CINEMA ESSENTIALS: WINTER 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
, Posted by LATINO EVENTS Y TESPIS MAGAZINE at 1:44 PM
Si a cine nos referimos, estamos ante una cartelera cargada de cosas buenas. Pareciera época de cosecha, abundante. Desde ganadoras de ya varios premios - y ahora esperando el Oscar- a estrenos de limitada duración, asegúrense las entradas a varios de los mejores filmes del 2012 y del 2013.
Los estrenos esperados por estos días son NO, de Pablo Larrain; Blancanieves, de Pablo Berger; Infancia Clandestina, de Benjamín Avila; La vida me mata, de Sebastian Silva y Saving Lincoln, de Salvador Litvak. Otros estrenos anticipados son Mama, de Andres Muschietti y Guillermo del Toro; La suerte en tus manos, de Daniel Burman; As Luck Would Have It, de Alex de la Iglesia y La noche de enfrente, de Raúl Ruiz.
Global Lens, el Jewish Film Festival y Dance on Camera Festival incluyen también unas 10 películas de realizadores o temas Latinos. Añadimos otras recomendaciones como la última de Jennifer López, titulada Parker; Caesar Must Die, de los hermanos Taviani; Porfirio de Alejandro Landes y el Festival Queer Art & Film.
Continúan:
Amour, Lo Imposible, The Life of Pi, Searching for Sugar Man, The Central Park Five, Tabu, Holy Motors, Skyfall, The Loneliest Planet.
Ya les avisaremos de más estrenos con directores, actores o temas latinos, como la última de Almodóvar, Los amantes pasajeros (I'm so excited); The Place Beyond the Pines con Eva Mendes; la última de Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity; también las esperadas: Chávez, Pacific Rim, Turbo, Sin City, Elysium, Star Trek, Fast and Furious, Getaway, The Counselor, La danza de la realidad, La contadora de películas, Europa Report y 33 días.
Una temporada sólida para el Cine Latino. Les deseamos éxito rotundo y varios Oscars!. Déjennos saber sus preferencias y sus opiniones!.
LO NUEVO EN CARTELERA
* Lo Imposible (The Impossible). Directed by J.A Bayona > Nominada al Oscar a Mejor Actríz > Varios teatros.
A powerful story based on one family’s survival of the 2004 tsunami, The Impossible stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor and is directed by J.A. Bayona (THE ORPHANAGE).
Maria (Naomi Watts), Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand, looking forward to a few days in tropical paradise. But on the morning of December 26th, as the family relaxes around the pool after their Christmas festivities the night before, a terrifying roar rises up from the center of the earth. As Maria freezes in fear, a huge wall of black water races across the hotel grounds toward her.
Based on a true story, The Impossible is the unforgettable account of a family caught, with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time. But the true-life terror is tempered by the unexpected displays of compassion, courage and simple kindness that Maria and her family encounter during the darkest hours of their lives. Both epic and intimate, devastating and uplifting, The Impossible is a journey to the core of the human heart.
Maria (Naomi Watts), Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand, looking forward to a few days in tropical paradise. But on the morning of December 26th, as the family relaxes around the pool after their Christmas festivities the night before, a terrifying roar rises up from the center of the earth. As Maria freezes in fear, a huge wall of black water races across the hotel grounds toward her.
Based on a true story, The Impossible is the unforgettable account of a family caught, with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time. But the true-life terror is tempered by the unexpected displays of compassion, courage and simple kindness that Maria and her family encounter during the darkest hours of their lives. Both epic and intimate, devastating and uplifting, The Impossible is a journey to the core of the human heart.
* Infancia Clandestina ( Clandestine Childhood), Directed by Benjamín Ávila > Argentina/Spain/Brazil, 2012 > Lincoln Plaza Cinemas | Quad Cinemas.
