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Meier Hall 205 |
Salem State College | Department of Foreign Languages | Language Resource Center
Spanish Language Films and Documentaries
Spanish-language feature films
The following are films that are owned by and kept at the LRC for viewing on the premises. Videos can be viewed on one of the two TV-VCR combo units and DVD's can be viewed on any of the computers.
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El laberinto del fauno / Pan's Labyrinth (2006) Year: 2006 - Country: Spain - Director: Guillermo del Toro - Genre: - Runtime: 119 minutes - Actors: Ariadna Gil, Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones - Rating: Rated R for graphic violence and some language - Format: DVD - Acquired: May 2007 Amazon.com: Inspired by the Brothers Grimm, Jorge Luis Borges, and Guillermo del Toro's own unlimited imagination, Pan's Labyrinth is a fairytale for adults. Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) may only be 12, but the worlds she inhabits, both above and below ground, are dark as anything del Toro has conjured. Set in rural Spain, circa 1944, Ofelia and her widowed mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil, Belle Epoque), have just moved into an abandoned mill with Carmen's new husband, Captain Vidal (Sergi López, With a Friend like Harry). Carmen is pregnant with his son. Other than her sickly mother and kindly housekeeper Mercedes (Maribel Verdú, Y Tu Mamá También), the dreamy Ofelia is on her own. Vidal, an exceedingly cruel man, couldn't be bothered. He has informers to torture. Ofelia soon finds that an entire universe exists below the mill. Her guide is the persuasive Faun (Doug Jones, Mimic). As her mother grows weaker, Ofelia spends more and more time in the satyr's labyrinth. He offers to help her out of her predicament if she'll complete three treacherous tasks. Ofelia is willing to try, but does this alternate reality really exist or is it all in her head? Del Toro leaves that up to the viewer to decide in a beautiful, yet brutal twin to The Devil's Backbone, which was also haunted by the ghost of Franco. Though it lacks the humor of Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth represents Guillermo Del Toro at the top of his considerable game. --Kathleen C. Fennessy |
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Volver (2007) Year: 2007 - Country: Spain - Director: Pedro Almodóvar - Genre: Comedy / Drama - Runtime: 121 minutes - Actors: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo - Rating: USA:R - Format: DVD - Acquired: May 2007 Amazon.com: Spanish for "Coming Back," Volver is a return to the all-female format of All About My Mother. Unlike Pedro Almodóvar's previous two pictures, the story revolves around a group of women in Madrid and his native La Mancha. (The cast received a collective best actress award at Cannes.) Raimunda (a zaftig Penélope Cruz) is the engine powering this heartfelt, yet humorous vehicle. When husband Paco (Antonio de la Torre) is murdered, Raimunda makes like Mildred Pierce to deflect attention away from daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo). After telling everyone the lout has left, she struggles to conceal his body. The other women in her life all have secrets of their own. Her sister, Sole (Lola Dueñas), for instance, has taken in their mother, Irene (a sprightly Carmen Maura). Since Irene perished in a fire, is this person a ghost or simply a woman who looks like her? Then there's their childhood friend, Agustina (Blanca Portillo), who is desperate to find out why her mother disappeared after the blaze. Was she responsible? Almodóvar deftly blends the ghost story with the murder mystery in his tribute to the Italian neo-realist films of the 1950s. The resilient Raimunda is a throwback to the earthy heroines of Sophia Loren and Anna Magnani. The latter appears in Luchino Visconti's Bellissima, which shows up on Sole's television one night (thus confirming the link). If Almodóvar’s 16th feature lacks the emotional punch of the more audacious Talk to Her, it's less heavy-handed than Bad Education and Cruz is a revelation. --Kathleen C. Fennessy |
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Poniente (2002) [PAL, Reg.2] Year: 2002 - Country: Spain - Director: Chus Gutiérrez - Genre: Drama / Romance - Runtime: 92 minutes - Actors: José Coronado, Mariola Fuentes, Antonio Dechent, Antonio de la Torre, Álex Angulo - Rating: Spain:T - Format: DVD - Acquired: May 2007 Product Description Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: o English (subtitles) o Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1) o English (Dolby Digital 2.0) o French (Dolby Digital 2.0) o German (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: Spanish director Chus Gutierrez draws attention to illegal immigrants and the racism they are forced to endure in her 2002 social issue drama Poniente. Madrid-based schoolteacher Lucía (Cuca Escribano) returns to her birthplace in Southern Spain after her father passes away. Upon her arrival, Lucía reconnects with her hometown and decides to assume leadership of her father's greenhouse business -- a development that draws the ire of her cousin Miguel (Antonio Dechent), who would have taken over if Lucía hadn't. In due time, Lucía meets her father's business accountant, Curro (Jose Coronado), and promptly takes a keen personal interest in the attractive, sensitive man. As Curro and Lucía share a compassionate regard for the illegal immigrants they employ, both are forced to confront the outright racism coming from the surrounding community, as well as from some of their other non-immigrant employees. As tensions come to a head, Lucía is forced to make some business decisions that will have long lasting -- and quite disparate -- effects on her relationships with her employees and the surrounding community. Special Features: o Filmographies o Interactive Menu o Making Of o Scene Access o Trailer(s) |
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¡¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto?! / What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1985) Year: 1985 - Country: Spain - Director: Pedro Almodóvar - Genre: Comedy / Drama - Runtime: 101 min - Actors: Ángel de Andrés López, José Manuel Bello, Beni, Diego Caretti, Verónica Forqué - Rating: Spain:18 - Format: DVD - Acquired: May 2007 Amazon.com: Pedro Almodóvar scored his first international hit with What Have I Done to Deserve This?, cementing his reputation as Spain's bad-boy director of darkly comedic melodramas. Many of the themes that dominate Almodóvar's later films are evident here, especially his sympathetic affection for downtrodden women like Gloria (Carmen Maura), an exhausted housewife who's addicted to No-Do-z tablets and spends 18-hour days cleaning apartments and tending (just barely) to her teenage sons (one deals drugs, the other offers sex to local perverts), neglectful husband, and looney-tunes mother-in-law--all of whom have a particular knack for getting on her nerves. Toss in a prostitute neighbor, an accidental murder, and a pet lizard named "Money," and you've got the makings of a soap opera by way of Luis Buñuel and John Waters, served up with Almodóvar's distinctive blend of compassionate humanity and kinky outrageousness. --Jeff Shannon |
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El Calentito (2005) Year: 2005 - Country: Spain - Director: Chus Gutiérrez - Genre: Comedy / Music - Runtime: 89 minutes - Actors: Antonio Dechent, Verónica Sánchez, Isabel Ordaz, Aitor Merino, Jordi Vilches - Rating: NR - Format: DVD - Acquired: May 2007 Product Description: Spain 1981 the Franco slumber is about to heat up when innocent virgin Sara plunges into the raucous world of El Calentito, an underground nightclub exploding with punk rock and sexual liberation. The club showcases the all-female band Las Sioux led by the beautiful Carmen, a lesbian who resembles Joan Jett and super sassy, often topless Leo. When a third member of the group leaves, the band members convince Sara to join them, encouraging her to toss away her conservative upbringing and embrace a life of rock and roll. But as Sara prepares to take center stage and the Spanish government is on the verge of collapse, the na?ve virgin discovers an opportunity to start a revolution on stage, while El Calentito s doors swirl in a sea of sex, anarchy and celebration! |
