Robinson Crusoe Island / My Jules Verne

With director Patricio Guzmán Q&A

France, 2005 (Verne); Chile, 1999 (Robinson)
Director: Patricio Guzmán
Screenwriter: Patricio Guzmán
Cinematographers: Jacques Bouquin, Miguel Raymond (Verne); Patricio Guzmán (Robinson)
Editor: Eva Feigeles (Verne); Catherine Mabilat (Robinson)
Composer: Jorge Arriagada
Running Time: 58 minutes (Verne) & 45 minutes (Robinson)

The legendary story of Robinson Crusoe is not a product of Daniel Defoe’s imagination; it is based on a narrative written in the 18th century by a shipwrecked sailor who landed on a deserted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The director goes in search of the island, 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the Chilean coast. Robinson Crusoe Island is not a description of the island and its inhabitants, but rather a travel journal, a discovery, an ironic investigation of history, imagination and literature.

A devoted fan of Daniel Defoe’s novel since the age of 13, when he first read it in Valparaíso (Chile), Guzmán had long believed the island to be fictitious. During the film, he travels to the real island and follows the tracks of Crusoe, Defoe and a contemporary literary giant, the poet Pablo Neruda.

My Jules Verne is a portrait of the fantastic novelist on the 100th anniversary of his birth. The film intermixes the director’s childhood memories of Verne’s books with the books themselves, immersing us in fantastic evocations of the worlds he created. In this film Guzmán follows the thread of five of the 62 novels written by Verne, leading to encounters with adventurers who share the writer’s spirit. His documentary is seasoned with splendid images — of outer space, of grottos, of seabeds, of the South Pole, of volcanoes — alternating with print illustrations from the period. This film is a beautiful tribute to Jules Verne, a contemplative reflection.

Note: Q&A discussion between filmmakers and audience adds approximately 30 minutes to running time.