Argentina, 1979. After years of exile, 12-year-old Juan (Teo Gutiérrez Moreno) and his family return to Argentina under false identities. Juan's parents and his eccentric uncle Beto (scene-stealing Ernesto Alterio) are members of an underground resistance movement fighting against the Military Junta that rules the country. Their political activities make the threat of capture a constant concern. However, as seen through Juan's eyes, daily life is also full of warmth, humor and discovery, as he makes new friends at school (where he is known as “Ernesto”), including his first serious girlfriend. Produced by Academy Award winner Luis Puenzo (The Official Story), writer-director Benjamín Ávila’s superb debut feature, based on events in his own family, recalls Sidney Lumet’s Running on Emptyin its powerful portrait of childhood innocence at odds with life-or-death political ideals.
This selection of 10 films from as far afield as Iran, Serbia, Chile, Kazakhstan, and Iraq includes projects developed with seed money from GFI, and represents a concise survey of contemporary filmmaking from areas where local political restrictions and/or economic realities make such expensive and technology-driven endeavors a challenge. Accomplished, entertaining, and thought-provoking, these films are all deeply rooted in the social and political realities of the countries where their talented and resourceful makers live and set their stories.
++ La Vida me mata (Life Kills Me) 2007. Chile. Directed by Sebastián Silva. With Gabriel Díaz, Amparo Noguera, Diego Muñoz.
Life and death come wrapped in a mutual embrace in this absurd, poignant comedy about an unlikely friendship between a morbidly obsessed drifter and a grieving young cinematographer at work on a seriously schlocky low-budget horror film—scenes from which constitute the only color sequences in this intentionally gray-toned homage to melancholy and rebirth. Reveling in a blend of sardonic humor and loving characterization, Silva (The Maid,2009) displays a sure, discerning style in this compassionate vision of frail, unforgettable lives.
++ Sudoeste (Southwest) 2011. Brazil. Directed by Eduardo Nunes. With Simone Spoladore, Raquel Bonfante, Julio Adrião.
On her deathbed, a young woman named Clarice gives birth to a baby girl, also christened Clarice by an attending bruxa (witch). Spirited away to a remote marsh village set on stilts, the infant is replaced that very day by a young girl, also named Clarice. As the other inhabitants of the village experience a day like any other, Clarice lives her whole life in the span of 24 hours—yet (as the film’s vast black-and-white panoramas suggest) even a lifetime so compressed remains impossible to fully grasp or contain.
++ El Fantástico mundo de Juan Orol (The Fantastic World of Juan Orol) 2012. Mexico. Directed by Sebastian del Amo. With Roberto Sosa, Gabriela de la Garza, Roger Cudney.
++ El Fantástico mundo de Juan Orol (The Fantastic World of Juan Orol) 2012. Mexico. Directed by Sebastian del Amo. With Roberto Sosa, Gabriela de la Garza, Roger Cudney.
Move over Ed Wood! Mexico’s half-forgotten B-movie master, “involuntary surrealist” Juan Orol (1897–1988), receives a pitch-perfect tribute in this deft, irresistible love letter to a self-made man of showbiz whose career spanned half a century and nearly 60 films. Abetted by an all-pro cast, Sosa’s brilliant interpretation of Orol’s life exudes a droll underdog charm, and almost every frame is an infectious homage to the golden age of cinema, the wiles of memory, and the art of fantasy.
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Don’t miss out on the queerest series in town! Each month, Queer/Art/Film invites one of New York’s most unique and homosexual artists to pick a film that’s inspired them and share it with our audience. Curated by filmmakers Adam Baran and Ira Sachs, Queer/Art/Film is intimate, provocative, inspiring… and like nothing else out there.
Guillermo del Toro presents MAMA, a supernatural thriller that tells the haunting tale of two little girls who disappeared into the woods the day that their parents were killed. When they are rescued years later and begin a new life, they find that someone or something still wants to come tuck them in at night. Five years ago, sisters Victoria and Lilly vanished from their suburban neighborhood without a trace. Since then, their Uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain), have been madly searching for them. But when, incredibly, the kids are found alive in a decrepit cabin, the couple wonders if the girls are the only guests they have welcomed into their home. As Annabel tries to introduce the children to a normal life, she grows convinced of an evil presence in their house. Are the sisters experiencing traumatic stress, or is a ghost coming to visit them? How did the broken girls survive those years all alone? As she answers these disturbing questions, the new mother will find that the whispers she hears at bedtime are coming from the lips of a deadly presence.
