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Amores Perros (Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu - Mexico - 2000)
Extremely well executed slice of life in and around the slums of Mexico. The title is loosely translated as 'love's a bitch'. You've got that right - in this film 'love' is the catalyst for all sorts of misery and conflict. And there lies the problem for me; as much as I admire the verve and urgency with which this is made I have a real problem with the characters - there's no-one to root for emotionally or identify with. The only character the viewer can feel any sympathy for at all is a dog, and even it turns out to be a murderer of sorts in the end. Having said that everything in this film is orchestrated perfectly, the acting's of a uniformly high standard and the plot moves along at a nice clip, so it's easy to forgive the movie its faults. |
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Babel (Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu - Mexico - 2006)
Babel is three films that merge into one at the end. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are a couple on holiday in Morrocco when a chain of events is sparked off by the most innocent of circumstances resulting in an international incident reported round the world. The film is set in Morrocco, Mexico and Japan and the characters' lives are all interwoven although most of them are unaware of this. The Japanese section of the film struck me as a bit superfluous, but it's still an interesting snapshot of modern life in Japan. The Morroccan and Mexican segments are where the real drama is taking place and it's fun trying to figure out how everything will fall into place and tie in with the Japanese story. Watching a film set in three different continents, with three sets of characters speaking four different languages certainly makes for a very different cinematic experience than usual and that has got to be a good thing. Babel might be a bit grim for a lot of peoples' tastes - Inarritu would never be accused of viewing the world through rose-tinted spectacles - but anyone who's seen his previous films - Amorres Perros and 21 Grams should be well aware of what to expect. |
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Bombon, El Perro (Carlos Sorin - Argentina - 2004)
A film from Argentina starring a pudgy, balding fifty-something and a dog. It doesn't sound like much and nothing much happens but this is a real winner. Gregorio - the dog who plays the title role is either highly trained or a complete natural and Juan Villegas as the man who inherits him as payment for a favour is a joy to behold - again he doesn't do much, but I never tired of watching him plod along on his warily optimistic way through life. It's a short film by today's standards - just a shade over ninety minutes, and the pace is leisurely - it seems like a longer movie, but I for one would have been happy with another half hour or so of the same. A classy little feelgood movie that's hard not to like. |
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City of God (Fernando Meirelles - Brazil - 2002)
This is a classy effort from director Fernando Meirelles, who would go on to direct the somewhat disappointing Constant Gardener. The story follows a few characters from their childhood days in the barrios of Brazil to adulthood and the various events that befall them. It's directed with a lot of style and skill and there are some genuinely tense moments along the way. Some have criticised the over-lush cinematography, but I'm not going to complain that a film looks too good. Some might consider the style of this film to be too slick for the story it's telling, and it's focus on the violence that surrounds the characters at all times but the film seemed to be rooted in some sort of reality for me. Though somewhat sensational in its telling it certainly is effective. |
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Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro - Mexico - 2006)
Third Spanish language film from Del Toro, after the weird Chronos, and impressively spooky The Devil's Backbone. This is a modern day (well, it's set in fascist Spain around 1944) fairy tale - a very dark fairy tale - about young Ofelia - a girl who retreats into a fantasy world to avoid the harsh reality of the situation she's been thrust into when she and her pregnant mother are sent for by her stepfather - a vicious, sadistic captain in the Spanish army, to live with him. Half the film is set in the reality of wartime Spain and the other half is set in a labyrinthine kingdom full of fairies and other fantastical creatures. There she must prove her royal ancestry and claim her rightful place in her real father's kingdom by facing and completeing three dangerous and gruesome tasks. Directed with a visual flair and imagination rarely seen in mainstream cinema these days this is a film for the ages. |
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Sin Nombre (Cary Fukunuga - Mexico - 2009)
Another gut-punch from Latin America about the ubiquitous poverty, gang warfare and desperation facing a large chunk of the population. Pretty depressing to think that people as young as El Smiley - who can't be more than eight or nine - are becoming full fledged gang members and start toting guns around and busting caps, as it were, when most kids would be half way through primary school. Sadly joining a gang and living that life seems preferrable for most young kids trying to make ends meet in the traditional way. It seems the characters in this film have only two choices if they want to make something of themselves; join a gang or leave the country. This film divides its attention between the two camps. We follow Casper and Smiley through the trial and tribulations of gang life, as they walk the tightrope of staying out of trouble and fulfilling the gang members dangerous demands. Meanwhile Sayra and her uncle are trying deperately to reach the United states by hopping freight trains - an endurance test to be sure, especially as the aforementioned gangs are targetting those fleeing the country as there are rich pickings to be had from those with all their possessions in tow. With Sin Nombre fledgling director Fukunaga has managed to successfully combine gritty realism with slick production values and authentic performances to produce one of the most compelling stories of struggle against adversity in years. |
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