FESTIVAL ’90

Highlights of Los Angeles Festival’s films and videos focusing on 25 Pacific Rim countries are reviewed here:

Sunday

Blood of the Condor

Bolivia Sunday at 8 p.m., Melnitz Theater, UCLA; Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. at AFI, 2021 N. Western Ave., Hollywood Reminiscent of “The Bicycle Thief” in both style and structure, Bolivian filmmaker Jorge Sanjines’ “Blood of the Condor” protests the genocide of the Quechua Indians through a sterilization program administered by the U.S. “Progress Corps” (read Peace Corps). Its depiction of the dark, irresponsible side of birth control is shattering in its effect--especially upon anyone fervently convinced that curbs on population growth are essential to human survival. The stark drama turns upon a Quechuan man who seeks revenge against the Americans for sterilizing his wife. Throughout, Sanjines matches his red-hot anger with a fully controlled artless-seeming style and handles nonprofessionals with the skill of a De Sica.