Reviews

Salles never disappoints, and his film "Linha de passe" is no exception. The movie tells the story of a middle class mother raising four boys in a large and unforgiving neighborhood in São Paulo, Brasil. Unlike Salles' most famous movies, "Linha de passe" does not tell a story of a hero or of a dramatic and impressive story of people overcoming extreme circumstances. It is a pure and undramatized story of a single-parent family just "getting by."

The acting is believable to the point it is difficult to imagine the actors as anyone else but their characters. The writing is impressive, with five stories depicted and developed yet there is an amount of inconclusiveness left up to the imagination of the audience.

It seems as though this story was received by Brazilians as being true and honest to what a picture of the typical life of a family in Brazil. As an American, I appreciated the apparent authenticity of the movie as shown through the excellent cinematography and writing. I would definitely recommend this movie.

This is probably one of the best films made yet about illegal immigration from Latin America because it tells of the hardships experienced at home, on the journey, and of life in America as illegal residents. Rosa and Enrique are Mayan peasants who are orphaned in the beginning of the movie by soldiers. They flee Guatemala for "El Norte," the place where their dreams can finally be realized, where wealth comes easily, and where they can leave their life of poverty.

Unfortunately, however, it is apparent that their destiny is sealed from the beginning of the movie: they were dead the moment they were first targeted by the soldiers in their country. From that moment on, it seems as though death is trying to find and take them. In a gruesome scene, Enrique and Rosa cross the boarder through a rat-infested sewer where Rosa is attacked in what ultimately is fatal. Once in the United States, they live their lives so as to go undetected by society and live just to "get by." The real tragedy lies in the fact that after a life threatening journey across the boarder, Rosa and Enrique still do not escape living in constant fear. Rosa brings up the tragic idea that they have no place they can call home, and that there will likely never be a moment where they can live in complete and total peace of mind and being.

This movie challenges everyone's ideas on illegal immigrants--both those in favor and against. For both parties, the movie brings to light that there is urgent need for reform in immigration that will correct the injustices that millions of people experience each year. The movie shows that neither kicking them out nor allowing them here solves the problem. There are no solutions promoted or suggested by the movie, but rather demands a response from the audience to seek and find a solution.

The story told in "Entre nos" is one that crosses cultures around the world therefore resulting in a gripping and heart-wrenching movie. A mother of two is reunited in Queens, New York with her husband. Mariana and her kids are new to the United States from Colombia and speak barely any English and therefore Mariana has not established herself as a self-sufficient individual and thus her family relies entirely upon her husband to support their family. However, he takes off for Miami in search of a job, insisting upon leaving Mariana behind with the children. It takes a depressing and anger-engendering amount of time for her husband to decide he no longer wants to be anchored by the burden of his family, and ceases to send money to his wife and children. Soon they are evicted and forced to sleep in parks and dumpster diving for cans to earn enough money everyday for food.

The remarkability of Mariana's story is her bravery and the unwavering love she shows her children and her oldest child shows her. Forgiveness and patience toward each other comes easily amidst some of the most trying of circumstances imaginable for a family. The characters in this movie are ones worth emulating, and there is an abundance of loving traits audiences can and ought to garner from the story.

If I heard I was going to watch a movie about a little boy whose mother dies outside a crowded train station and a retired teacher who helps him find the father he never met, I would imagine I would be watching a sweet story unfold about a sad and lonely boy who is comforted and cared for by a loving and kind hearted woman who takes him under her wing in a motherly and heart-warming way. "Central Station" is not a feel-good movie. The retired teacher, Isadora, is neither warm nor motherly and the boy, Josué, is neither receptive or desiring of her help. However, Isadora and Josué still embark on the seemingly hopeless journey in search of a father who may or may not be alive or around. The movie is by no means predictable, as demonstrated in the way that the characters do not personify those which audiences would expect to see in Hollywood movies dealing with similar plots. It is intriguing and captivating to watch how a stubborn and cold Isadora finds herself best friends with an equally stubborn and cold Josué. Rather than their similarities creating a bond, they constantly drive each other away from the other, but in the end they find themselves forever changed by the remarkable friendship that formed between them.

