In September 1973, General Augusto Pinochet led a brutal military coup against the then president of Chile, Salvador Allende. It was an act that was condemned around the world. But over in East Kilbride, Scotland, a few men were compelled by a sense of solidarity with the Chilean people to act in support. Pinochet’s army used British-built Hawker Hunter jets to attack the presidential palace, the engines of which were routinely sent back to Scotland to be serviced. Led by a firebrand shop steward, the workers in the factory refused to touch them.
This earnest, if slightly laboured documentary reunites the now retired engineers and reveals to them the impact their actions had. There are some unexpectedly moving moments in an understated film that gets much of its charm from the down-to-earth decency of the characters. The men are shown messages of thanks from the Chileans whose lives they touched. “That’s smashing,” says one modestly, adding that thanks were really not necessary.
