Movie Review

Someone from back home recently pointed out to me that I haven’t talked much (read- at all) about my classes here.  So I thought: where better to start than the movies?

I’ve watched a LOT of movies since coming here.  I am taking a Cine y Sociedad (film and society of Latin America) class that is basically all movies with brief discussions before and after about their reflection on the culture they came from.  I am also taking Afro-Caribbean Culture and we’ve watched our fair share of films in that class as well.  So, with that in mind, here’s my review:

La Ley de Herodes (Herod’s Law): This is also a Mexican film, a dark comedy centering on the corruption of politics (a worthy mention considering the resent election in the US).   Following the rise to power of an idiot with good intentions, there is one very clear message: power corrupts.  Ridiculous and at times exasperating, this one is good for a laugh and to feel a little bit better about our own political situation.  8 Bells

Como Agua para Chocolate (Like Water from Chocolate): The story centers around a dysfunctional Mexican family of women.  The book it’s based off of (by Laura Esquivel) is written in a style called magical realism, meaning strange things happen but there aren’t seen as so strange.  The acting is fabulous and the plot unbelievable- but that’s why you want to keep watching, to see how it ends.  (And since all rating systems are arbitrary) I give it 10 Bells (out of 12, of course).

La Historia Oficial (The Official Story): An Argentinean film about one aspect of the after math of the Guerra suicia (the Dirty War in which tens of thousands of Argentines disappeared under the dictatorship of Juan Domingo Perón).  Many of the women who were taken to secret prisons and never seen again had been pregnant when arrested.  What happened to their children?  The story follows the political awakening of a high school history teacher who slowly learns that the winners write the facts.  She is put in an even more difficult position as the wife of a powerful businessman and as the adoptive mother of a five year old.  I highly recommend this film.  11 Bells

Estación Central (Central Station): A Brazil film about a bitter old woman and a spunky boy.  The two clearly consider themselves self sufficient while considering the other to be incapable of making it down to the street corner and back.  Beginning in the central train station in Rio de Janeiro, the two embark on a journey in search of family.  There are lots of moments when you just want so badly for everything to work out just right for the two, but they hit several roadblocks before the closing credits.  The characters grown on you throughout the film and the story is renewing in the end.  9 Bells