* LA SUERTE EN TUS MANOS (ALL IN) > Directed by DANIEL BURMAN, 2012. ARGENTINA > Enero 23 > New York Jewish Film Festival > Film Society of Lincoln Center > ALL IN.
A winning romantic comedy about a hot streak, a big bet, and the dangers of getting what you hoped for, Daniel Burman’s All In is the story of Uriel, a professional gambler, single father, and Don Juan of the first rank. With his luck running at cards and with the ladies, Uriel decides to take the plunge and embark on a new life of freedom—he gets a vasectomy. Just as everything in his life seems to be coming together perfectly, Gloria, his old pre-marriage flame, returns to Buenos Aires after years abroad to turn his life on its head.
* Parker. Directed by Taylor Hackford. With Jennifer López > Enero 25 > Varios teatros.
Parker (Jason Statham) is a professional thief who lives by a personal code of ethics: Don’t steal from people who can’t afford it and don’t hurt people who don’t deserve it. But on his latest heist, his crew double crosses him, steals his stash, and leaves him for dead. Determined to make sure they regret it, Parker tracks them to PalmBeach, playground of the rich and famous, where the crew is planning their biggest heist ever. Donning the disguise of a rich Texan, Parker takes on an unlikely partner, Leslie (Jennifer Lopez), a savvy insider, who’s short on cash, but big on looks, smarts and ambition. Together, they devise a plan to hijack the score, take everyone down and get away clean.
* AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT. Directed by Alex de la Iglesia > En Cartelera Enero 30 > IFC.
Roberto (famed Spanish comic José Mota) once had a promising careers in advertising. But now out of work during the economic downturn, he struggles to keep his family afloat and their dire situation a secret from his adoring wife Luisa (Salma Hayek). After yet another dead end interview, it seems like reality will come crashing down on Roberto – until a freak car accident places him at the center of a wild media storm. Realizing his opportunity, Roberto hires a brazen agent to help him leverage his new found fame into fortune, but Luisa begins to worry about what lengths Roberto will go to for his family’s security.
The new film from beloved cult director Alex de la Iglesia goes into fresh territory for the daring director, a dark comedy/social satire that also works as a deeply felt drama about the devotion of a husband and father. A wild riff on manhood in the modern media world, As Luck Would Have It is a skewed take on the strange world we live in.
The new film from beloved cult director Alex de la Iglesia goes into fresh territory for the daring director, a dark comedy/social satire that also works as a deeply felt drama about the devotion of a husband and father. A wild riff on manhood in the modern media world, As Luck Would Have It is a skewed take on the strange world we live in.
* Dance on Camera Festival 2013 > Film Society of Lincoln Center > Febrero 1 al 5 > DANCE.
Dance on Camera Festival returns for the 17th consecutive year with an exciting and diverse array of dance films and programs, including a bevy of in-person appearances and premieres. This year's lineup includes fascinating documentaries about everything from ballet-dancing triplets to Finland's enfant terrible of the accordian, a two-part celebration of dance-turned-filmmaker Shirley Clarke, the 50th anniversary of the great flamenco film Los Tarantos, and the festival's first foray in to the glamourous and virtuosic genre of ice dancing with an introduction by skating legend Dick Button!
+ + TO DANCE LIKE A MAN. Directed by SYLVIE COLLIER, 2011. UK > Closing Night!
Identical triplets Angel, César and Marcos of Cuba are poised for greatness at the start of their dancing career. No one can remember a trio of identical boys making it to a professional ballet stage anywhere. Ballet star José Carreño tells the 11-year-olds to pursue their dreams, just as he did when he was growing up in Havana. The triplets are top young students at Cuba’s renowned National Ballet School. Teachers comment that all three show equal emerging talent. This film explores a child’s-eye view on determination and hunger for professional success in the context of Cuba’s surprising impact on the formation of male dancers.
++ A GIRL FROM MEXICO. Directed by MACLOVIA MARTEL, 2012. USA.
