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Reviews
Letters from China (1958)
Curious short-film placed in China
I could see this short-film in the International Festival in my city, in a double-program with Johnny Guitar, directed by Nicholas Ray. It tries to show us (Occidental citizens) about the way of life in the East, in China, during the months before spring. It's nice to know how different we are, how is considered spring as a birth of life. We can see performances, works, houses, landscapes... that can make us think about cultural differences between two worlds in the same world... But, honestly, I was so nervous waiting for Johnny Guitar that I didn't notice this film very much.
Hable con ella (2002)
A different film by Almodovar
This is the first film after "all about my mother", which won the Oscars a couple years ago. It's pretty different from other films directed by Pedro. Instead on focusing on the actresses, Pedro decides to choose a film where actors are essential. He tries to build and show a relationship between two men. Not sex. Only friendship, maybe love. But not sex. Both Javier Camara and Dario Sanguinetti give perfect performances, but sometimes the film "stops" in sub-plots or sub-stories that might lose some of the basic one. This is maybe the lack of this film.
The End of the Affair (1955)
a 100% drama
This is a genuine 50's drama. Starring Deborah Kerr and Van Johnson, director Dmytryk offers us a story about love, religion, war and jealous. Sometimes in the film there are too long monologues, that might make some scenes a bit boring. But it's a good film, nice to spend a rainy afternoon in winter.
El abuelo (1998)
A beautiful story
Oscar winner Jose Luis Garci repeats his classical formula in this adaptation from a novel by Perez Galdos. The story is set in Asturias, in the north of Spain, in the 1900's. The film is about honor, reputation, friendship, love and hate.
As many films by Garci, the cinematography and the score makes the film more comfortable to follow, although there are scenes that can be so slow, that they can bore a bit.
But all the cast, including Fernan Gomez and Rafael Alonso, the landscape and the story itself, make this film so attractive to those who love classical films, that it must be seen.
And pay attention to the magnificent first 7 minutes, with no cuts, and the camera following calmly to the characters. ¡It is genial!
Plenilunio (1999)
A new Spanish film
Plenilunio is the third film that Imanol Uribe presents in San Sebastian film festival (the other two, "días contados" and "Bwana" won the first prize). In this mixture between drama and thriller, Uribe tries to get deep in the thoughts of an inspector, who tries to evade from the reality by his work. A case will absorb him ll the time, and he'll take it as personal. The characters are well exposed, but I think the final is quite precipitate. The character played by Juan Diego Botto is quite overacted, so the film doesn't fit very well at all.