‘Fitzcarraldo’: Being with Cinematic Ghosts in a Decaying Jungle(Part 3)

Micaela Saxer was born during the long and torturous filming of Werner Herzog’s movie “Fitzcarraldo.” Now, she and her father, Walter Saxer, who served as this film’s producer, have returned to the rainforest of Iquitos, Peru, where they run a small estate-like hotel named after the movie. After hearing many stories of the past in the jungle that houses the spirits of cinematic figures, I delved deeper into the Amazon, imagining the absurd scenes from Nobel laureate Vargas Llosa's novel “Captain Pantoja and the Special Service,”(which was inspired by this region) and appreciating the grandeur of “Fitzcarraldo” and the hardships of producing it.

（This long cinematic travel literature published in four parts. Below is the Part 3. And here is The Part 1 and Part 2)

Decline of the Penal System

Walter Saxer directed a documentary called “Sepa: Our Lord of Miracles” (Sepa: Nuestro Señor de los Milagros), which was completed and released in 1986. The film addresses Peru's unique prison system of punishment. It begins with the notorious riot at Lima’s El Sexto prison on March 27, 1984. The fuzzy news footage of the chaotic confrontation between police officers and prisoners was captured by Saxer directly from a TV screen using his camera. The riot, which stemmed from inmates demanding better living conditions, resulted in 22 deaths, including two hostages, and left 10 others injured.

After that, the camera masterfully pans over to the deserts surrounding Lima, followed by rivers and highlands, and finally, a vast wilderness known as La Colonia Penal Agrícola del Sepa (or Sepa in short) in the eastern part of Peru of the upper Amazon region. This marshy plain had been used by the Peruvian government as an open-air exile camp since 1951. It was dubbed the “green prison without walls,” where prisoners who had already served many years of their sentences were sent to cultivate crops on the 37,000-hectare land. They were even allowed to live there with their families. The system sounds eerily similar to how the Soviet Union and Russian Empire expanded their frontiers in Siberia.

While one American inmate, a devout Christian, saw this as a divine blessing and a model for prison systems worldwide, the Peruvian prison administration seemed to have consciously or unconsciously forgotten these “free prisoners,” many of whom had long completed their sentences but never received their release orders.

It was only after existing for more than 30 years as a penal colony that filming was allowed in Sepa to document and tell the stories of these suffering prisoners. Saxer’s documentary adopts a calm observational style, though its pacing and visual pauses reveal a sense of sympathy. Through the narration of Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, we learn about the harsh realities of this exile camp, which deviates far from the public’s idealized notions of an “open prison.”

“This is the kind of documentary I like: one that lacks resolution and leaves viewers feeling helpless. On the other hand, I really don’t enjoy accusatory films like ‘The Cove,’” I shared my thoughts on “Sepa: Our Lord of Miracles” over breakfast with Saxer and his daughter, who hosted me at La Casa Fitzcarraldo.

“There is a rationale and value behind Sepa’s existence, but through your account, I see that the prisoners and their families still face many problems. Have the goals of punishment and reformation been achieved? No one really knows.”

Sepa was closed in 1993, with only one inmate remaining there until his eventual release in 2003. Later, the land was repurposed by Peru’s National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) for livestock farming. “My film was restored a few years ago by Cineteca di Bologna and even re-screened at the 2021 Play-Doc Film Festival in Galicia, Spain. It was then shown at the Lima Film Festival, and now, after watching it, Peruvian justice officials are considering reopening the Sepa open-air prison project.” Saxer added.

Decline of Jungle Tribes

Following in her father’s footsteps, Micaela Saxer is now preparing to shoot her first documentary, “Mariri: Down by These Rivers,” after years of working as a casting director in the film industry. From the title, it’s clear that it’ll be an autobiographical documentary about her roots and personal growth. The newly minted director shared the teaser with me. It opens with a heated argument between Klaus Kinski and her father. “I was born during the chaotic filming of ‘Fitzcarraldo,’” the younger Saxer narrates in a voiceover.

She goes on to mention her mother, Gloria Gonzalez. Gonzales is an indigenous woman from Requena, a town on the banks of the Ucayali River. This documentary, still in its pre-production stage, also has an alternative title, “Down by These Rivers – Gloria.” The story appears to follow the younger Saxer’s journey of rediscovering her mother’s long-abandoned jungle homeland and focus on their mother-daughter relationship. In the teaser, Gonzalez makes a rare return from Umbria, Italy, to the Amazon rainforest. Using a most basic gas stove, she prepares traditional foods for her tribe. Like many children of mixed heritage who have faced identity confusion, the younger Saxer spent most of her formative years in European schools, and for a long time, she rejected her Amazonian roots. It wasn’t until adulthood, and later in midlife, that she began to revisit her heritage with a unique sense of pride and curiosity.

Thanks to jungle tourism, the prevalence of English in Iquitos is comparable to that in Cusco, the former Inca capital, and far higher than in most parts of Peru or even Latin America. On travel agency websites or their personal social media accounts, nearly every English-speaking guide proudly references their hometown in the maze-like rainforest and their tribe’s lengthy name—even though these complex place names often can’t even be found on Google Maps. They sincerely recommend Ayahuasca ceremonies led by their tribal chiefs, but also responsibly caution curious tourists, “These experiences can often be very unpleasant, as you may suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, and even worse. It’s best not to try it without a companion.”

As tourists, our understanding of indigenous jungle-dwelling peoples is limited to Ayahuasca, exotic foods, and the many diverse indigenous languages. Our curiosity about their broader cultural practices might not even match our fascination with jungle animals. Hopefully, “Down by These Rivers” will give curious audiences a little more insight into the people of the Amazon.

Besides this documentary about chasing roots, the younger Saxer also envisions transforming La Casa Fitzcarraldo into an audiovisual production and education center. She aims to use film to foster cross-cultural dialogue between the Amazon region and the world. A group of Peruvian film curators has already begun working on similar projects in Iquitos. In late May this year, at the tail end of the rainy season, they hosted the Muyuna Floating Film Festival in the Belen floating slum. The organizers erected a large screen and, over seven consecutive days, screened films and shorts from tropical countries and regions around the world for an audience of impoverished locals—many of whom had never seen a film before—and gang members who could finally quieten down for once. A set of stunning photos from the Associated Press showed people paddling their small boats toward the big screen, breathlessly watching another world unfold before them. The younger Saxer wasn’t in Iquitos at the time, so she had no idea how the live audience fended off mosquitoes at the venue.

“It seems like there was a similar desert screening project at the 2023 Marrakesh International Film Festival in Morocco, and Martin Scorsese was the honorary chair that year,” I commented as I thought about the potential impact of film education in less mainstream regions.

“That might be because Scorsese shot ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ in Morocco,” the younger Saxer remarked.

“Really? I thought that film was shot in Matera, Italy?” I responded.

“No, it wasn’t. The film shot in Matera was Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ,’” she said confidently.

Only after browsing through her resume did I realize she was the casting director for a long list of iconic films, including “The Passion of the Christ,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” “Hannibal,” and “Life is Beautiful.” Of course, she knew better than I did.