A lively and personal documentary on the life of Carmen Gutierrez, the first Mexican dancer to perform on Broadway. The film follows Gutierrez’s career from Bellas Artes in Mexico City with Anna Sokolow to the Ballet Russe (1946), on to Broadway with productions including; “Carousel” choreographed by Agnes de Mille, “Finian's Rainbow” (Michael Kidd), “The King and I” (Jerome Robbins), “Candide” (Anna Sokolow), and “West Side Story” (Jerome Robbins).
++ LOS TARANTOS. Directed by FRANCISCO ROVIRA BELETA, 1963. SPAIN. 50th Anniversary Screening! Actress Maria Esteve, the daughter of dancer Antonio Gades, in person!.
A classic flamenco drama inspired by Romeo and Juliet and possiblyWest Side Story, Los Tarantos is characterized by a sexy, gritty, Catalan gitano style of dancing and marks the final appearance of the legendary Carmen Amaya in the role of Angustias. The star-crossed lovers are Sara Lezana and the mesmerizing Antonio Gades, best remembered for his dancing (and acting) in Carlos Saura’s flamenco trilogy that began withCarmen. The film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1963 and has not been shown for many years. To celebrate this occasion, Maria Esteve, a well-known actress and the daughter of the iconic Gades will make a personal appearance at the screening.
As modern dance masters Jose Limon and Anna Sokolow become historical figures, how do their choreographic visions continue to survive and thrive? That is the topic of this program which consists of film excerpts, interviews and a panel dedicated to exploring the vital questions surrounding the challenges that face those dedicated professionals who continue to pursue the visions of their former mentors. Deborah Zall, a dance soloist and teacher who had the distinction of being both a Graham and a Sokolow dancer, will be joined by Carla Maxwell, a Limon dancer, choreographer, and Artistic Director of the Limon Dance Co. since 1978, and by Jim May, Artistic Director of the Sokolow Theatre Dance Ensemble and a Sokolow disciple for over 35 years. Choreographers Limon and Sokolow will be represented by selected film excerpts, following which the three panelists will be joined onstage by moderator Joan Finkelstein, Director of Dance, New York City Department of Education, for a lively discussion on keeping classic modern dance alive.
* Film Series at the Y > Ongoing > 92Y TRIBECA > > FILM.
Now you can catch the Cinema Tropical Festival. Other screenings include indies just off the festival circuit, monthly sing-alongs, underground gems and all that flickers in between. From E.T to the Iron Mule Short Comedy Film Festival that will include DIVISION AZUL (foto), the funniest WWII movie from Spain that you're ever going to see.
Come early to grab a beer or wine in the cafe and stay for the filmmaker Q&A—this is way beyond your average night at the movies.
* Porfirio. Directed by Alejandro Landes > Febrero 8 al 14 > MoMA.
Paralyzed from the waist down by a stray bullet, the title character in Alejandro Landes’s remarkable film spends his days selling minutes on his cell phone, flirting with his comely neighbor—and secretly plotting his revenge. Landes worked on the film for five years, creating a tale that joins the most intimate details of Porfirio’s day-to-day life with the astonishing recreation of his attempt to hijack an airplane. Courtesy Magic Lantern Films.
* LA NOCHE DE ENFRENTE (NIGHT ACROSS THE STREET). Directed by Raúl Ruiz > 2012 Chile/France > Febrero 8 al 14 > Film Society of Lincoln Center > LA NOCHE.
On the verge of a forced retirement, Don Celso, an elderly office worker begins to relive both real and imagined memories from his life – a trip to the movies as a young boy with Beethoven, listening to tall tales from Long John Silver, a brief stay in a haunted hotel, conversations with a fictional doppelgänger of a real writer. Stories hide within stories and the thin line between imagination and reality steadily erodes, opening up a marvelous new world of personal remembrance and fantastic melodrama. In this playfully elegiac film, loosely adapted from the fantastical short stories of Chilean writer Herman del Solar, the late master Raúl Ruiz has crafted a final masterwork on his favorite subjects: fiction, history and life itself.
