The Battle of Chile | Chile - Obstinate Memory

Chile, Obstinate Memory (Spanish: Chile, la memoria obstinada) is a documentary film, directed by Patricio Guzmán and released in 1997. The film profiles Guzmán's trip back to Chile, after years living and working outside the country, to screen his landmark documentary The Battle of Chile in the country for the first time. Audio in Spanish with hardcoded English subtitles.

In Chile, Obstinate Memory, Guzmán explores the idea of identity and memory as it relates to the Chilean public. As opposed to The Battle of Chile, Chile, Obstinate Memory focuses more on the personal reflections of the filmmaker on returning to his home country. Whereas the original documentary is in the form of cinema verité, Chile, Obstinate Memory is a personal essay film Guzmán interviews people involved in the making of The Battle of Chile, speaks with Allende’s former guards, reflects on his own time being held by the military government, and overall focuses on the individual experiences under such a regime. The film explores the identity of the Chilean people in regards to the political changes of the nation during and after the Pinochet regime.

Guzmán wanted to film the reaction of young students to the screening of The Battle of Chile, just as he had experience before the production of Obstinate Memory. He requested permission from 40 schools to do this but only 4 agreed. According to Guzmán, the rest of the schools refused because they were concerned about traumatizing the students and some suggested that it was better to forget the past.