Films from Latin America
My video library: Latin delights
The average Filipino's idea of Hispanic visual entertainment is those sentimental Latin TV soap operas shown on late morning and early afternoon. Unabashed sentiment is also what Latin American Cinema offers to film buffs.
Latin American cinema mostly revolves around the less privileged class' struggles against poverty and an unjust bureaucracy. It's like watching a Lino Brocka retrospective, but the only difference is Latino filmmakers have a penchant for turning their works into contemporary fairy tales.
Film buffs witness the recent resurgence of Latin movies, where a number of them earned recognition in international film festivals. I saw some of them at Instituto Cervantes (Spanish Cultural Center).
Macario (Mexico, 1960) by Roberto Gavaldon
Cast: Ignacio Lopez Tarso, Pina Pellicer, Enrique Lucero, Mario Alberto Rodriguez.
Synopsis: A peasant named Macario goes to the forest to cut woods. He brings along a cooked turkey, which is his meal between breaks. The Devil appears to him, asking to share his food with him in exchange for riches and women. He rejects it. He next meets God, who also asks the same favor. Macario turns him down, believing that he won't be punished because God would understand his dire existence. But he agrees to share his turkey to another peasant. The poor fellow reveals himself as Death in old, tattered clothes. The Grim Reaper rewards Macario with drinking water that would heal the sick and the dying.
Why you should rent it: This religious parable is filled with symbolic images (e.g. the valley of candles that represent the living beings in Earth). Furthermore, the movie tells something about the rich and poor, the political and social structure of Mexican society and death, which plays an important role in Mexican culture. All of these three traits can be seen in recently acclaimed Mexican pictures like Y tu mama tambien.
Trivia: Macario became the first Mexican film to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. It was edged out by The Virgin Spring, which is one of the few religious parables that Ingmar Bergman has made.
Guantanamera (Cuba, 1994) by Tomas Guttierez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabio (Alea died before the film was in the can, so Tabio finished it off)
Cast: Mirta Ibarra, Carlos Cruz, Jorge Perugorria, Raul Eguren.
Synopsis: Gina's aunt died from emotional ecstasy. The cause is a lover that she hasn't seen in 50 years. Gina and Adolfo (her politically-ambitious husband) travel from Guantanamera to Havana to bury her. The assorted people they meet give viewers a glimpse of the hard life in Cuba.
Why you should rent it: The movie is more than whining about Cuba's struggles. It's like Y tu mama tambien without sex (well almost, as Mariano had a near tryst with one of the checkpoint guards). Laughter is the best antidote to daily problems, but the finale is endearing and optimistic (Cubans' problems will be overcome).
Trivia: Alea was a law student when he made his first short films. He was a staunch supporter of the revolution that overthrew the regime of Fulgancio Batista and brought Fidel Castro to power.
Central Station (Brazil, 1998) by Walter Salles
Cast: Fernanda Montenegro, Vincius de Oliveira, Marilia Pera
Synopsis: Another road movie from Latin America, but this one involves Dora, a jaded, old woman, and Josue, an orphaned boy. The movie is about retracing a person's roots. For Dora, it's feelings that she thought are long gone. For Josue, it's his father. For Salles' lens, it's Brazil's countryside, which has traces of its past.
Why you should rent it: Salles possesses a trait common among great filmmakers: an eye for great visuals. It's abundant in Central Station, like Dora and Josue running through a sea of candles in procession. It's also an acting showcase for Fernanda Montenegro, one of Brazil's revered actresses.
Trivia: Vincius de Oliveira was a shoe polisher when Salles plucked him out for the pivotal role of Josue.
Son of the Bride (Argentina, 2001) by Juan Jose Campanella
Cast: Ricardo Darin, Hector Alterio, Norma Aleandro, Eduardo Blanco
Synopsis: Rafael is experiencing a middle-aged crisis. The economic crisis is knocking on the doors of his restaurant. On top of that, he suffers from a mild heart attack. A reunion with Juan Carlos, a childhood buddy, would help him solve his predicament.
Why you should rent it: There may be nothing new about this movie (it can be dubbed the Latin remake of Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life), but this movie is released after Argentina' economy collapsed. Optimism and reassurance are the antidote, which the movie offer.
Trivia: One of the cast members is Norma Aleandro, whom the New York Film Critics chose as Best Actress in 1985 for The Official Story, which is considered by some to be the greatest Argentine film ever made. She is picked from a nominees list that includes Meryl Streep for Out of Africa and Geraldine Page for A Trip to Bountiful (who won the Oscar for the same category).