Neither documentary, nor fictional drama, CAESAR MUST DIE is a brilliant mélange of the two by the renowned Taviani Brothers, best known to American audiences for PADRE PADRONE and THE NIGHT OF THE SHOOTING STARS. The film was shot entirely in the maximum security block of Rome’s Rebibbia prison, home to men serving long sentences for murder, drug-trafficking, and Mafia-related activities. Theater director Fabio Cavalli holds auditions for Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, a play steeped in murder, conspiracy, and revenge, all of which resonate with this cast. Encouraged to speak in their native dialect, these tough guys have great flair for conveying theatrical angst and taking anger to its logical extreme. What could have been just a well-worn gimmick becomes, in the Tavianis’ hands, an eloquent, probing look at the real-life consequences of lies and betrayals among men who value power above all else. Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival.
* NO. Directed by Pablo Larrain. Chile > Nominada al Oscar como Mejor Película Extranjera > Febrero 15 > Varios teatros.
In 1988, Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet, due to international pressure, is forced to call a plebiscite on his presidency. The country will vote YES or NO to Pinochet extending his rule for another eight years. Opposition leaders for the NO persuade a brash young advertising executive, Rene Saavedra (Gael Garcia Bernal), to spearhead their campaign. Against all odds, with scant resources and under scrutiny by the despot’s minions, Saavedra and his team devise an audacious plan to win the election and set Chile free.
* SAVING LINCOLN. Directed by Salvador Litvak > Febrero 15 > Varios teatros.
Based on true events, SAVING LINCOLN tells the little-known story of our 16th President (whose life, and death, is currently generating a plethora of films, television and book projects), through the eyes of his long-time friend and law partner from 1852 to 1857 colleague, Ward Hill Lamon. Lamon, a Southerner, was a banjo-player, singer, and pistol-packing jokester who appointed himself Lincoln’s bodyguard after the first assassination attempt in 1861, and who foiled repeated attempts on the President's life throughout their four years in Washington. Despite some pronounced differences between the two men, they shared a fondness for telling jokes and stories, and both felt slavery should be eliminated. Lamon often served as Lincoln's private confidant, and kept him functioning during the darkest hours of the Civil War. Lincoln was never far from him – save that fateful night at
Ford’s Theatre when Lamon was sent by the President on a Reconstruction mission to Richmond.
This unique feature film was shot entirely on a single green screen stage and composited into vintage photographs of the Civil War era. As Director Litvak says, “I borrowed techniques from painting, photography, animation, stereoscopy, and VFX compositing to create a style I call CineCollage.
* BLANCANIEVES. Directed by Pablo Berger > Marzo 15 > Varios teatros.
Set in a romanticized 1920s Seville, Berger's Snow White is Carmen (Macarena García), the daughter of a famous bull fighter, who lives under the tyrannical rule of her monstrous, evil stepmother, Encarna (Maribel Verdú). She escapes and joins a troupe of bullfighting dwarves, where her beauty and natural talent in the ring attract notices from the press. But soon the news reaches Encarna, who at last she knows where to find Carmen, and she prepares for the final showdown.
* THE GIRL > Directed by David Riker > March > Girl.
More than a decade after bursting onto the scene with his acclaimed debut feature The City (La Ciudad)—a quartet of stories about Spanish-speaking immigrants trying to make it in New York—director David Riker travels south of the border for his long-awaited follow-up, The Girl. In a performance of staggering power, Abbie Cornish (Bright Star, SevenPsychopaths) stars as Ashley, a single Austin mother and recovering alcoholic trying to hold her life together after losing custody of her son and her job at a Wal Mart-esque big box store. Desperate for cash, Ashley offers her services as a “coyote” for a Mexican family trying to cross the border illegally. But when the attempted crossing ends in tragedy, Ashley finds herself playing surrogate mother to a lost and confused young girl desperate to find whatever family she has left. The harrowing, moving and ultimately hopeful journey that ensues takes us deep into the heart of Mexico, and of a woman trying to make amends for her troubled past.
* WAR WITCH. Directed by Kim Nguyen > March.
