Mala Noche

Mala Noche (1985)

Seen on the 24th April 2010 (78 min)

A film about young gay love in Portaland in the mid 1980's. A white, openly gay young man falls for a Mexican illigal inmigrant. The clash of civilizations can not be more evident in the film, yet love and good will smooth the relationship between these two caracthers. What is interesting is that in the end, the white boy does not achieve his open intensions of beding Johny but instead succeeds in beding Pepper who seems to enjoy this at a subconscious level.

To me, the way these two Mexican young boys experienced in the US at that time, sums up many of the traditions and cultural suppositions of Mexico of the past two decades. Their dreams come to an end by their illigal status, their understanding of love, homosexuality and a society which is way beyond their day to day experience. Pepper in particular is an interesting character, seeking love, companionship and security in the arms of the white boy yet utterly dennying the homosexual nature of this relationship. Johny keeps his aloof and distant nature throught the film, conforming to stereotypes of the macho boy from Mexico.

Antichrist

Anticrihst (2009)

Seen on the 24th Abril 2010 (108 min)

This is a distressing film about love, hate and morals. The story starts by looking at the protagonists penis penetrating his partner in what seems a love making scene. Soon, we realize there is a baby playing in the background who soon clims up the stairs and falls to die in the spot. This is only the beginning into the relationship of the two protagonists. The story is organized around three scenes which coincide with the stages of acceptance of the tragedy of the death of the son.

The man is a psychoanalist, she is a researcher of women's struggle in the past. Soon, the film becomes a set of possibilities to the viewer. A first immediate level is the sex war or the struggle for power, the man through force in the past made the women dependent who in these days no longer take this role for granted. Then there is the the philosophical level, the good and evil sides of the human being, his calmless and aloofness, are there a good in themselves? Her moods, swings and erotic desires are bad at all? Or simply an act of nature? And there is the psychological level, the right brain cold analytical aloof, and the left hand side, irrational, emotional and highly unstable. All these levels colide in the film which to me is based a lot on Nietzche's principles of the super man and his role in Nature. A would definetly see this again.

The Darjeeling Limited

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Seen on the 23rd April 2010 (91 min)

This is an interesting film about the search for love. Three brothers embark upon a "spiritual" adventure in India which really is a search for explanations from her mother: does she love them? Does she care about them? The film is about a broken family looking for the meaning of the word family, they stick to rituals and presupositions of what love or closeness is. The three brothers discover they already are loved by their partners or friends and this search is not important, their mother has their own emotional load to deal with.

They too, as they find out towards the end, all this load they carry with them, the rituals, the understanding of love, is holding them to actually have something of family on their own. The film also explores what spirituality means in a very materialistic world. They find love and death everywhere, not just on their own little world in New York. A very interesting film with Angelica Houston in it as the mother.

Io sono l'amore

Io sono l'amore (2009)

Seen on the 21st April 2010 (120 min)

This was a very beautiful film. It is of course a tragedy but this is just the excuse to produce some of the most colorfuls shots and delicious food scenes I remember after Babel's banquet. Exquistely filmed, it recounts the story of Emma, a russian emmigreé living the high life in Italy. Her life seems sorted, she has got everything we could possible wish for: wealth, looks, connections, family. Except that things in the superficiality seem like that. Down deep in our feelings we are still anxious, and in search for the meaning of life. In the case of Emma, her life starts tumbling when she discovers her daughter is a lesbian. The sould of the film, Edo, has just lost a prize in a family where everyone else is a winner.

The grandfather announces the day of his birthday that the big factory and business is going to be managed by Edo's father (a guy we seldom get to know) and Edo himself. However, we sense Edo is not comfortable about it, it goes agains many of his beliefs except for one: ambition. His brother remainds Edo that ambition IS the cornerstone of their business and they need to obey, they need to go global and sell. Meanwhile Emma questions her relationship and starts having an affair with Antonio, the beautiful young chef who is quite close because of some homoherotic moments to Edo. Their lives are turned upside down in this complicated, wild, neoliberal World were real meaning, real people don't seem to count anymore. A fantastic film.

The Happening

The Happening (2008)
Seen on the 19th April 2010 (91 min)

A science fiction movie showing what it would happen if plants suddenly took over animals. Mildly interesting.

The Happening

The Happening (2008)

Seen on the 19th April 2010 (91 min)

A science fiction movie showing what it would happen if plants suddenly took over animals. Mildly interesting.

The Matrix Reloaded

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Seen on the 18th April 2010 (138 min)

It's just the matrix, but a good take to the topic of parallel realities AND meaning of life.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Seen on the 18th April 2010 (96 min)

A very interesting film about love, freedom and relationships. Cristina and Vicky could not have had two more opposing views about love and relationships. When they both meet a Spanish artist, they start viewing things very differently. Cristina becomes, through fully inmersing herself in the experience, aware that she is not as she thought she would be: wild, free, open. Vicky, on the other hand, after thinking things very carefully, decides to go along with the situation and discovers that she preferes to live scared but secure in her marriage.

A found the film one of the best exploration of these topics by Woody Allen. Both Vicky and Cristina represent two opposing views of the World and none is correct or conducive of more happiness than the other. Vicky might have pretended to have lived a very happy life but deep down she KNOWS she does not. Cristina might have pretended to have lived a very wild and free life but deep does she does not FEEL happy. Perhaps life, love and relationships are like the pendule of a clock, they need to go from thinking to feeling and back in regular intervals.

Sliding Doors

Sliding Doors (1998)

Seen on the 17th April 2010 (99 min)

Alternate realities and fate play a role in this movie.

Push

Push (2009)

Seen on the 16th April 2010 (111 min)

A very interesting film about alternatPublish Poste realities.

How to loose friends and alienate people

How to loose friends and alienate people (2008)
Seen on the 11th April 2010 (110 min)

A funny film in places, to me it is a male version of the devil wears Prada.

There is something about Mary

There is something about Mary (1998)
Seen on the 7th April 2010 (119 min)

A very funny film!

Watchmen

Watchmen (2009)
Seen on the 6th April 2010 (162 min)

What a film! I never expected this film was so thoughtful and critical about topics such as freedom, justice, right and wrong. The film is about a group of super heroes who have no more space or role in modern society. They played fundamental part in the past wars, WWII and Vietnam notably, but nowadays they have been forgotten and asked to live normal lives.

After the death of one of the super heroes, they start looking into what they are, how they are supposed to deal with issues such as freedom and justice and the philosphical implications of all of this. Dr. Manhattan represents the spiritual side of the film and represents a very interesting position in life, always going beyond reality which hurts, is stupid and pointless. I really recommend this film.