Hi everyone!
Welcome back to Film Buff Fridays! I’m staying in 1984 for this week, but instead of the usual morally clear popcorn films, I’m going with probably the exact opposite: a short documentary about the effects of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, and child soldiers. For two other films about child soldiers, but in a different part of the world, check out “Sara’s Notebook” (Episode #150) and “City of Joy” (Episode #256). And for another film by podcast favorite Werner Herzog, check out “Into the Abyss“ (Episode #053). And if you have any suggestions, let me know at onemoviepunch.com.
And now...
Today’s movie is “Ballad of the Little Soldier” (1984), the short documentary from Werner Herzog and Denis Reichle. The documentary captures the life of a group of child soldiers within the Miskito Indian indigenous population, trained to fight against the Sandinistas. The film was originally produced in West Germany and was brought to the United States by New Yorker Films.
Spoilers ahead.
I spoke a lot in my review for “Into The Abyss” (Episode #053) about why I love Herzog, but to summarize, I like the unique perspectives he brings to our world, along with the trust he places in the viewer to let scenes speak for themselves. He’s easy to ridicule, especially by privileged or perhaps overly optimistic people, particularly because his documentary subject matter ranges from the horrific (“Lessons of Darkness”, ”Grizzly Man”) to the absolutely sublime (“Cave of Forgotten Dreams”, “Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World”). Someone even plays him as a voice actor on a popular movie trivia podcast from time to time. However, even while his filmmaking has gotten more reflective, he was also known for some intense and insightful documentary work, like today’s film.
“Ballad of the Little Solider” (1984) is a short documentary, only clocking in at 45 minutes, but it has a much larger impact than many documentaries, especially for the time. Herzog and Reichle head for the gulf coast of Nicaragua to interview the indigenous Miskito Indians, a combination of indigenous, mestizo, and runaway Caribbean slaves, geographically isolated from much of the rest of Nicaragua. And here come two West German documentarians, who hiked weeks through the countryside to reach this population, suffering from the horrific treatment of the Sandinistas after fighting alongside them to overthrow the Somoza dictatorship. The Sandinistas implemented a sort of ethnic cleansing afterwards of the Miskito Indians, bombing, razing, burning, and killing them, as they fled towards larger populations, and began arming themselves against the government, beginning the larger proxy war that would involve the United States in the Iran/Contra scandal on one side, and the Russians on the other. Herzog and Reichle are even shot at as they accompany one band of adult soldiers, which should pretty much blunt anyone’s attempt to minimize Herzog through comedy.
It would be easy to derive some sort of political stance from both Reichle and Herzog, but like most of Herzog’s subject material, the situation really does speak for itself. One can’t fathom the idea that children are being trained as soldiers, and yet, after hearing their need to protect themselves, one wonders why everyone isn’t being trained, not just the men and boys. It’s easy from our privileged safe spaces to say that guns are categorically bad and that violence is never the answer, but I would wager most of us have never lived in a situation where entire communities were being systematically destroyed by direct violence. It’s also easy to criticize child soldiers when they turn into roving rape gangs in the Congo, but not so much when they are engaged in community self-defense in one of the most violent regions in the world at the time. And without giving any answers, the pair calmly documents their experience, and with that classic Herzog ability to place two divergent ideas together, like an armed child solider singing a popular tune about not being educated and fighting for love. It’s the same song you’ve been hearing this entire review.
“Ballad of the Little Soldier” (1984) is an incisive look into the aftermath of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua, focusing on one remote indigenous population’s attempts to defend themselves from horrific oppression, and being caught up in a larger proxy war between superpowers. Herzog and Reichle risk life and limb to capture the footage, and present the information in such a way as to have it speak for itself. Fans of Werner Herzog, or folks interested in the reasons for community self-defense, should definitely check out this documentary.
Rotten Tomatoes: NR
Metacritic: NR
One Movie Punch: 9.0/10
“Ballad of the Little Soldier” (1984) is not rated and is currently streaming with ads on Tubi and without ads on Fandor.