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Te doy mis ojos / Take My Eyes (2003) Year: 2003 - Country: Spain - Director: Icíar Bollaín - Genre: Noir thriller - Runtime: 106 minutes - Actors: Laia Marull, Luis Tosar, Candela Peña, Rosa Maria Sardà, Kiti Manver - Rating: NR - Format: DVD - Acquired: May 2007 Amazon.com: Take My Eyes, a drama about a couple entangled in an abusive relationship, proves that Spanish Director Icíar Bollaín has studied the aggressor's mindset in order to portray the violent husband, Antonio (Luis Tosar) with a certain amount of sympathy. The film enlightens rather than enrages. Antonio, who beats his wife Pilar (Laia Marull), is a complex character overcome by his insecurity that Pilar will leave him. Take My Eyes opens on Pilar taking her son to live with her sister, safe from Antonio's uncontrolled anger. Antonio stalks Pilar, warning that he can't survive without her, then signs up for therapy. Conversely, Pilar is co-dependent, unable to see Antonio's cruelty because of her blind belief in the construct of marriage due to her mother's past, similar history with her deceased husband. Pilar's sister's wedding and Pilar's new job as a museum docent acquired in her effort to command independence exacerbates the couple's dilemma. Pilar returns to Antonio but a terrifying incident scares her permanently away from him. Throughout, one senses Pilar's impending danger, but the complexities of her and Antonio's arrangement, including her motherly role in their relationship, sheds light on domestic violence for those viewers who are baffled by it. Take My Eyes also explains how detrimentally far couples will go to stay together for their child. Well-acted and nicely written, Take My Eyes is a smart film about the horrors of abuse. The docudrama extra on this DVD, A Love That Kills, further delves into cruelty in a more educational setting, the counselor's office. --Trinie Dalton |
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Insomnio / Sleepless in Madrid (1998) Year: 1998 - Country: Spain - Director: Chus Gutiérrez - Genre: Comedy - Runtime: - Actors: Cristina Marcos, Candela Peña, Ernesto Alterio, María Pujalte, Ginés García Millán - Rating: - Format: DVD - Acquired: May 2007
Three young couples in Madrid cope with relationships and insomnia in this offbeat romantic comedy from Spanish director Chus Gutierrez. |
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Los lunes al sol / Mondays in the Sun Year: 2002 - Country: Spain - Director: Fernando León de Aranoa - Genre: Drama - Runtime: 113 min - Actors: Javier Bardem, Luis Tosar - Rating: Spain:13 / MPAA: Rated R for language - Format: DVD - Acquired: October 2006 This is the story of those who live in a constant Sunday, those who spend mondays under the Sun. The story of people who worked in a dockyard but now are unemployed. 2001: men without jobs, in the port city of Vigo. Six men worked in a shipyard, now shuttered. They pass the time at La Naval, a bar opened by one of them after the yard closed. They face their futures in makeshift ways: Rico has his bar and a sharp 15-year-old daughter, Reina has become a watchman and a moralizer, Lino fills out job applications, Amador drinks heavily and talks of his wife's return; José is married to Ana, who works at a cannery and tires of being the breadwinner amidst José's emasculated moodiness; Santa, the group's conscience and troublemaker, occasionally fantasizes about Australia. In truth, all are joined like Siamese twins, adrift. |
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Whisky Year: 2004 - Country: Uruguay - Director: Juan Pablo Rebella, Pablo Stoll - Genre: Comedy / Drama - Runtime: 94 min - Actors: Andrés Pazos, Mirella Pascual - Rating: Spain:13 - Format: DVD - Acquired: October 2006 The deadpan style of Jim Jarmusch meets Aki Kaurismaki’s wry sensibility in this perversely funny story set in Montevideo, Uruguay. When Jacobo, a lonely sock factory owner, hears about the impending visit of his irritatingly cheerful brother, who he hasn't seen in years, he enlists his faithful assistant Marta to pretend to be his wife. When his long-lost brother resurfaces, Jacobo, desperate to prove his life has added up to something, looks to scrounge up a wife. He turns to Marta, an employee at his sock factory, with whom he has a prickly relationship. the owner of a sock factory in Montevideo, and Marta, his employee, realize that their estranged relationship needs to change when Jacobo's long-lost brother prompting them to pose as a married couple.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000E1NWH8/salemstatecolleg |
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El Abrazo partido / Lost Embrace Year: 2004 - Country: Argentina - Director: Daniel Burman - Genre: Comedy - Runtime: 100 min - Actors: Daniel Hendler, Adriana Aizemberg - Rating: USA:Not Rated / Spain:T / Chile:14 - Format: DVD - Acquired: October 2006 This is Ariel's world: the small, slightly seedy shopping center in downtown Buenos Aires, where the Italian shopkeepers scream all day, the Koreans sell feng-shui and old Osvaldo sells nothing. Where Ariel's mother runs a lingerie shop and his brother deals in import-export. It's a comfortable little world, in spite of an undercurrent of malaise and uncertainty. Many young people are searching for their immigrant roots to obtain a coveted foreign passport, the key to a world full of promise. Ariel, however, wants more than a passport from Poland, where his grandparents fled to escape the Holocaust. He wants to understand. Why his father left his family shortly after his birth to fight a war in Israel. Why he never returned. And why this seems to leave his mother and brother indifferent...But the truth changes. And when Ariel's father returns, he brings with him new truths, a new story and, ultimately, a long-overdue embrace--one that had been lost for so long.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000CQQI80/salemstatecolleg |
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Flores De Otro Mundo / Flowers From Another World Year: 1999 - Country: Spain - Director: Icíar Bollaín - Genre: Comedy / Drama - Runtime: 108 min - Actors: José Sancho, Luis Tosar, Lissete Mejía, Chete Lera, Marilyn Torres - Rating: Spain:T / Argentina:13 - Format: DVD - Acquired: October 2006 In a remote Spanish village overrun by bachelors, a group of vibrant women arrive by bus to try their hand at romance. Director Iciar Bollain charts the bond that form between three couples--a middle-aged builder and a Cuban gold digger, a harried daughter and her sensitive suitor, and a man and woman who are both inextricably tied to their respective hometowns. Bittersweet and closely observed, Bollain's film "makes us laugh and makes us cry" (Heraldo de Aragon). In Spanish with English subtitles.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000AYEIDQ/salemstatecolleg |
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El otro lado de la cama / The Other Side of the Bed Year: 2002 - Country: Spain - Director: Emilio Martínez Lázaro - Genre: Comedy / Drama / Musical / Romance - Runtime: 114 min - Actors: Ernesto Alterio, Paz Vega, Guillermo Toledo, Natalia Verbeke, etc. - Rating: Spain:13 / USA:R - Format: DVD - Acquired: October 2006 Sometimes the game of love requires a little cheating… The Other Side of the Bed is a raucous and sexy romantic comedy with a musical twist. The film tells the story of two couples, along with a collection of their friends and co-workers, whose switching back and forth between lovers leads to lies and heartache – and lots of song and dance. / When Paula (Natalia Verbeke) leaves her mate Pedro (Guillermo Toledo), he misses her and looks for comfort with his best friends, Javier (Ernesto Alterio) and Sonia (Paz Vega). Paula is having an affair with Javier. The cuckold Pedro tries to find who is the secret lover of Paula, and hires a private eye. Meanwhile, while comforting Pedro, Sonia has one night stand with him and Javier thinks she is cheating him with her lesbian friend Lucia (Nathalie Poza).
