Pinochet in Suburbia (TV Movie 2006)

Pinochet in Suburbia: Directed by Richard Curson Smith. With Derek Jacobi, Phyllida Law, Peter Capaldi, Yolanda Vazquez. In 1998, former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet visits Britain for medical treatment. On being tipped off, Amnesty International seize the chance to bring to justice a man they insist is guilty of multiple human rights violations. The newly-elected Labour government is initially amenable, and soon Pinochet is under house arrest (albeit in a detached house in leafy suburbia) and awaiting extradition to Spain. However, Amnesty are up against the complexities of British law, the vacillations of Home Secretary Jack Straw, Pinochet’s former ally Margaret Thatcher, and the Senator’s own vast reserves of cunning.

“Anytime thereu0026#39;s a movie based on a historical figure, one hopes to gain an insight into the individual or an important event that he/she was involved with. If you know nothing about what happened to Pinochet, youu0026#39;ll learn a little (but very little) from this movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBasically, itu0026#39;s about u0026#39;retiredu0026#39; Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochetu0026#39;s unexpected arrest in England during a vacation. The story covers a brief period of about 2 years.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUnfortunately, thereu0026#39;s not much to tell – or learn from this movie except for a little bit of history and some minor characterization. You donu0026#39;t really get to know Pinochet much at all. In 1 1/4 hours of storytelling, not a whole lot happens either.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you donu0026#39;t know about about Pinochetu0026#39;s arrest and are interested in it, this movie can give you some information about it – but you wonu0026#39;t get much else.”