The Wage
6.2
In the Colombian-Venezuelan Andes, a peasant works the land under exploitative conditions to ensure the survival of his family. His son is ill, his wife is pregnant, and he himself reproduces the violence that surrounds him. With no money for medical treatment, one night he gets drunk and is arrested. In jail, in a burst of fury, he rebels against the town's political boss in the only way he can. La Paga was a pioneering work of social and political cinema in Latin America, released the same year as Barravento, Glauber Rocha’s debut feature, and anticipating movements such as Third Cinema. Influenced by Italian Neorealism and Soviet cinema in its aesthetics, forms, and ideological approach, the film uses the archetypal representation of characters and the social and economic forces they embody. Based on the director’s childhood observations in his hometown, La Paga denounces the exploitation of the rural peasantry.
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Cast
8 people
Alberto Álvarez
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Destino de mujer
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María Escalona
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Second Offender
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Rafael Briceño
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Eduardo Frank
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Herman Lejter
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Eduardo Mancera
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Aníbal Rivero
Ciro Durán Director · Raúl Delgado Millán Cinematographer José Garrido Cruz Editor
First release July 22, 1962 · Produced in Venezuela, Colombia · Production Maleza Cine, Fundación Patrimonio Fílmico Colombiano
Production
Productores Asociados S.A.
Production
Maleza Cine
Production
Fundación Patrimonio Fílmico Colombiano
Production
Cinemateca Distrital
Production
Venezuela · Colombia
Produced in
Languages
Original title
La paga
Original language
Spanish
Spoken on screen
Spanish
Release dates
Venezuela · July 22, 1962
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
France
May 17, 2025 · Premiere · Cannes Classics - 4K Restoration
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