Fortitude (Spanish: La Fortaleza) is a 2020 drama film directed by Jorge Thielen Armand. It premiered in the Tiger Competition of the 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam. A co-production between Venezuela, Colombia, France and The Netherlands, the film premiered in Venezuelan cinemas on 23 December 2021.
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Plot
La Fortaleza is inspired by the real life story of the filmmaker's father, Jorge Roque Thielen, who in turn plays the main character. It is noted that the film oscillates between fiction and reality. Roque, the protagonist, dives into the jungle to escape from his alcoholism, his demons and the social and economic crisis in Venezuela. However, the meeting with old friends and the promises of gold at a work in a mine divert his desire for redemption and he enters a vicious circle of violence around mining. This will make him sink in a cycle that devours his interior. In that moment, he will need the fortitude to emerge from the darkness and walk toward a new beginning.
Cast
Jorge Roque Thielen H.
Carlos "Fagua" Medina
Yoni Naranjo
Leudys Naranjo
Reception
La Fortaleza received a favorable critical response following its premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. In Screen International, Wendy Ide called it a bold and distinctive feature and praised Jorge Roque Thielen's lead performance, describing the film as a nervy, feverish character study. Jordan Cronk of Film Comment described it as a solemn tale of exile and redemption, and Sergio Monsalve of El Nacional situated it among Venezuela's strongest recent cinema. Several critics noted the film's blend of documentary and fiction: Kaleem Aftab of Cineuropa highlighted director Jorge Thielen Armand's focus on character over plot, and Cédric Lépine of Fiches du Cinéma wrote that its documentary-style camerawork created an unsettling atmosphere. Writing for Desistfilm, Pablo Gamba praised the film's exploration of how crisis affects those who live through it, while noting that the connection between the protagonist's personal struggles and Venezuela's broader crisis remains underdeveloped in the film. At the 2020 Biarritz Amérique-Latine festival, the film received the Jury Prize from a panel led by film historian Nicole Brenez.