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00097DY0C/salemstatecolleg |
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El día que me amen Year: 2003 - Country: Argentina - Director: Daniel Barone - Genre: Drama / Romance - Runtime: 110 min - Actors: Adrián Suar, Leticia Brédice, Alfredo Casero, Jorge Marrale, etc. - Rating: USA:Not Rated / Argentina:13 - Format: DVD - Acquired: October 2006 Two childhood friends reunite as adults. Both have embarked on different journeys, come to personal impasses and now find themselves looking for answers where their journeys began. Mental illness and the power of friendship. Mara and Joaquín were childhood friends, next-door neighbors. They are now in their early 30s. She's returned to Acassuno after eight years abroad, ostensibly to audition for a part in a musical. Joaquín has been a recluse in his parents' house, perhaps because Mara left without a word years before. Mara seeks to renew the friendship, which may be good for Joaquín, but it soon becomes clear that both face formidable obstacles to a lasting relationship with anyone. The past contains both causes of unhappiness and keys to change.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0009A40DE/salemstatecolleg |
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Esperando al mesías / Waiting for the Messiah Year: 2000 - Country: Argentina - Director: Daniel Burman - Genre: Comedy / Drama - Runtime: 97 min - Actors: Daniel Hendler, Stefania Sandrelli, Melina Petriella, Héctor Alterio,Enrique Piñeyro, etc. - Rating: Argentina:16, USA:R - Format: DVD - Acquired: October 2006 In the Jewish section of Buenos Aires, a young man faces questions of career and love after his mother dies; should he stay in the protective embrace of his Jewish culture and marry his childhood sweetheart, or venture out into the world where he has met a beautiful, confused, bisexual Christian artist? Waiting for the Messiah is a poignant and funny film about self-discovery and passionate confusion. Spanish with English subtitles.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001CNQ8A/salemstatecolleg |
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Diarios de motocicleta / The Motorcycle Diaries Year: 2004 - Country: - Director: Walter Salles - Genre: Adventure / Biography / Drama - Runtime: 126 min - Actors: Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna - Rating: USA: R for language, Switzerland:12, Canada:14A - Format: DVD - Acquired: October 2006 "The Motorcycle Diaries" is based on the journals of Che Guevara, leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures he, and best friend Alberto Granado, had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s. The beauty of the South American landscape and of Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Bad Education) gives The Motorcycle Diaries a charisma that is decidedly apolitical. But this portrait of the young Che Guevara (later to become a militant revolutionary) is half buddy-movie, half social commentary--and while that may seem an unholy hybrid, under the guidance of Brazillian director Walter Salles (Central Station) the movie is quietly passionate. Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna, a lusty and engaging actor) set off from Buenos Aires, hoping to circumnavigate the continent on a leaky motorcycle. They end up travelling more by foot, hitchhiking, and raft, but their experience of the land and the people affects them profoundly. No movie could affect an audience the same way, but The Motorcycle Diaries gives a soulful glimpse of an awakening social conscience, and that's worth experiencing. --Bret Fetzer
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JNCZ/salemstatecolleg |
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Maria Full of Grace / Maria, llena eres de gracia Year: 2003 - Country: US/Colombia - Director: Joshua Marston - Genre: Drama / Thriller / Crime - Runtime: 101 min - Actors: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Virgina Ariza, Yenny Paola Vega, Rodrigo Sánchez Borhorquez, Charles Albert Patiño - Rating: MPAA: Rated R for drug content and language - Format: DVD - Acquired: Oct. 2006 The harrowing experiences of a 17-year-old Colombian girl who becomes a heroin runner are detailed in Joshua Marston's acclaimed directorial debut. Leaving her desperate home life behind, Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno, in an award-winning role) takes an offer to transport heroin into the United States. Swallowing small balloons of the drug, which will undoubtedly kill her if they burst, Maria makes round-trip flights smuggling the contraband out of the country. The more flights she takes, the deeper she sinks into her new world. A very tense, realistic depiction of the drug trade and its unfortunate victims, Maria Full of Grace won the Alfred Bauer Prize for Best First Film at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival and the Dramatic Audience Award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. In Spanish with English subtitles.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002TT0MI/salemstatecolleg |
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Plata quemada / Burnt Money Year: 2000 - Country: Argentina - Director: Marcelo Piñeyro - Genre: Action / Drama / Thriller / Crime / Romance - Runtime: 125 min - Actors: Leonardo Sbaraglia, Eduardo Noriega - Rating: USA:R / Argentina:18 - Format: DVD - Acquired: October 2006 Burnt Money, which premiered at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival, is set in Argentina in 1965 and is the fourth film by director Marcelo Piñeyro. This true story follows the tumultuous relationship between two men who became lovers and ultimately ruthless bank robbers in a notoriously famous footnote in the annals of Argentinian crime history. Nene (Leonardo Sbaraglia), Angel (Eduardo Noriega) and Cuervo (Pablo Echarri) are bank robbers who flee from Argentina across the border to Uruguay after a large-scale hold-up that turns bloody. Angel is hurt and the three must lay low until Angel recovers. Nene and Angel are known to everyone they know as "the twins" because of their resemblance, but the two are not brothers at all - they are involved in a steamy homosexual relationship. To get back to Argentina, the group must first wait for Fontana, the brains behind the robbery, to arrange for passports. Anxious from hiding, Cuervo decides to break curfew and go party. After Nene and Angel also decide to take off, Nene meets a prostitute named Giselle and Angel ends up getting in a fight. The group is forced to abandon their refuge and Angel and Nene decide to move in with Giselle. However, the sexual attraction between Nene and Angel burns too strongly and when Nene gets hostile with Giselle and kicks her out, she goes straight to the police to snitch on the group. It's not long before police are surrounding the building and the fate of Nene and Angel appears to be sealed.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000069HUI/salemstatecolleg |
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Amores Perros Year: 2000 - Country: Mexico - Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu - Genre: Drama / Thriller - Runtime: 153 min - Actors: Gael García Bernal, Emilio Echevarría, álvaro Guerrero, Goya Toledo - Rating: USA:R for violence/gore, language and sexuality - Format: DVD - Acquired: June 2005
Amazon.com:
Amores Perros roughly translates to "Love's a bitch," and it's an apt summation of this remarkable film's exploration of passion, loss, and the fragility of our lives. In telling three stories connected by one traumatic incident, Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu uses an intricate screenplay by novelist Guillermo Arriaga to make three movies in close orbit, expressing the notion that we are defined by what we lose--from our loves to our family, our innocence, or even our lives. These interwoven tales--about a young man in love with his brother's pregnant wife, a perfume spokeswoman and her married lover, and a scruffy vagrant who sidelines as a paid killer--are united by a devastating car crash that provides the film's narrative nexus, and by the many dogs that the characters own or care for. There is graphic violence, prompting a disclaimer that controversial dog-fight scenes were harmless and carefully supervised, but what emerges from Amores Perros is a uniquely conceptual portrait of people whom we come to know through their relationship with dogs. The film is simultaneously bleak, cynical, insightful, and compassionate, with layers of meaning that are sure to reward multiple viewings. --Jeff Shannon |
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Mar adentro (The Sea Inside) Year: 2004 - Country: Spain - Director: Alejandro Amenábar - Genre: Biography, drama - Runtime: 125 min - Actors: Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda - Rating: PG-13 for intense depiction of mature thematic material - Format: DVD - Acquired: June 2005
