Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Momo and Okarun share a close moment in Dandadan

    Momo And Okarun: The Gold Standard For Shonen Romance

    07/03/2025
    Ironheart Episodes 4 6 But Why Tho 1

    ‘Ironheart’ Explained: Explore MCU’s Bold New Chapter

    07/01/2025
    Buck in 9-1-1

    ‘9-1-1’ Has To Let Buck Say Bisexual

    06/29/2025
    Nintendo Welcome Tour promotional image of the maraca mini-game

    The One “Game” That Justifies The Nintendo Switch 2 Purchase

    06/25/2025
    Destiel Confession in Supernatural - Castiel (Misha Collins) and Dean (Jensen Ackles)

    The Destiel Confession: The Lasting Importance Of Supernatural’s Greatest Ship

    06/22/2025
  • Squid Game
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » DOC NYC 2021: ‘The Silence of the Mole’ Is a Powerful Retelling of a Violent Past

DOC NYC 2021: ‘The Silence of the Mole’ Is a Powerful Retelling of a Violent Past

Ricardo GallegosBy Ricardo Gallegos11/28/20214 Mins Read
The Silence of the Mole
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

The Silence of the Mole

In Guatemala, there is very little film material from the 70s. With the exception of footage preserved thanks to smuggling or recorded by foreigners, everything was destroyed by a military regime trying to hide the traces of its innumerable atrocities and human rights violations. During this stage, however, journalist Elías Barahona managed to infiltrate the government as Press Chief for bloodthirsty Donaldo Álvarez Ruiz, the Interior Minister who orchestrated the murder, torture, and disappearance of countless political opponents. Risking his life and that of his family, Barahona used the shadows to save people, combat the silence imposed by the government, and shed light on its misdeeds. His story is told by Anaïs Taracena in the extraordinary documentary The Silence of the Mole.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Barahona is compared by a friend to the Alice in Wonderland Cheshire cat; although smiling, he knew how to disappear and use silence to his advantage, qualities that made him a perfect spy. However, the film never romanticizes this work as if it were some kind of Hollywood role. Instead, it explores the complexities of his life under fear and in a mandatory state of mistrust for the people around him. In the most haunting piece of footage, we witness as Barahona confirms the existence of death squads encharged to hunt and kill the opposition. He also reveals the prominent role of the United States in the Guatemalan genocide—the training of troops, the formation of paramilitary groups, and the Vietnam-mirroring strategies of psychological warfare used to kill and destroy entire zones. These are just some of the bone-chilling explanations he provides.

In addition to highlighting the heroism of Barahona, the documentary is an invaluable tool to learn about history from the voices of those who lived or studied it long enough. The director assembled the film with the support of interviews with colleagues and relatives of Barahona, with kidnapping survivors and journalists of the time. As a result, no conversation is wasted. Each one is like a brushstroke on a canvas that tries to reveal the history of violence lived in Guatemala. Taracena’s work compiling all these testimonies is exemplary given the enormous fear that still exists around the subject.

The secret weapon of The Silence of the Mole is Taracena’s own narration: calm, confident, and powerful, like a hypnotic whisper in the ear that leads you by the hand through the horrors of war. This element is combined with poetic and disturbing shots of the corridors and offices occupied by Álvarez during his tenure; the lighting gives a creepy quality to things as simple as an armchair to remind us that, sitting in this old piece of furniture, a man ordered the killing of thousands of innocents.

“Blood” is the response of an archivist from the National Cinematheque when questioned about what he remembers about Álvarez. He helps us understand the erasure of filmic testimonies about the massacre. But not everything is lost, as Taracena carries out an outstanding recovery work and shows us lost footage of the time: visual witnesses to the atmosphere of fear and repression.

In 2014, Elías Barahona testified in a trial about the 1980 fire caused by authorities of the Spanish Embassy in which 36 people died. His experience and his testimonies as an infiltrator supported the exercise of justice. Later that day, he spoke with Taracena, and a few weeks later, he passed away. It is as if, before finally being able to rest in peace, he had only been waiting for one last chance to honor his profession as a journalist and, as Taracena seeks to complement with The Silence of the Mole, to open the eyes of a country with fear of a legacy of violence that is still felt in its streets.

In Guatemala, schools and history books do not speak much about what happened in the seventies and eighties. There is still fear and divisions; addressing the issue of war is “politically incorrect.” That is why The Silence of the Mole is such an indispensable cinematographic tool and an example of the power of documentary cinema: it seeks to publicize a dark chapter that many try to forget or even hide, and it does so by highlighting Barahona, a man who had the guts to go where few dared.

The Silence of the Mole was screened as part of DOC NYC 2021.

The Silence of the Mole
  • 8.5/10
    Rating - 8.5/10
8.5/10

TL;DR

The Silence of the Mole is such an indispensable cinematographic tool and an example of the power of documentary cinema: it seeks to publicize a dark chapter that many try to forget or even hide, and it does so by highlighting Barahona, a man who had the guts to go where few dared.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘The Daily Life of the Immortal King,’ Episode 21 – “The Internet is not a Lawless Paradise”
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Joy Operations,’ Issue #1
Ricardo Gallegos

Ricardo is a Mexico City-based bilingual writer, Certified Rotten Tomatoes film critic and Digital Animation graduate. He loves cats, Mass Effect, Paddington and is the founder of the film website “La Estatuilla.

Related Posts

The Old Guard 2
5.5

REVIEW: ‘The Old Guard 2’ Is Distracted And Half-Baked

07/02/2025
Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey in Jurassic World: Rebirth
5.5

REVIEW: ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ Is Best When Nobody Is Talking

06/30/2025
MEGAN 2.0 promotional image
7.0

REVIEW: ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Puts Action First

06/29/2025
F1 (2025) promotional key art
8.0

REVIEW: ‘F1’ Is A High-Octane Blockbuster

06/24/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Promotional image form Netflix
9.0

REVIEW: ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Brings Beautiful Animation And An Even Better Message

06/20/2025
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later
8.5

REVIEW: ’28 Years Later’ Is How Franchises Should Return

06/18/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8
7.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 7-8

By Sarah Musnicky07/03/2025

The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8 spends welcome time in pre-domestic bliss before new developments stir up trouble.

Together (2025) still from Sundance
8.0
Film

REVIEW: Have A Grossly Good Time ‘Together’

By Kate Sánchez01/27/2025Updated:07/04/2025

Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Together (2025) is disgustingly funny, genuinely ugly, and just a good time at the movies.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 Alcatraz
9.0
PS5

REVIEW: ‘Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4’ Gives Old Games New Life

By Kyle Foley07/07/2025

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 is another example of how to breathe new life into a classic without losing touch of what makes the originals great.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here