange journey- a trek that challenges their beliefs and even their sanity.
Chac is magical, mystical and intensely visual. A dazzling portrait of a Native American spiritual quest, Chac is a visionary masterpiece as powerful and revolutionary as Walkabout, El Topo, and Aguirre: The Wrath of God.
Rolando Klein's CHAC: THE RAIN GOD shows the power of ancient myth on an isolated village in the highlands of Mexico. Although most remarkable for its use of native villagers as actors, CHAC has a tendency to look like a dated Discovery Channel documentary. Although slow at first, it builds in intensity to its stunning end.
When the residents of a remote village complain to their Cacique (chief) that they do not have enough water, he asks the local Shaman to consult with Chac, the Rain God. The Shaman predicts rain, but when an ominous comet appears, the villagers fear that their Shaman has lost his power. The village elders suggest visiting the Diviner instead, a solitary man who is rumored to be a witch.
The Diviner welcomes the men and leads them on an unpredictable journey through the mountains. However, the Cacique grows increasingly skeptical of the Diviner's motives as they are led further away from the village. When the Diviner motions the others to follow him as he walks across water, the Chief and two men flee.
The Diviner and his group return to the village to prepare a ceremony to summon Chac. A mysterious omen appears and the villagers must decide whether to believe in their Cacique or the Diviner.
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