Amazon.com:
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 2004, The Sea Inside is a life-affirming film about a man who wishes to die. That may seem like a massive contradiction, but in the hands of director Alejandro Amenábar (Open Your Eyes, The Others) and actor Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls), this fact-based Spanish drama concerns the final days of Ramón Sampedro, the quadriplegic poet who waged a controversial campaign for his right to die. He was denied this right for 30 years, and ultimately arranged for his own assisted suicide, but this remarkable film--and Bardem's keenly intelligent performance--examines the hotly-debated issue of assisted suicide with admirable depth and humanity, just as Sampedro did until his death in 1998. For Sampedro, death was preferable to severe paralysis (he even refused to use a wheelchair), but the film does not suggest a "disposable" attitude toward disability. Instead, it's a thoughtful meditation on life and love as gifts to be cherished, and a challenging drama that begs each viewer to examine their own personal beliefs about what makes life worth living. You may not agree with Sampedro and his ultimate denial of life, but The Sea Inside will urge you to ponder how you would react under similar circumstances, and that makes it a profoundly meaningful film. --Jeff Shannon |
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Por la Libre (Dust to Dust) Year: 2000 - Country: México - Director: Juan Carlos de Llaca - Genre: Comedy - Runtime: 96 min - Actors: Osvaldo Benavides (Rocco), Rodrigo Cachero (Rodrigo), Ana de la Reguera (Maria), etc. - Rating: Rated R for language, some sexuality and drug use (MPAA) - Format: DVD - Acquired: June 2005 This bittersweet comedy from Mexico explores one family's conflicted history. Rodrigo and Rocco are cousins who must put aside their own personal differences if they want to keep their family together. After the passing of their beloved grandfather, the family has become embroiled in a battle over his inheritance. Hopping in a Mercedes with their grandfather's ashes, Rodrigo and Rocco head for Acapulco with the intentions of settling everyone's problems once and for all. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/por_la_libre/ http://imdb.com/title/tt0262698/ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000TPA5G |
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Miel Para Oshún (Honey for Oshun) Year: - Country: - Director: Humberto Solás - Genre: Comedy/Drama - Runtime: USA:123 min - Actors: Jorge Perugorria (Roberto), Isabel Santos (Pilar) - Rating: R for language (?!) (MPAA)- Format: DVD - Acquired: June 2005 Amazon.com: Jorge Perugorria (Strawberry and Chocolate) stars as Roberto, who with the help of an eccentric cab driver, embarks on a wild road trip through Cuba to search for the mother he thought had abandoned him as a child. From Award-winning filmmaker Humberto Solas, Honey For Oshun is a compelling and funny story filled with unexpected detours, wrong turns, near deadends, and plenty of broken-down cars. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00025XDY8 |
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La deuda interna (The Debt / Veronico Cruz) Year: 1987 - Country: UK / Argentina - Director: Miguel Pereira - Genre: Drama - Runtime: 96 min - Actors: Leopoldo Aban, Juan José Camero, Guillermo Delgado - Rating: Argentina:13 / USA:Unrated - Format: DVD - Acquired: Fall 2004. "The story of the life of an Indian boy, Veronico Cruz, from his birth in one of the most remote parts of Argentina, until his death in the far-off south Atlantic during the Falklands/Malvinas War." |
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Cría cuervos (Raise Ravens) Year: 1976 - Country: Spain - Director: Carlos Saura - Genre: Drama / Crime / Mystery / Thriller - Runtime: 107 min - Actors: Geraldine Chaplin, Mónica Randall, Florinda Chico, etc. - Rating: Argentina:18 - Format: DVD - Acquired: Fall 2004. "After doing several films with screenwriter Rafael Azcona, GARDEN OF DELIGHTS, MY COUSIN AGNELICA, Carlos Saura made CRIA! from his own script. He continued using actors in dual roles, allowing for easily shifting time frames and multiple points of view. In a dreamy opening scene, Ana (Ana Torrent), a wide-eyed child of about ten, comes down the stairs and sees a half-dressed woman run from her father's room. She quietly and without emotion goes into the room where her father lies dead on the bed and removes a half-full glass of milk. In the kitchen, as she washes out the glass, her mother (Geraldine Chaplin) enters and scolds her for being up so late. But her Mother, we learn later, died earlier, and Ana blamed her father for it and put poison in his milk. When Ana is alone her mother appears to her again, but this time she looks right in the camera and explains that she's Ana, now age 29. Some of what came before was a flashback from her adult perspective. With Chaplin playing both parts, the film shifts between the story of Ana and her mother, and Ana's life as an adult, until what actually happened the night her father died is completely revealed. CRIA! is the most complex and ambitious of the many films that Saura and Chaplin made together." Rotten Tomatoes (IMDb) |
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Doña Herlinda y su hijo (Dona Herlinda and Her Son) Year: 1985 - Country: Mexico - Director: Jaime Humberto Hermosillo - Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance - Runtime: 90 min - Cast: Guillermina Alba, Guadalupe Del Toro, Letícia Lupercio, etc. - Rating: UK:15 - Format: DVD - Acquired: Fall 2004. "Rodolfo (Trevino) is a young bachelor doctor who has a love affair with a younger music student, Ramon (Meza). When Rodolfo's mother begins to urge his son to get married, he quickly asks modern and open-mind Olga (Lupercio) to become his wife. Ramon is heart-broken, but Dona Herlinda (del Toro) has the final solution to make everybody happy: She asks Ramon to live with her, near by Rodolfo and Olga. Everybody together forever." IMDb |
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El espinazo del diablo (The Devil's Backbone) Year: : 2001 - Country: Spain / Mexico - Genre: Drama / Crime / Mystery / Fantasy - Runtime: 106 min - Director: Guillermo del Toro - Cast: Eduardo Noriega, Marisa Paredes, Federico Luppi, etc. - Rating: USA:R - Format: DVD - Acquired: Fall 2004. "It is 1939, the end of three years of bloody civil war in Spain, and General Franco's right-wing Nationalists are poised to defeat the left-wing Republican forces. A ten-year-old boy named Carlos (Fernando Tielve), the son of a fallen Republican war hero, is left by his tutor in an orphanage in the middle of nowhere. The orphanage is run by a curt but considerate headmistress named Carmen (Marisa Paredes) and a kindly Professor Casares, both of whom are sympathetic to the doomed Republican cause. Despite their concern for him, and his gradual triumph over the usual schoolhouse bully, Carlos never feels completely comfortable in his new environment. First of all, there was that initial encounter with the orphanage's nasty caretaker, Jacinto, who reacts even more violently when anyone is caught looking around a particular storage room the one with the deep well. Second, and more inexplicable, is the presence of a ghost, one of the former occupants of the orphanage named Santi. Not long after Carlos' arrival, Santi latches onto Carlos, badgering him incessantly at night and gloomily intoning, "Many of you will die." As if that wasn't enough to keep the orphanage's occupants in an unrelenting state of terror, there's the un-exploded bomb that dominates the orphanage's courtyard, still ticking away; With the orphanage left defenseless by its isolation, and the swift progression of Franco's troops, the ghost's prediction seems depressingly accurate. Nevertheless, with every step of the plot, it becomes apparent that the ghost's predictions as to who (or what) will die, the real source of danger and even the definition of death itself may be more ambiguous than first thought." IMDb |
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Krámpack (Nico and Dani) Year: 2000 - Country: Spain - Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance - Runtime: 91 min - Director: Cesc Gay - Cast: Fernando Ramallo, Jordi Vilches, Marieta Orozco, etc. - Rating: USA:R - Format: DVD - Acquired: Fall 2004. Coming of age, on a Barcelona beach, during an eventful week: Nico arrives at Dani's for part of the summer. Dani's parents are away, Nico is keen to lose his virginity, and Dani, who's been Nico's friend since grammar school, wants time only with Nico. Dani's plans to hunt and fish are waylaid when Nico catches the eye of Elena and her cousin Berta. He wants to go to the beach with the girls, cook them dinner, and make love to at least one of them. Dani wants social and physical contact with Nico. Watching from a short distance are Sonia, Dani's tutor, and Julian, a gay writer, who picks up Dani's vibes. Can Nico and Dani sort out friendship as well as their mixed desires? IMDb Amazon |