The genius of the movie rests in Salles' success in telling a story that is captivating and unpredictable. He is creative and unconventional and the product that results is phenomenal.

This is a brilliant thriller set in Buenos Aires that is centered on a rape/murder case. Detective, Esposito, has returned home twenty-five years after the incident to write a novel about the crime, resolved to find and carry out justice this time. The movie combines suspense, tension, shock, and romance in a way that could easily result in a choppy and compartmentalized plot, but rather each theme and tone compliments the others and results in a complex and intricate story.

"El secreto de sus ojos" deals heavily with the theme of lost time and wasted opportunities either based on variables beyond the characters' control or characters' crippling inhibitions. The movie switches between flashbacks from twenty-five years ago and "today" thus reestablishing the characters', especially Esposito's, regrets that have haunted him for nearly half of his life. We see that Esposito has been in love with his co-worker, Irene since the first time he laid eyes on her twenty-five years ago and later we learn that he had a chance to be with her when he instead fled his life that to him was only full of failure. Regarding the unresolved homicide case, Esposito had found the rapist and murderer and obtained a verbal confession only days before the judge decided to let the criminal walk free. After repeatedly trying and failing to correct the injustice, Esposito flees, dejected, in search of a new life in an attempt to forget the unresolved life he is leaving behind.

The movie BEGGS the question to the characters and the audience, "what is justice?" As unresolved as Esposito's life was, is the answer to this question.

Chile's very own Dog Day Afternoon brings to audiences the story of what should have been the perfect crime but turned out to be a fantastic failure that caused the criminals to find themselves at the center of one of the most media-covered crimes in the history of the country. Johnny Gael Garcia is a seventeen-year-old student in Chile who opts for the life of a criminal in what seems like some dire attempt to find a family and earn respect. As an action movie, the style is completely unique to that of Hollywood's, as is most of Latin American Cinema. However, in the same way it still has something unique to it that gives it an edge when compared to Hollywood action movies. Rather than quick camera cuts and high- action scenes, the story relies more on story than Hollywood. Hollywood can distract viewers from a lack of plot with impressive graphics and special effects while a lower-budget film such as this, is left with the story as the center of attention. Producers of Johnny cien pesos excellently developed Johnny's story by explaining his path to crime with extreme and impressive creativity. In the end, this movie holds its own.

In the first sixty seconds of the film, there are more than seventy camera cuts moving between sharpening knives, chickens, vegetables, musical instruments, and other abrupt scenes. Director, Walter Salles effectively introduces the audience to the tension and constant sentiment of impending danger in the City of God with the fast-paced cuts of images and sound.

Cidade de deus is a fantastic movie set in the slums of Brazil where drugs, crime, domestic violence, and murder are almost mundane considering the frequency with which these events occur. The story of several boys who are outcasts of society because of their race and extreme poverty is narrated by "Rocket," following each child from near innocence in his young years to young adult life (which, unfortunately, seems to be the average lifespan in the city) filled with narcotic trafficking monopolizing the city based on this business conducted by twenty year olds.

Without a political or social agenda, Salles provides for the audience the pure, raw, and gritty facts of lives of poverty in Brazil. His audience cannot leave the movie untouched by the despair and horror of the stories of these children, and in this, Salles achieves a captive audience, heartbroken by the reality, which is too unknown to the world.

Esta película, aparentemente aburrida y lenta, cuenta una historia simple y trágica. Freddy es un hombre trabajador y callado de La Paz quien salió de su hogar en Bolivia para buscar trabajo fijo en Buenos Aires con la esperanza de ganar más dinero. La película comienza con un partido de fútbol y unas imágenes de un restaurante y las voces de un jefe y un empleador durante una entrevista. Sin ver las caras de los hablantes, la audiencia averigua que tenemos dos personajes: un jefe serio y estricto y un hombre muy respetuoso y dispuesta a hacer todo lo que se necesita para conseguir un trabajo y complacer a su jefe.

