The Pearl Button
A lyrical Chilean documentary turns the ocean into a resonant archive of Indigenous memory, colonial violence, and political repression.
Overview
A profound exploration of humanity's connection to the ocean and its secrets.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Mild
- contemplative
- melancholic
- dreamy
- reflective evening
- arthouse cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a visually ravishing and intellectually ambitious poetic meditation linking Chilean geography with Indigenous and dictatorship-era histories.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Patricio Guzmán's voice-over connects water, stars, buttons, Indigenous testimony, colonial history, and dictatorship through lyrical associations.
The ocean and water are presented as preserving voices from Indigenous communities, sailors, political prisoners, and humanity more broadly.
Chile's coastline, archipelago, volcanoes, mountains, glaciers, and oceanic spaces frame accounts of colonialism, genocide, and dictatorship.
Two mysterious buttons found on the ocean floor link distant histories of Indigenous people, colonial contact, and political imprisonment.
Films like The Pearl Button, and why
Nostalgia for the Light
poetic essay documentary, indigenous history, colonial violence, and landscape as historical memory
The Silence of Others
meditative political documentary linking natural environments to state violence and historical remembrance
The Gleaners and I
lyrical nonfiction filmmaking, ecological consciousness, and contemplation of humanity's relationship with the natural world
Movie Details
- Director
- Patricio Guzmán
- Release Date
- 2015-10-15
- Runtime
- 82 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (80)
Cast
- Patricio Guzmán
- Martín G. Calderón
- Gabriela Paterito
- Gabriel Salazar
- Claudio Mercado
- Raúl Zurita
- Cristina Calderón
- Adil Brkovic
- Javier Rebolledo
- Juan Molina
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- OVID, Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Pearl Button about?
- A lyrical Chilean documentary turns the ocean into a resonant archive of Indigenous memory, colonial violence, and political repression.
- What is The Pearl Button like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Pearl Button as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is The Pearl Button violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Pearl Button as mild.
- What did critics think of The Pearl Button?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a visually ravishing and intellectually ambitious poetic meditation linking Chilean geography with Indigenous and dictatorship-era histories.
- Which films are like The Pearl Button?
- Films with a similar feel include Nostalgia for the Light, The Silence of Others, and The Gleaners and I.
- How long is The Pearl Button?
- The Pearl Button runs 82 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Pearl Button?
- In United States, The Pearl Button streams on OVID, Kino Film Collection.