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Nueve reinas (aka Nine Queens) Year: 2000 - Country: Argentina - Genre: Crime / Drama / Mystery - Runtime: 114 min - Director: Fabián Bielinsky - Cast: Gastón Pauls, Ricardo Darín, Leticia Brédice, Tomás Fonzi, etc. - Rating: MPAA: Rated R for language - Format: DVD - Acquired: Fall 2004. Early one morning, Marcos observes Juan successfully pulling off a bill-changing scam on a cashier, and then getting caught as he attempts to pull the same trick on the next shift. Marcos steps in, claiming to be a policeman, and drags Juan out of the store. Once they are back on the street, Marcos reveals himself to be a fellow swindler with a game of much higher stakes in mind, and he invites Juan to be his partner in crime. A once-in-a-lifetime scheme seemingly falls into their laps - an old-time con man enlists them to sell a forged set of extremely valuable rare stamps, The Nine Queens. The tricky negotiations that ensue bring into the picture a cast of suspicious characters, including Marcos' sister Valeria, their younger brother Federico and a slew of thieves, conmen and pickpockets. As the deceptions mount, it becomes more and more difficult to figure out who is conning whom. IMDb (Amazon) |
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Cronos Year: 1993 - Country: Mexico - Genre: Horror / Action / Drama - Runtime: 94 min - Director: Guillermo del Toro - Cast: Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook, etc. - Rating: UK:18 / USA:R - Format: DVD - Acquired: Fall 2004. An aging antique dealer, Jesus Gris, happens upon an elegant mechanized scarab. When opened, it painfully stabs whomever is holding it, but the wound brings youthful vigor and a vampire's need for blood. The device is relentlessly pursued by a dying tycoon, Dieter de la Guardia, whose nephew Angel, reluctant to see his uncle live a moment longer, must still do the old man's bidding. Meanwhile, Gris's desires endanger his own graddaughter, Aurora. IMDb |
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Los Olvidados (aka Young and the Damned, The) Year: 1950 - Country: México - Genre: Drama - Runtime: 85 min / USA:80 min - Director: Luis Buñuel - Cast: Alfonso Mejía, Estela Inda, Miguel Inclán, etc. - Rating: Sweden:15 / Argentina:16 - Format: VHS - Acquired: Fall 2004. A group of juvenile delinquents live a violent and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City, and the morals of young Pedro are gradually corrupted and destroyed by the others... IMDb |
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La Flor de mi secreto Year: 1995 - Country: Spain - Genre: Drama - Runtime: 103 min - Director: Pedro Almodóvar - Cast: Marisa Paredes, Juan Echanove, Carmen Elías, etc. - Rating: Spain:13, USA:R - Format: VHS - Acquired: Fall 2004. Spoiled and self-centred Leo is not the most likeable of women; her sister Rosa (the wonderful Rossy de Palma) who looks after their aged mother probably deserves more of our sympathy. But the nicest people don't necessarily provide the most interesting stories; and Almodovar isn't trying to enlist our pity, but our understanding. If, according to the oft-quoted screenplay dictum, character is defined by action, then what he shows us is a courageous character who overcomes her self-pity, and takes up life and love again. Leo comes to terms with her loss, in much the same way as the mother in film's opening scene finally accepts that her son is dead. But that episode turns out to be a repeatable training session for doctors, so perhaps Almodovar is warning Leo that loss of love can take place more than once, or possibly he is suggesting to the audience that they regard Leo's story as a training session for life. IMDb |
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Talk to Her (Hable con Ella) Year: 2002 - Country: Spain - Genre: - Runtime: - Director: Pedro Almodóvar - Cast: Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti - Rating: R - Format: DVD - Acquired: Spring 2004. Amazon.com: Writer-director Pedro Almodóvar makes another masterpiece with Talk to Her, his first film since the wonderful All About My Mother. Marco (Dario Grandinetti) is in love with Lydia (Rosario Flores), a female bullfighter who is gored by a bull and sent into a coma. In the hospital, Marco crosses paths with Benigno (Javier Camara), a male nurse who looks after another coma patient, a young dancer named Alicia (Leonor Watling). From Benigno's gentle attentiveness to Alicia, Marco learns to take care of Lydia... but from there, the story goes in directions that deftly manage to be sad, hopeful, funny, and creepy, sometimes at the same time. The rich human empathy of Almodóvar's recent films is passionate, heartbreaking, intoxicating--there aren't enough adjectives to praise this remarkable filmmaker, who is at the height of his powers. Talk to Her is superb, with outstanding performances from all involved. --Bret Fetzer |
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The Son of the Bride Year: 2002 - Country: Spain - Genre: Comedy, Drama, Foreign, Romance - Runtime: 124 mins. - Director: Juan Jose Campanella - Cast: Ricardo Darin, Héctor Alterio, Norma Aleandro, Eduardo Blanco, Natalia Verbeke - Rating: MPAA R - Format: DVD Synopsis: "At age 42, Rafael Belvedere is having a crisis. He's overwhelmed by his responsibilities and just isn't having any fun. He has spent most of his life frantically trying to run the restaurant his father Nino founded. He has achieved success, but continues to live in the old man's shadow. He rarely visits his aging mother Nora. His ex-wife is bitter towards him because he doesn't spend enough time with their daughter. And finally, Rafael is too self-involved to make a commitment to his girlfriend Nati. Just when Rafael feels most alone, a series of unexpected events lead him to reevaluate his life. A minor heart attack forces him to slow down and a reunion with Juan Carlos, a childhood friend, helps Rafael to reconstruct his past and look at the present in new ways. Most importantly, when his father makes the decision to fulfill his mother's dream of getting married in a church, it gives Rafael a task to focus on, bringing the family together to create a new memory they can share. " |
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Year: - Country: - Genre: - Runtime: - Director: Julie Taymor - Cast: Salma Hayek, Jay Polstein - Rating: - Format: VHS Amazon.com: Salma Hayek makes up for many bad movies with her fierce performance in this sumptuous film. Hayek plays the Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo, whose tempestuous life with her unfaithful husband, muralist Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina), drives the story of Frida. Maverick director Julie Taymor (Titus, the Broadway stage production of The Lion King) pulls out a wealth of gorgeous visuals to capture everything from the horrific bus accident that damaged Kahlo's spine to her and Rivera's trip to New York City, where Rivera's political leanings ruptured a commission from the Rockefeller family. Though the script spends too much time telling us how great Frida's painting is (rather than trusting in the power of the images themselves), Taymor's dynamic energy and Kahlo's forceful personality give Frida genuine emotional impact. The superb cast includes Roger Rees, Valeria Golino, Ashley Judd, Geoffrey Rush, Antonio Banderas, and Edward Norton. --Bret Fetzer |
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COMING SOON: Te doy mis ojos Year: 2003 - Country: España - Genre: Drama - Romántica - Runtime: 106 minutos - Director: Iciar Bollaín - Cast: Laia Marull, Luis Tosar, Candela Peña, Rosa María Sardá, Sergi Calleja, Kity Mánver, Nicolás Fernández Luna - Rating: - Format: VHS "Una noche de invierno, una mujer, Pilar (Laia Marull), sale huyendo de su casa. Lleva consigo apenas cua-tro cosas y a su hijo, Juan (Nicolás Fernández Luna). Antonio (Luis Tosar) no tarda en ir a buscarla. Pilar es su sol, dice, y además, “le ha dado sus ojos”... A lo largo de la película, los personajes irán reescribiendo ese libro de familia en el que está escrito quién es quién y qué se espera que haga pero en el que todos los conceptos están equivocados y donde dice hogar se lee infierno, donde dice amor hay dolor y quien promete protección produce terror." (Source)
"Te doy mis ojos", tercer largometraje de Bollain, también actriz que participó, por ejemplo en "Tierra y Libertad" del británico Ken Loach, aborda la difícil realidad de las mujeres maltratadas desde una perspectiva sorprendente y novedosa, tras escribir el guión, como una extensión de "Amores que matan" junto a Alicia Luna.
