Los Archivos Privados de Pablo Escobar
(The Private Archives of Pablo Escobar)
Colombia, 2002, 70 min. Directed by Marc de Beaufort.
This film is on Betacam
SP.
Ten years have passed since the death of Pablo Escobar, the most feared
drug dealer in the world, a beloved hero to many of Colombia's poor and
Public Enemy #1 to the Colombian and U.S. governments. For the first time,
the history of the infamous drug lord is being told from the point of
view of those family members and associates closest to him.
Culled from over 600 hours of intimate, never-before-seen footage given to the director by Escobar's family, with revealing interviews with his mother and siblings, Marc de Beaufort's arresting documentary unveils Escobar's personality, depicts the outrageous spending of his fortune (including his staggering Hacienda Nápoles – a compound complete with exotic animals) and elucidates the origins of the Latin American drug trade. Archivos Privados poignantly captures the contradictions of Escobar, whom many Colombians considered a modern-day Robin Hood – a candid and generous man (he donated millions to the poor) yet also a brutal and ruthless criminal accused of numerous drug-related and political assassinations that changed the course of Colombian history.
“Marc de Beaufort provides a necessary counterpoint to the American media’s portrayal of the war on drugs.” – Ed Halter, Village Voice
“(Los Archivos Privados de Pablo Escobar) represents a view point held by a large portion of one of our most problematic neighbors. And in its version of Escobar’s pursuit by the United Sates it mirrors a perspective held by millions.”– John Anderson, Newsday“There is always something inherently interesting about the combination of wealth and evil, and even more intriguing about people who claim to have seen a monster’s humanity.”– Anita Gates, The New York Times