In the late 1940s, Peruvian President General Manuel Odria had the brilliant idea of colonizing the Amazon starting with criminals, convicted or not. Called Sepa, the penal colony became active in 1951 and mostly closed in the early 1990s. It was a far cry from so-called civilization, lacking many resources, and an environment where prisoners were forced to form functioning communities or die.
“Sepa, Nuestro Señor de los Milagros” is a short but important documentary produced in 1986 that depicts life in the colonies. Sepa includes both violent and non-violent criminals, including sex offenders, thieves, and small-time drug traffickers. But in some ways it was much more functional than most prisons, as the environment forced its inhabitants to cooperate, making this “green hell,” as interviewees called it. .
But there was a great deal of intense isolation and casual corruption. This is met with sequences showing the ramblings of Alfredo Elias, the amiable warden of the time, and a visit by a prisoner from the United States called “Colonel”. These scenes are both humorous and a little frightening.
The film was directed by Werner Herzog’s associate Swiss filmmaker Walter Saxer. Saxer’s voice on the soundtrack is reminiscent of more famous directors. (The narration was written by Mario He Vargas Llosa, a Peruvian author and former politician.) Long thought lost, it will premiere in New York in a restored version. As seen today, it is a provocative addition to the imprisonment literature.
Nuestro Senor de los Milagros Sepa
Unrated. German, Spanish, English, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 17 minutes. at the theater.