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La lengua de las mariposas (Butterfly) Year/Año: 1999 - Country/País: Spain - Genre/Género: - Duration/Duración: - Director/Dirección: José Luis Cuerda - Actors/Actores: - Rating: R - Format/Formato: DVD From the Back Cover: Acclaimed by critics and featuring legendary star Fernando Fernan Gomez (All About My Mother), Butterfly is a heartwarming tale about a young boy growing up in a small Spanish town. Moncho is timid and fearful as he starts school for the first time. But with the nuturing guidance of his kind and devoted teacher, Don Gregorio (Fernan Gomez), a world of possibilities begins to open up for young Moncho. As the school year comes to a close, however, civil war begins sweeping across the country, forcing the boy's family and community to choose between the fight for freedom and the threat of persecution! An amazing story of family and friendship during a time of extreme conflict--you're sure to enjoy this magical motion picture. Check it out at amazon.com. Check it out at the Internet Movie Database. |
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Todo sobre mi madre (All about my mother) Year/Año: 2000 - Country/País: Spain - Genre/Género: - Duration/Duración: - Director/Dirección: Pedro Almodóvar - Actors/Actores: Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes - Rating: R - Format/Formato: DVD From Amazon.com: After her son is killed in an accident, Manuela (Cecilia Roth) leaves Madrid for her old haunts in Barcelona. She reconnects with an old friend, a pre-op transsexual prostitute named La Agrado (Antonia San Juan), who introduces her to Rosa (Penélope Cruz), a young nun who turns out to be pregnant. Meanwhile, Manuela becomes a personal assistant for Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes), an actress currently playing Blanche DuBois in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire. All About My Mother traces the delicate web of friendship and loss that binds these women together. The movie is dedicated to the actresses of the world, so it's not surprising that all the performances are superb. Roth in particular anchors All About My Mother with compassion and generosity. But fans of writer-director Pedro Almodóvar needn't fret--as always, Almodóvar's work undermines conventional notions of sexual identity and embraces all human possibilities with bright colors and melodramatic plotting. However, All About My Mother approaches its twists and turns with a broader emotional scope than most of Almodóvar's work; even the more extravagant aspects of the story are presented quietly, to allow the sadness of life to be as present as the irrepressible vitality of the characters. Almodóvar embraces pettiness, jealousy, and grief as much as kindness, courage, and outrageousness, and the movie is the richer for it. --Bret Fetzer. Check it out at amazon.com. Check it out at the Internet Movie Database. |
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Goya in Bordeau Year/Año: 1999 - Country/País: - Genre/Género: - Duration/Duración: - Director/Dirección: Carlos Saura - Actors/Actores: - Rating: R - Format/Formato: DVD Brilliant painter Francisco de Goya, considered by many to be the most important artist of the modern era, reflects on his turbulent career and tempestuous relationships during the decline of Spain and a bloody war of independence, while living out his final days in exile. Check it out at amazon.com. Check it out at the Internet Movie Database. |
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El abuelo (The grandfather) Year/Año: 1998 - Country/País: Spain - Genre/Género: - Duration/Duración: 151 min - Director/Dirección: José Luis García - Actors/Actores: - Rating: MPAA: Rated PG for thematic elements and language - Format/Formato: DVD Check it out at amazon.com. Check it out at the Internet Movie Database. |
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El crimen del padre Amaro (The crime of Father Amaro) Year/Año: - Country/País: Mexico / Spain / Argentina / France - Genre/Género: - Duration/Duración: 118 min - Director/Dirección: Carlos Carrera - Actors/Actores: - Rating: MPAA: Rated R for sexuality, language and some disturbing images - Format/Formato: DVD From Amazon.com: This controversial film follows a handsome young priest, Padre Amaro (played by Gael Garcia Bernal from Y Tu Mamá También and Amores Perros), who arrives in a small town and finds himself surrounded by hypocrisy and corruption--and also finds himself tempted by a beautiful young woman who confesses that when she "touches herself," she thinks of Jesus. What makes El Crimen del Padre Amaro (The Crime of Father Amaro) particularly effective is that Amaro is no innocent--he skillfully forces a newspaper publisher to retract a scandalous story about the Church and is willing to take extreme steps to preserve his career. Some of the movie's harsher digs at the Catholic Church have provoked accusations of prejudice; but though Padre Amaro portrays a world in which no one's hands are clean, it also finds redeeming qualities in every character. A complex, completely engrossing movie. --Bret Fetzer Check it out at amazon.com. Check it out at the Internet Movie Database. |
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Ay, Carmela Year/Año: 1991 - Country/País: Spain / Italy - Genre/Género: - Duration/Duración: 102 min - Director/Dirección: Carlos Saura - Actors/Actores: Carmen Maura, Andrés Pajares - Rating/Clasificación: PG-13 - Format/Formato: VHS From the back cover: "In Spain, 1938, the country is torn apart by Civil War between the Republicans and Franco¹s fascist forces. Carmela and Paulino are Republicans and travelling entertainers who innocently make a wrong turn one night and end up prisoners of the Fascists. They are about to be executed along with a town full of Republican prisoners, when they are discovered by a young heater-loving Lieutenant. He persuades the army to let them stage a show to entetain the troops, and Paulino agrees in order to save his and Carmela¹s life but she is unaware of his betrayal. Paulino rewrites their cabaret to suit the conquering army, and all is made ready for the big night. But the show that could save their lives becomes a curtain-raiser to disaster when Carmela discovers that she¹s been tricked and is about to beteray her country. Carmela believes in giving everything for a good show -- willing even to give her life." Check it out at amazon.com. Check it out at the Internet Movie Database. |
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Retrato de Teresa (Portrait of Teresa) Year/Año: 1979 - Country/País: Cuba - Genre/Género: - Duration/Duración: 103 minutes - Director/Dirección: - Actors/Actores: - Rating/Clasificación: - Format/Formato: VHS From Internet Movie Database: "*WARNING: CERTAIN SCENES ANALYZED WHICH MAY REVEAL PLOT* A classic Cuban film which portrays the problems of Cuban women under the revolution. Teresa, a factory worker, has three sons and a traditional, rather suspicious husband. She takes on the job of cultural secretary at the factory despite misgivings that she won't be able to handle the many demands on her time. The new responsibilities increase her husband's jealousy and make her feel increasingly inadequate. Teresa throws her husband out after an ugly scene, and is left shouldering the day-to-day burdens of life under the revolution. Her husband is suddenly promoted to a technical position as a TV repair man in a far away city and he comes crawling back in attempts to get his wife and children to move with him. The double standard is evident when he commits to another woman and defends his position because "he is a man". At this point Teresa begins to question her cultural identity by asking, "what if I had an affair?" and he denies that it would be similar, so she realizes that he in fact has not changed. We in fact do not know if Teresa actually had an affair, that is not at stake here, it is the hypothetical possibility. Not a bad little film from Cuba considering that the budget was so low they could barely afford film and had to beg on the street for sandwiches for the crew and cast. Look for an 7 year old Ricky Martin as the role of the oldest brother. This is a straight, social-realist perspective and it is filmed in that manner, no cinematic angles or de-constructed themes, so it reads like a play and may bore the common movie goer but it is enjoyable. It is clearly outdated by today's standard but the human element is timeless and that is what holds it together. The actors are all capable and even show a certain amount of wonderful expression in certain scenes. There's a certain despondency at looking at Cuba in this time. The streets are dirty, crowded, the houses are barren and empty, which radiate with the sordid lives around them. Obviously the "revolution" is a flaw and failure, the director intended to make Teresa's final liberation at the end of the film solely based on individual merit. Nominated at the Moscow International Film Festival for two awards, it won only one, the Golden Prize for Best Actress Daisy Granados. Casting the obvious communist proselytizing aside, the award was well deserved. " Check it out at amazon.com. Check it out at the Internet Movie Database |