Es evidente que los productores no tenían un gran presupuesto para hacer este filme. La existencia de solo tres escenarios, un guión mínimo, y el uso de blanco y negro crean un sentido de "hecho en casa." La falta de una abundancia de fondos no destruyó la calidad de la película. La creatividad artística en la cinematografía y el uso de un escenario principal crearon una película muy interesante como una historia y también como una obra.

La cinematografía es el mejor aspecto de la película. La cámara enfoca en las acciones básicas y diarias. Es muy básico y a veces como un documental, pero al mismo tiempo muy artístico en esta manera. También, la música en este filme es muy simple. No hay mucha música, y cuando hay, la música siempre es muy dramática. La simplicidad de la película es donde la audiencia encuentra la creatividad y bellísima de la película. Es difícil crear un proyecto con recursos mínimos y aun así tener un resultado excelente, pero Bolivia logra esto.

What apparently has been an essential aspect of Dominican pop culture for nearly two decades managed to achieve high status on the island even with its minimalist budget. Unfortunately the sound quality is generally poor, and the quality of the acting is inconsistent, the story is heartwarming and Balbuena quickly becomes the most loved and well-known character in the Dominican Republic. Balbuena is a man barely making ends meet a few short years after the death of his beloved wife. His dream has always been to go to the United States, or Nueba Yol more specifically. His friend, Fellito presents him with a seeming chance of a lifetime to go to the United States for a comparatively small price illegally. However, as goes most stories about immigrants to the US, Balbuena learns the US isn't quite everything it was said to be as he encounters cultural hostility, run-ins with the law, and financial instability. However, throughout it all, Balbuena remains true to his character: hardworking, endearing, and loving. The story is a good one, even though it is fairly well-known (a poor and destitute, lovable character has no option but to flee illegally to the US to realize his dream of wealth and prosperity only to discover soon after that it is not all it was hoped to be). I would recommend it, despite it's general failure to appeal to American audiences.

This movie is adorable. It's just plain ol' endearing. The audience will laugh and cry with the characters as they watch an incredible journey unfold before their eyes. Rosario is a young mother living in Los Angeles making a living as an illegal immigrant cleaning houses and babysitting. Meanwhile, her nine year old son, Carlitos, is living near the boarder with his sick grandmother hoping on the promise his mother made to him four years ago that he would be with her soon in America. A series of inciting incidences causes Carlitos to flee to America in search of his mother. The movie paints a simple and Hollywood-ized portrait of the lives of illegal immigrants. If you are looking for a movie that portrays the grit and grime of illegals making their way to and in America, watch "El norte." Even still, director Patricia Riggen does an excellent job of relaying the trials of immigrants in America while capturing the heart of every audience member. As predictable and sappy as the ending is, it still is a tear jerker and leaves viewers on the edges of their seats up until the last moments of the film.

Bolívar soy yo es una película tan extraña. Se trata de un actor de una telenovela sobre el militar Simon Bolivar que es muy famoso sobre todo su pueblo. Él es recibido por la gente como héroe y celebridad. Como gringa, es posible que mi patrimonio me prohíba entender a Santiago y su deseo de ser Simon Bolívar.El resto de la película, Santiago camina por su pueblo, creando que es el Bolivar actual, mezclando la realidad y la ficción. No creo que este filme da una imagen valiosa de la vida diaria de los latinos, ni una historia creíble de Latinoamérica. El guión es débil, el cuento no tiene mucho interés, y la comedia no es impresionante.

