What makes a nice, young middle-class Dutch woman want to join a revolutionary struggle thousands of miles from home?
In the early 2000s, 19-year-old Tanja left the Netherlands to work as an au pair in Colombia, where she was quickly confronted with the country’s political turmoil. Horrified by the injustice she witnessed, she joined FARC, the largest guerrilla army in the world, taking up arms to fight for the cause.
The film tracks Tanja’s evolution from a young idealist to a key member of FARC, involved in high-stakes operations and eventually becoming part of the delegation in peace negotiations that ended Latin America’s longest civil war. Mettelsiefen, an experienced conflict documentary filmmaker, captures Tanja’s complex journey and the emotional depth behind her radical decision.
Tanja’s diaries, discovered in a 2007 raid, reveal her internal struggles and dissatisfaction with jungle life, contrasting with her later defiant public stance. The documentary balances this personal insight with the broader context of Colombia’s conflict.
Now living a low-profile life in Colombia due to an Interpol arrest warrant, Tanja’s reunion with her family remains out of reach. Opinions about her are divided, with some viewing her as a misguided idealist and others as a committed revolutionary. The film challenges gender biases in media portrayals of female revolutionaries, questioning societal expectations of likability.
Tanja – Up in Arms is a thought-provoking exploration of a woman’s radical choices and their profound impact, offering a gripping narrative set against the backdrop of Colombia’s enduring conflict.