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Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate) Año: 1992 - País: Mexico - Género: Drama / Romance - Duración: 123 min - Dirección: Alfonso Arau - Actores: Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos - Rating/Clasificación: R - Formato: DVD Sinopsis: "Based on the best-selling novel by Laura Esquival, this internationally popular romantic fable from Mexico centers on a young woman who discovers that her cooking has magical effects. The tale's heroine, Tita, is the youngest of three daughters in a traditional Mexican family. Bound by tradition to remain unmarried while caring for her aging mother, Tita nevertheless falls in love with a handsome young man named Pedro. Pedro returns her affection, but he cannot overcome her family's disapproval, and he instead marries Tita's elder sister. The lovestruck young woman is brutally disappointed, and her sadness has such force that it infects her cooking: all who eat it her feel her heartbreak with the same intensity. This newly discovered power continues to manifest itself after the wedding, as Tita and Pedro, overcome by their denied love, embark on a secret affair. Director Alfonso Arau, Esquival's husband at the time, presents the acts of love and cooking with the same glossy, sensual sheen. Indeed, despite occasional digressions into a magical realist tone, the film often takes on the gloss of Hollywood romance. This combination of traditional melodrama and exotic fairy tale proved extremely popular with audiences, particularly in the United States, where it became one of the highest grossing foreign language films at the time. Judd Blaise - From All Movie Guide. Check it out at amazon.com. Check it out at the Internet Movie Database. |
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Todos somos estrellas (We're All Stars) Año: 1994 - País: Perú - Género: Comedia - Duración: 87 minutos - Dirección: Luis Felipe Degregori - Actores: Milena Alva, Mariella Balbi, Elide Brero- Formato: VHS Sinopsis: "This Peruvian comedy takes a poke at Latin living and at the power of the media. The story centers around the troubled family of Carmen Huambachano, who never miss Lima's popular weekly TV series "We Are All Stars." In this show, a typical family is first interviewed and then given the opportunity to win prizes. The Huambachano family is chosen, a TV crew is at the door, and now the family must decide how they are going to present themselves on national television. They rally together and quickly begin repainting and redecorating the house, finding their best clothing, and finally looking for a suitable "husband" for Carmen. Her real husband, a "no good rat" left her years before." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide. Check it out at BN.com. Check it out at the Internet Movie Database. Check it out at All Movie Guide. |
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Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) Año: 1988 - País: Spain - Género: - Duración: 90 min - Dirección: Pedro Almodóvar - Actores: Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas - Rating: Spain:13 / USA:R - Formato: DVD Sinopsis: (Amazon.com essential video) "Pedro Almodovar broke into the art-house mainstream with this wild, manic comedy about a gaggle of women and their various problems with men, be they married lovers, cheating husbands, fiancés, or terrorists. Almodovar's long-time leading lady, Carmen Maura, stars as an actress (famed for her laundry detergent commercial as the mother of a sloppy serial killer) who's just been dumped by her married lover. In the midst of trying to track him down for a face-to-face confrontation, she crosses paths with her lover's son (Antonio Banderas), his unbalanced wife (Julieta Serrano), and his new girlfriend (Kiti Manver). Adding more fuel to the fire is the hapless friend (Maria Barranco) who got involved with a Shiite terrorist and is now being hunted by the police. Almodovar, a master of farcical screwball comedy, manages to keep all these balls in the air in dizzy, hilarious style without once losing his momentum. Chock full of the director's over-the-top stylization, in terms of both story and sets, the film is a hilarious yet heartfelt marriage of kitsch and drama, verging on parody but never going entirely over the top. Maura is absolutely breathtaking as the unhinged lover, dispensing wise advice to others while trying to keep a semblance of sanity, and the supporting cast is quintessential Almodovar, including a brief but memorable turn by Banderas in what could have been a bland, go-nowhere role. Nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1989." --Mark Englehart. Check it out at amazon.com. Check it out at the Internet Movie Database. |
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Técnicas de duelo (Details of a Duel: A Question of Honor) Año: 1988 - País: Colombia - Género: Ficción - Duración: Sergio Cabrera - Dirección: Fernando Pérez - Formato: VHS Sinopsis: A finales de los años cincuenta, un pueblo anónimo de los Andes, ve alterada su calma por el inminente duelo a muerte entre el maestro y el carnicero, quienes eran amigos entrañables y compañeros de luchas políticas. El alcalde aprove |
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La vida es silbar (Life is to Whistle) Año: 1999 - País: Cuba - Género: Comedia - Duración: Dirección: Fernando Pérez - Formato: DVD Amazon.com: Where's Cuba? Fernando Perez's colorful tapestry of fantasy and street realism is a troubled love letter to Cuba. Fisherman and musician Luis Alberto Garcia is an abandoned child searching for his mother (aptly named Cuba) in an allegorical journey. He's just one of Perez's orphans, along with a social worker who faints every time she hears the word "sex" and a passionate ballet dancer who promises God her celibacy if she can get the role of Giselle and then falls for her new partner. The metaphorical tales have a tendency to become so abstract they almost dissolve, but the heady sex and throbbing music power it through to the imaginative and sweet climax with magic and color and earthy eroticism. If he never gets an answer to his question, his lush portrait at least sketches his mother country's identity crisis. --Sean Axmaker |
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Guantanamera Año: 1997 - País: Cuba - Género: Comedia - Duración: Dirección: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Juan Carlos Tabío - Formato: DVD Amazon.com: From the Cuban directors of Strawberry and Chocolate (Tomás Gutiérrez and Juan Carlos Tabio) comes a poignant romantic comedy with satiric bite. Yoyita is a famous singer who returns to the town of Guantanamo for a celebration in her honor. Reunited with her girlhood lover Candido after 50 years, she dies in his arms from overstimulation. The farce of returning her body to Havana for proper burial provides the vehicle for an easygoing yet incisive overview of contemporary Cuba and a lighthearted admonishment to live for the moment. Yoyita's niece Gina, who is a former professor of economics, and her tyrannical husband, who is the official undertaker for the remote province, make up the procession, along with the forlorn Candido. As the cortege makes its way toward the capital, Gina is given a second chance at love with a hunky truck driver while we become privy to the clandestine restaurants, abject road stops, and endless slogans that populate the hitherto underexposed Cuban countryside. --Fionn Meade |
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Entre Pancho Villa y una mujer desnuda Año: 1995 - País: México - Género: Comedia - Duración: 90 min. - Dirección: Sabina Berman e Isabelle Tardán - Formato: VHS Sinopsis: "La relación entre Gina -una moderna y liberal ejecutiva- y Adrián -un periodista e historiador divorciado- tiene dos elementos comunes: Su mutua atracción sexual y su admiración hacia la figura de Pancho Villa. Gina descubre que su relación con Adrián y la de Pancho Villa con sus mujeres son muy similares, por lo que decide presionar a su amante para que asuma una responsabilidad. Adrián huye y regresa, pero Gina planea vengarse de tal manera que ni el mismo Pancho Villa podrá convencerla de lo contrario." http://cinemexicano.mty.itesm.mx/peliculas/entrevilla.html
