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Customer Reviews of Chac: The Rain God

A Bit Slow - But VERY WELL worth the Viewing!
Chac: The Rain God is one of those very rare DVD's that offers a unique film with an even better audio commentary. I did not give this my highest rating because the film is slow and would not entertain everyone. It is very dry and subtitles are a turnoff to most (I'm used to them because I watch a fair number of foreign films). Not all that is spoken is translated, which I found a little annoying. I would like to have known more of what the Diviner was saying.

The film itself is a mix of documentary and a somewhat slow, but satisfying story. The characters are all well-drawn and it is a true Journey film where we enter two worlds - the world of the villagers and the world they enter as they are led by the Diviner to prepare for the rain ceremony.

The commentary, though, was a tremendous surprise. I buy few DVDs that don't have commentaries, but most are pablum compared to this. Robort Klein is humble, informative, reflective and gives great insight, not just about the film process in working with non-actors, but also about the Mayan world. I am an avid Mayan reader and want to do my own film on the Maya, and this film was fulfilling on all counts. It is sad, also, from his view two decades later, to learn what happened to these people. The commentary is actually better than the movie and a movie about the making of this movie and what happens later would be at least as satisfying.

NOTE: You do not have to be a Mayan enthusiast to enjoy this film. All you have to be is someone who cares about the loss of richness created by the encroachment by Modern society on other cultures.

This film will leave you thinking for a long time afterwards. And that is good.

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Ceremony and Ritual...ripples upon the water of life
This film reflected how separated we have become from nature. We no longer hear the voices of our ancestral lineage. We have become dead in a world that pulsates, speaks and interacts with us each and every moment.

In this film we see how ceremony and ritual helps to bridge that gap and bring us closer to our world.

If you get an opportunity watch Rolando Klein's 1974 documentary "Chac: The Rain God", a film about the Tzeltal Indians of Chiapas (South America)living in the remnants of the ancient Mayan Empire. During the ceremony, the shaman uses sound, which mirror Kototama child sounds..., to call upon nature's elements. The beauty of this film is how it embraces the purity of being connected to one's world through ceremony. Each action is of ceremony and ritual...ripples upon the water of life.

Hidden is not always hidden, sometimes it is just not seen because we fail to look. This film mirrors both man's faithful interaction with the divine nature of life, and his skeptic beliefs which tear him from the fabric of life.

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A Mesmerizing Journey Into Another Culture
"Chac" was filmed in the seventies using native Mayans as actors. In his only film, director Rolando Klein lived with the Mayans in Chiapas, Mexico and recruited them as actors. When he was done he feared he had changed their lives and their culture forever. The movie is done in a spare, ethnographic style without flashy Hollywood sound or special effects. The result is to draw you into another world and by the time the Diviner goes into a trance and calls the Chacs, in order to bring rain, you are a believer in his power. You also witness the disintergration of the village leader when he loses his faith and believes his power is being usurped by an unscrupulous Diviner. The shocking ending proves the Diviner true and the faithless headman's destruction is assured. The film, which also relates the story to the Popul Vuh, the Mayan creation myth, is a must have for those interested in the Mayan culture or spiritual quests.