Part of me wants to hate this movie because it is so bleak and has such a depressing ending, but even still I loved it. The cinematography was exceptional and the script was written with impressive cultural accuracy. The attention to detail on the part of the director showed throughout every aspect of the film. The story was beautiful, captivating and heart wrenching without the typical Hollywood-gloss-and-fantasizing. Edgar Flores played Willy so extraordinarily that his transition from a violent gang member to a lovable and vulnerable young man was believable and allowed for the audience to emotionally attach to Willy and his wellbeing. This movie is a must-see for anyone, especially for those who see total eradication as a solution to immigration problems in America.

The Devil's Miner sigue la vida diario de Basilio Vargas , un niño de catorce años que trabaje en unas de las minas más peligrosas de Bolivia. Este documental demuestra las dificultades de los pobres en una manera honesta sin la drama que existe en tantas películas que distrae la audiencia de la realidad de la situación. La belleza del filme existe en los hermanos que tienen un amor para el otro tanto pura y bello a causa de la necesidad que tienen para el otro al otro. El dinero ganado por este filme es donado a organizaciones que apoyan a niños que tienen que trabajar en malas condiciones y por eso—y también que es bien hecho—recomiendo esta película sin hesitación.

Machuca es increíblemente impactante por lo menos a causa de que según varias fuentes sobre este filme, lo que vemos en Machuca es para la mayor parte, realista. No recomiendo esta película si usted quiere ver una película feliz y ligera. Pero este filme es profundo y muy bien hecho. La amistad entre los jóvenes, Machuca y Gonzalo, es impresionante a causa de sus capacidades de cruzar las fronteras del racismo y convertirse en amigos. Esta película nos muestra la injusticia, impuesta en los chilenos por Pinochet, de manera que la gente americana no pudiera entenderla sin esta película. . Finalmente, la actuación hecho por Gonzalo y Pedro es excelente. Son muy realistas y creíbles. En todo, Machuca es una película estelar y personas de varias culturas deben mirarla.

La historia oficial fue una de mis primeras experiencias con temas de la historia de Argentina. Existe algo irónico en este porque los estudiantes que ella debe estar enseñado, están enseñando a ella. Aunque la película es lenta y aburrida a veces, todavía es una gran película. Sin embargo, es difícil mirarla. Es extraño ver una película sobre la ignorancia de una profesora. Ver la agonía de la familia de Gaby—su madre adoptiva y su abuela probable —es deprimido y estresante para la audiencia porque se causa agonía allí también. Pero es a causa de cómo nos hace sentir, que hace La historia oficial una gran película.

The story of Ché Guevara's early life is beautifully told in Walter Salles' film Diarios de motocicleta. Gael García Bernal remarkably plays Ernesto Guevara as a young medical student who travels just to travel ("viajamos por viajar"). Salles' artistic and beautiful combination of music, powerful images, and writing effectively communicated to the audience a destitute Latin America in need of some major change. Without telling the stories of the revolution, Salles ends the movie with a mood that leaves the audience fully prepared for, and almost awaiting a revolution. The brilliance of the movie rests in the director's ability to tell the story of a controversial figure in a way that allows for people of all different political backgrounds to connect with the character.

While it was very hard to watch at times, María llena eres de gracia was a great movie telling the all too common story of desperate people around the world who become drug mules. There is a rawness of the script and characters that literally made me sick to my stomach while I watched, which I believe was the intention of the director, Joshua Marston. There are crude and discomforting scenes throughout the movie, but all done intentionally so that viewers are not sheltered from the other perspective of the drug trade that we unfortunately are ignorant of. This is a heavy movie, but very well made and deeply moving. It is a story worth telling I appreciate that it was not sugar-coated at all.

As someone who rarely finds much interest in documentaries (particularly in my second language) I found Salvador Allende to be interesting, educational, and well done. The producers did an exceptional job combining perspectives of Chileans and American politicians to provide insight for the audience into the sentiments of people all over the world at Allende's time. I would say—without hesitation—that this movie would be valuable to foreigners who want to learn about the instability and tension that surrounded the reigns of Pinochet and Allende. This movie shows the fear of Americans about Allende's government and the fear of Chileans about Pinochet's government in an undramatized and unglorified manner.