(First published in The Manila Times on June 20, 2003)
The average Filipino's idea of Hispanic visual entertainment is those sentimental Latin TV soap operas shown on late morning and early afternoon. Unabashed sentiment is also what Latin American Cinema offers to film buffs.
Latin American cinema mostly revolves around the less privileged class' struggles against poverty and an unjust bureaucracy. It's like watching a Lino Brocka retrospective, but the only difference is Latino filmmakers have a penchant for turning their works into contemporary fairy tales.
Film buffs witness the recent resurgence of Latin movies, where a number of them earned recognition in international film festivals. I saw some of them at Instituto Cervantes (Spanish Cultural Center).
Macario (Mexico, 1960) by Roberto Gavaldon
Cast: Ignacio Lopez Tarso, Pina Pellicer, Enrique Lucero, Mario Alberto Rodriguez.
Synopsis: A peasant named Macario goes to the forest to cut woods. He brings along a cooked turkey, which is his meal between breaks. The Devil appears to him, asking to share his food with him in exchange for riches and women. He rejects it. He next meets God, who also asks the same favor. Macario turns him down, believing that he won't be punished because God would understand his dire existence. But he agrees to share his turkey to another peasant. The poor fellow reveals himself as Death in old, tattered clothes. The Grim Reaper rewards Macario with drinking water that would heal the sick and the dying.
Why you should rent it: This religious parable is filled with symbolic images (e.g. the valley of candles that represent the living beings in Earth). Furthermore, the movie tells something about the rich and poor, the political and social structure of Mexican society and death, which plays an important role in Mexican culture. All of these three traits can be seen in recently acclaimed Mexican pictures like Y tu mama tambien.
Trivia: Macario became the first Mexican film to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. It was edged out by The Virgin Spring, which is one of the few religious parables that Ingmar Bergman has made.
Guantanamera (Cuba, 1994) by Tomas Guttierez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabio (Alea died before the film was in the can, so Tabio finished it off)
Cast: Mirta Ibarra, Carlos Cruz, Jorge Perugorria, Raul Eguren.
Synopsis: Gina's aunt died from emotional ecstasy. The cause is a lover that she hasn't seen in 50 years. Gina and Adolfo (her politically-ambitious husband) travel from Guantanamera to Havana to bury her. The assorted people they meet give viewers a glimpse of the hard life in Cuba.
Why you should rent it: The movie is more than whining about Cuba's struggles. It's like Y tu mama tambien without sex (well almost, as Mariano had a near tryst with one of the checkpoint guards). Laughter is the best antidote to daily problems, but the finale is endearing and optimistic (Cubans' problems will be overcome).
Trivia: Alea was a law student when he made his first short films. He was a staunch supporter of the revolution that overthrew the regime of Fulgancio Batista and brought Fidel Castro to power.
Central Station (Brazil, 1998) by Walter Salles
Cast: Fernanda Montenegro, Vincius de Oliveira, Marilia Pera
Synopsis: Another road movie from Latin America, but this one involves Dora, a jaded, old woman, and Josue, an orphaned boy. The movie is about retracing a person's roots. For Dora, it's feelings that she thought are long gone. For Josue, it's his father. For Salles' lens, it's Brazil's countryside, which has traces of its past.
Why you should rent it: Salles possesses a trait common among great filmmakers: an eye for great visuals. It's abundant in Central Station, like Dora and Josue running through a sea of candles in procession. It's also an acting showcase for Fernanda Montenegro, one of Brazil's revered actresses.
Trivia: Vincius de Oliveira was a shoe polisher when Salles plucked him out for the pivotal role of Josue.
Son of the Bride (Argentina, 2001) by Juan Jose Campanella
Cast: Ricardo Darin, Hector Alterio, Norma Aleandro, Eduardo Blanco
Synopsis: Rafael is experiencing a middle-aged crisis. The economic crisis is knocking on the doors of his restaurant. On top of that, he suffers from a mild heart attack. A reunion with Juan Carlos, a childhood buddy, would help him solve his predicament.
Why you should rent it: There may be nothing new about this movie (it can be dubbed the Latin remake of Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life), but this movie is released after Argentina' economy collapsed. Optimism and reassurance are the antidote, which the movie offer.
Trivia: One of the cast members is Norma Aleandro, whom the New York Film Critics chose as Best Actress in 1985 for The Official Story, which is considered by some to be the greatest Argentine film ever made. She is picked from a nominees list that includes Meryl Streep for Out of Africa and Geraldine Page for A Trip to Bountiful (who won the Oscar for the same category).
(First published in The Manila Times on June 20, 2003)
posted by Francis Rex Alger @ 3:59 PM
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