WAR WITCH tells the story of Komona, a young girl whose life is anything but normal. Kidnapped by African rebels at the age of 12, Komona was forced at gunpoint to slaughter her own parents and fight as a child soldier against the government in the jungles. But Komona was no ordinary solider. Due to her ability to see gray ghosts in the trees that warn her of approaching enemies, she was deemed a sorceress and bestowed the title of War Witch by the supreme leader of the rebels, Great Tiger. War Witch exudes visceral energy and emotional power as Komona’s journey ultimately finds her in love with a fellow child soldier named Magician, but pregnant with another man’s child. Saddled with the reality that a life of normalcy is forever beyond her grasp, Komona must find a way to resolve the actions of her past. WAR WITCH is Canada’s submission to the 2012 Academy Awards, an Indepdenent Spirit Award Nominee, was named one of the National Board of Review’s 5 Best Foreign Lanuage Films of 2012.
* 14th Havana New York Film Festival > Abril.
AHORA EN CARTELERA
* SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN > Directed by Malik Bendjelloul > Nominated to the Oscars: Best Documentary Feature > Nationwide > SUGAR.
In 1968, there emerged from Detroit a charismatic Mexican-American singer/songwriter named Rodriguez, who had attracted a local following with his mysterious presence, soulful melodies and prophetic lyrics. Searching for Sugar Man tells the story of the greatest '70s US rock icon who never was, how he was rediscovered in South Africa and finally became the legend he always deserved to be. A story of hope, inspiration and the power of music.
* AMOUR > Directed by Michael Haneke > Nominada al Oscar en varias categorias > En varios teatros.
The universally acclaimed winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, AMOUR is arguably Michael Haneke’s crowning achievement to date, a portrait of a couple dealing with the ravages of old age that is as compassionate as it is merciless. The great veteran French actors Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva are staggering as Georges and Anne, long-married music teachers living out their final years surrounded by the comforts of books and music in their warm Paris apartment. After Anne suffers a stroke, Georges attends to her with firmness shot through with love. The underlying unease, as well as some abrupt surprises, are hardly unexpected from Haneke, who challenges the viewer to confront the experience of his characters as directly as he does. But he rewards the effort with a film that is all the more moving for its complete avoidance of sentimentality. An unquestionable masterpiece.
* LIFE OF PI > Directed by Ang Lee > Cinematography by Claudio Miranda > Nominada al Oscar en varias categorias > En varios teatros > Pi.
Based on the book that has sold more than seven million copies and spent years on the bestseller list, Academy Award winner Lee's LIFE OF PI takes place over three continents, two oceans, many years, and a wide world of imagination.
Lee’s vision, coupled with game-changing technological breakthroughs, has turned a story long thought un-filmable into a totally original cinematic event and the first truly international all-audience motion picture. LIFE OF PI follows a young man who survives a disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While marooned on a lifeboat, he forms an amazing and unexpected connection with the ship¹s only other survivor…a fearsome Bengal tiger.
* HOLY MOTORS > Directed by Leos Carax > Con Eva Méndez > Varios teatros.
This unclassifiable, expansive movie from Leos Carax (Lovers on the Bridge)—his first feature in 13 years—operates on the exhilarating logic of dreams and emotions. After a prologue in which Carax himself, clad in pajamas, walks through a corridor that leads to a theater full of silent spectators, HOLY MOTORS segues to actor Denis Lavant, Carax’s longtime collaborator, playing a mysterious man named Oscar who inhabits 11 different characters over the course of a single day. This shape-shifter is shuttled from appointment to appointment in Paris in a white-stretch limo driven by the soignée Edith Scob (EYES WITHOUT A FACE); not on the itinerary is an unplanned reunion with Kylie Minogue. To summarize the film any further would be to take away some of its magic; the most accurate précis comes from its own creator, who aptly described HOLY MOTORS after its world premiere in Cannes as “a film about a man and the experience of being alive.”
* TABU > Directed by Miguel Gomes. Portugal > Film Society of Lincoln Center > LC
The ghosts of F.W. Murnau, Luis Buñuel, Joseph Cornell and Jack Smith hover above Miguel Gomes’s third feature—an exquisite, absurdist entry in the canon of surrealist cinema.