http://www.geocities.com/jesus_372/PanchoVilla.html |
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Y Tu Mama Tambien (And Your Mother Too) DVD / Mexico / Unrated Edition 2001 / Starring: Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna / Director: Alfonso Cuarón "Plenty of juicy "s" words apply to And Your Mother Too: sexy, sweet, subtle, sad, surprising, superb... and did we say sexy? With enough male and female nudity to qualify as softcore porn--but deserving none of the stigma attached to that label--this vibrant coming-of-age road movie is guaranteed to jumpstart any viewer's libido. Frank treatment of its characters' burgeoning sexuality makes this unrated film a real eye-opener, but it's never prurient or juvenile. Rather, the three-way odyssey of two 17-year-old Mexican boys (Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna) and a 28-year-old Spanish beauty (Maribel Verdú) is energetic and affirmative, while acknowledging that relationships--and sexual adventures--rarely develop without a hitch or two (or three). Filmed in sequence by Alfonso Cuarón (Great Expectations), and shot with invigorating natural style, this refreshing comedy-drama employs an omniscient narrator to reflect upon precious stolen moments, weaving three lives into a memorable tapestry of fun, friendship, and fate." --Jeff Shannon (Amazon.com) |
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Abre los ojos (Open your eyes) DVD / Spain / 1997 / Alejandro Amenábar "Set in Madrid, the story defies description, but this much can be revealed: young, handsome Cesar (Eduardo Noriega) is vain, rich, charming, and--following a botched suicide-murder scheme by a jilted lover--horribly disfigured. He'd fallen in love with Sofia (Penélope Cruz) but is now an embittered husk of his former self, stuck in a "psychiatric penitentiary" on a murder charge and hiding behind an expressionless mask. His reality has crumbled, but as the film's agenda is gradually revealed, we realize that there are other factors in play. Exposing that agenda would be a criminal offense against those who haven't seen the film; suffice it to say that Open Your Eyes takes you into the twilight zone and beyond, and does so cleverly enough to prompt Tom Cruise to produce and star in an English-language remake, Vanilla Sky. The 2001 remake, directed by Cameron Crowe, costars Cameron Diaz and Penélope Cruz, who reprises her original role. --Jeff Shannon" |
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Tango Carlos Saura / 1998 / 1060 / DVD / Spanish, English subtitles / Spain-Argentina, 115 mins. NOTE: THIS IS NOT A REGULAR FEATURE FILM WITH A REAL PLOT "A lonely and disillusioned tango dancer sets out to create a staged history of Argentina in the form of a musical dedicated to dance - and no dance is greater in Argentina than the tango. His star is the wife who walked out on him (Cecilia Narova) and for him, if not for her, the torch still burns. Yet he falls in love with a younger dancer in the show (Mia Maestro) and that's a mistake. She is the mistress of one of the show's main backers, a heavy-hitter in every sense. He also includes the recent history of Argentina - the police brutality, the "disappeareds" - and that's another mistake .... Nominated for the Foreign Film Oscar. Vittorio Storaro, the cinemaphotographer, won the Technical Grand Prix at Cannes. Don't worry too much about the plot. Saura doesn't. He celebrates dance here - the most erotically charged of them all, from the ballroom to the bedroom in a few simple steps. Magnificent. Mind you, Geoff Andrew of Time Out absolutely hates it!." (source) "More than any other contemporary director, Carlos Saura (Carmen, Flamenco) has made the dance film his domain. Here again he demonstrates his masterful ability to capture the beauty of choreography, in a partially autobiographical narrative about a filmmaker trying to create the ultimate tango movie. Vittorio Storaro won deserved honors at Cannes for his dazzling cinematography and Lalo Schifrin contributes a thrilling musical score. "…one of the most purely joyful pieces of cinema in years" (Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle). Spanish with English subtitles." |
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Carne trémula (Live Flesh) Pedro Almodovar / 1998 / VHS / Spain-France / 101 mins. / Spanish, English subtitles Set in Madrid, Almodovar's seductive, subversive comedy stars Liberto Rabal as Victor, a pizza delivery man obsessed with Elena (Francesca Neri), a beautiful Italian junkie he met and slept with a few days ago. When his aggressive courting is mistaken for rape, cops David (Javier Bardem) and Sancho (Jose Sancho) show up at the scene, Victor's gun accidentally goes off and the younger David is shot and paralyzed. Four years later David is a wheelchair basketball star, now married to Elena. When Victor is released from prison, their destinies begin to cross again. But nothing is what it seems, and only when Victor turns this world upside down do we see the true picture. Spanish with English subtitles. |
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Sol de Otoño (Autumn Sun) Eduardo Mignogna / 1996 / DVD / Spanish, English subtitles / Argentina / 103 mins. A middle-aged, single Jewish woman takes out a personal ad, hoping to find someone to pose as her fiance and reassure her old-fashioned brother that she is well on the way to a happy marriage. The sole respondent, however, turns out not to be Jewish. They decide to pursue the charade anyway and what begins as an arrangement of convenience quickly turns into mutual affection. "One of the most memorable movie romances in several years...a film to both enjoy and treasure" (Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune). In Spanish with English subtitles. |
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Nueba Yol Angel Muniz / 1995 / VHS / Spanish, English subtitles / Dominican Republic / 105 mins. "This charming film about disappointment, triumph and the American dream broke all box office records in the Dominican Republic. When Balbuena (Luisito Marti) moves from Santo Domingo to New York ("Nueba Yol" in Dominican slang) hoping to make a fortune, he is in for a harsh disappointment, but finds the inner resources to succeed and find love in this land of crime, betrayal and strict labor laws. "Nueba Yol's well-placed plot and endearing characters provide a solid foundation for the deeper, more thought-provoking issues it raises. The film addresses not only immigration and crime but also the more universal themes of dreams, disappointment and triumph" (Mary Ann Farley, Video Business)." |
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Cabeza De Vaca Nicolas Echevarria / Mexico-Spain / VHS / 109 mins. / Spanish, English subtitles "A visually spellbinding biography of the Spanish explorer Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, the sole survivor of a 16th-century Spanish shipwreck off the coast of Florida. Cabeza de Vaca discovers the Iguase, a traditional Indian tribe, which allows Cabeza into their tribe. Over the next eight years, he learns about their mysterious culture and becomes a leader of the group. But his former identity catches up with him when a team of Spanish conquistadors return to colonize the Indians. "Bold and imaginative, the film has ambition, freshness, imagination, mystery and exhilarating reach. It has greatness in it" (Jay Carr, Boston Globe). With Juan Diego, Daniel Gimenez Cacho and Roberto Sosa." |
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Mariposas en el andamio (Butterflies on the Scaffold)
Margret Gilpin, Luis Felipe Bernaza / 1995 / VHS / Spanish, English subtitles / Cuba / 74 mins. "A rare documentary of a Havana suburb transformed by a group of beautiful and charismatic drag queens. The first and only "dragumentary" ever produced in Castro's Cuba, the journey moves from on-stage action and backstage preparation to insightful interviews with community leaders, the performers and their families." |
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La Historia Official / The Official Story Luis Puenzo / 1985 / DVD / Spanish, English subtitles / Argentina; 112 mins. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1985, thi |