I Dream in Another Language () is a 2017 Mexican drama film directed by Ernesto Contreras. It was screened in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The film's theme revolves around the conservation of indigenous language and culture– it's a part of a larger movement of Latin-American films that feature indigenous languages in order to give a voice to those historically silenced.
Plot
The story follows Martin, a linguist who travels to the rainforest of Veracruz, Mexico to try to record and understand Zikril, a fictional indigenous language that is dying in the region. However, upon arriving in the village where he will live for months he discovers that Isauro and Evaristo, the last two speakers of Zikril, have refused to speak to each other for the last 50 years because of a longstanding grudge. Stories from the rest of the villagers imply that the fight was over their mutual love of Evaristo’s late wife. Inspiration for this story came from Contreras' grandmother, who spoke the indigenous language of Zapoteco.
Because of the urgency of the project and Isauro’s declining health, Martin tries his best to settle the feud between these two childhood friends. He enlists the help of Evaristo’s granddaughter and the two build a strong relationship. It is revealed through flashbacks that the real fuel behind their hatred is their forbidden love for each other– which was considered taboo and sinful at the time, and the two resented each other for that.
After Isauro's passing, Evaristo travels to The Encanto, where the Zikril peoples go to rest, to apologize and mourn his lost lover. In a surprising turn of events, Isauro replies and the two finally reunite in the afterlife. Although the language dies along with its last two native speakers, the linguist, Martin has gained an understanding of the intricacies and beauties of its history.
Cast
Fernando Álvarez Rebeil as Martín
José Manuel Poncelis as Isauro
Eligio Meléndez as Evaristo
Fátima Molina as Lluvia
Norma Angélica as Flaviana
Themes
Linguistics
Although the actors speak seemingly fluent Zikril, the language itself does not exist outside of the scope of the movie. Contreras wanted to use a separate language out of respect for those who still speak these disappearing languages. To do this, he hired a linguist to create an entirely new alphabet and vocabulary and then teach it to the actors so that they could understand the tonalities and words to pass off as native speakers. Contreras also worked with the film's composer to create a lullaby in this fictional language. The film omits captions over conversations taking place in Zikril, except for certain moments, such as the very end when the two childhood friends make amends. The audience then becomes a part of the outsiders that view these two individuals. This omission allows the film to not focus on the language, but on human connection and relationships.
"I Dream"'s storyline closely resembles a headline published in 2011 by The Guardian that reported a dying language in Mexico known as Ayapa Zoque that was doomed because the last two speakers had a grudge and wouldn't speak to each other. This story, though untrue, was reprinted globally in publications including Sydney Morning Herald and Time Magazine. The article highlights, however, many other dying indigenous languages.
Spanish Colonialism
A sub-plot throughout this film follows the history of the Spanish colonization of Veracruz and the missionaries that aimed at converting the locals to Catholicism and teaching them Spanish. This story draws upon the history of many indigenous peoples in Latin America, whose culture and languages were erased as a byproduct of colonialism, and their people were forced to assimilate. Evaristo's granddaughter teaches English over the radio and hopes to live in America one day– she represents a new generation of people that are trying to grasp ahold of a new language, English, just as her grandfather's generation tried to grasp Spanish in a changing world. Contreras comments that "it was an opportunity to speak not only about language but about a loss of an identity, we don’t realize when it happens in terms of culture, knowledge, roots, traditions, etc,”.