Shot in ephemeral black-and-white celluloid, TABU is movie-as-dream—an evocation of irrational desires, extravagant coincidences, and cheesy nostalgia that nevertheless is grounded in serious feeling and beliefs, even anti-colonialist politics. There is a story, which is delightful to follow and in which the cart comes before the horse: the first half is set in contemporary Lisbon, the second, involving two of the same characters, in a Portuguese colony in the early 1960s. “Be My Baby” belted in Portuguese, a wandering crocodile, and a passionate, ill-advised coupling seen through gently moving mosquito netting make for addled movie magic. The winner of the Alfred Bauer Prize (for a work of particular innovation) and FIPRESCI (International Film Critics) award at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.
* THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE > Directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns & David McMahon > IFC Center.
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Photo courtesy of NY-Daily News
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In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers were arrested and charged for brutally attacking and raping a white female jogger in Central Park. News media swarmed the case, calling it “the crime of the century.” But the truth about what really happened didn’t become clear until after the five had spent years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit. This story of injustice finally gets the telling it deserves. The film recently made headlines when lawyers for New York City attempted to subpoena its outtakes for an ongoing lawsuit. A story whose aftershocks continue to shape the city, this promises to be one of the most high-profile documentaries of the year. (119 min). In person: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon and members of the Central Park Five.
* FLIGHT > Directed by Robert Zemeckis > Nominada al Oscar a Mejor Actor > En varios teatros.
Triumphantly returning to live-action filmmaking for the first time since Cast Away 12 years ago, Robert Zemeckis teams with Denzel Washington on the tense and edgy thriller FLIGHT. In a brilliant, heart-stopping sequence, pilot Whip Whitacker (Washington), after an all-nighter of booze, sex and drugs, boldly guides a crippled airliner to a crash landing that nearly all the passengers survive. Although he is acclaimed as a hero, the legal, moral and ethical aspects of Whip’s behavior before and after the accident are much more ambiguous than initially meet the public eye. A study of addiction far more complex than the norm, FLIGHT is a compelling drama anchored by a great performance from one of our most distinguished actors. John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo and Kelly Reilly offer vibrant supporting turns in what is certain to be one of the most talked-about movies of the season.
MORE NEAR YOU
EN CARTELERA - DVD - ONLINE
* SKYFALL > Directed by Sam Mendes > With Javier Bardem > En Cartelera.
Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
* Young and Wild > Directed by Marialy Rivas > En Cartelera
A pretty 17-year-old from a strict evangelical family, Daniela is finding it hard to reconcile her raging hormones with the rules ofher religion. With no other outlet for her desire, Daniela taps into a rampant underground network of other teens through her sexually charged blog. Director Rivas’s handsome debut is a lively coming-of-age story of a young woman who, torn between the burning fires of religious fervor and youthful sexual energy, refuses to make choices that limit her pleasure.
* ON THE ROAD > Directed by Walter Salles.
Kerouac’s beloved Beat epic, one of the most iconic and influential of all American novels, finally comes to the big screen in this jazzy, freewheeling adaptation from Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) and executive producer Francis Ford Coppola. Aspiring writer Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) falls under the spell of “the mad ones”: intoxicating ex-con Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund) and his seductive wife Marylou (Kristen Stewart). The three hit the road to discover the world—and themselves. Featuring Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen and Steve Buscemi.
Alex and Nica are young, in love and engaged to be married. The summer before their wedding, they are backpacking in the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia. The couple hire a local guide to lead them on a camping trek, and the three set off into a wilderness that is both overwhelmingly open and frighteningly closed. Walking for hours, they trade anecdotes, play games to pass the time of moving through space. And then, a momentary misstep, a gesture that takes only two or three seconds, a gesture that's over almost as soon as it begins. Once it is done, it threatens to undo everything the couple believed about each other and about themselves. All the while, they are not alone. They are always with the guide, who witnesses their every move.
* HERMANO > Directed by Marcel Rasquin > Nationwide > On DVD December 4.
Hermano tells a simple and powerful story about two kids raised together as brothers: Daniel (Fernando Moreno) and Julio (Eliú Armas) – who struggle to become professional soccer players. Both exceptional players, in La Ceniza slum, the opportunity of a lifetime arrives when a headhunter for the Caracas Football Club invites them to a try-out with the team. But their life in the slum interferes and a tragedy shakes them, forcing them to make a choice: the unity of their family or their lifelong dream?
Madrid, 1987 ...is a two-character story with a verbose discourse on writing, journalism, careerism, aging and politics. Shot mostly within a very constricted space, the story follows an older, celebrated journalist Miguel (José Sacristán) who meets the beautiful and coy journalism-student Angela (María Valverde) to give an interview - but becomes intent upon seducing her. They end up spending time in the most unusual manner ...discussing literature, prose and career trajectories ...gradually divulging little insights into their own selves as we start to understand the old journalist's cynicism and the young protégé's intentions.
* A WHISPER TO A ROAR.
A Whisper to a Roar tells the heroic stories of courageous democracy activists in five countries around the world – Egypt, Malaysia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. From student leaders to prime ministers and heads of state, these activists share their compelling personal stories of struggle, past and present, with their countries’ oppressive regimes. Shot over three years and completed in February 2012, the film was inspired by the work of Stanford University’s Larry Diamond, author of “The Spirit of Democracy” and Director of Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. It was funded by The Moulay Hicham Foundation, whose benefactor, Prince Moulay Hicham of Morocco, is a renowned public intellectual and democracy advocate, particularly in regards to the Middle East.
* BEL BORBA AQUI > A film by Burt Sun and André Costantini > Brazil, 2012.
Known as “The People’s Picasso,” for 35 years Bel Borba has transformed the face of his hometown of Salvador de Bahia, Brazil – a historic city that is 500-years-old – with beautiful, grand scale and awe-inspiring art including sculpture, painting, murals and mosaic. Working with tiles, steel, sand, clay, and an eclectic mélange of recycled material including Coca Cola bottles and wood from Salvador’s famed Savaro boats, Borba’s ubiquitous public works reflect his feverishly ebullient personality and unbridled love of community.
With an evocative Brazilian soundtrack and lush cinematography that exposes the lavish colors of Salvador, BEL BORBA AQUI explores the intense and intimate relationship between this unique city – a fusion of European, African, and Native Indian cultures – and her beloved native son.
* Las Acacias > Directed by Pablo Giorgelli, winner of the Camara d'Or for Best First Film at last year's Cannes Film Festival.
Ruben, a lonely middle-aged trucker who's picking up a load of lumber in Paraguay to take back to Buenos Aires, grudgingly agrees to take two passengers: Jacinta, a young Aboriginal mother and her five-month-old baby, Anahi. At first glance, the 1500 kilometer journey seems very long, both for Jacinta, who hopes to find work with the help of her cousin in Argentina, as well as for the surly trucker, whose routine is disrupted. But along the way, Ruben, Jacinta and Anahi slowly get to know one another, and the usually quiet Ruben gradually opens up.
* Neighboring Sounds > Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho.
A thrilling debut from a breakout talent, Neighboring Sounds delves into the lives of a group of prosperous middle-class families residing on a quiet street in Recife, close to a low-income neighborhood. The private security firm hired to police the street becomes the catalyst for an exploration of the neighbors’ discontents and anxieties—their feelings exacerbated by the palpable unease of a society that remains unreconciled to its troubled past and present inequities. Meticulously constructed, with unexpected compositions and arresting cuts, this ensemble film is compulsive viewing; you’re never quite sure where things are headed as it builds imperceptibly toward its stunning payoff. With his unmistakable formal gifts and acute eye and ear for the push and pull of modern life, Kleber Mendonça Filho represents the arrival of a major filmmaker.
* Pelotero (Ballplayer) > Directed by Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin and Jonathan Paley > DVD available now >> PELOTERO.
This compelling documentary narrated by John Leguizamo is a gritty look inside the world of Major League Baseball (MLB) training camps in the Dominican Republic. Miguel Angel and Jean Carlos are two of the top prospects at an MLB training camp, and they are both about to turn 16, which means they can be signed to an MLB farm team and ultimately move up to the majors. Filmmakers Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin and Jonathan Paley take you inside this never-before-seen world for an up-close and personal look at the cost of the American dream.
* TO ROME WITH LOVE > Directed by Woody Allen. With Penélope Cruz.
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