World Cinema Film Reviews - Spain/Mexico

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.

Cria Cuervos (Carlos Saura - Spain - 1976)

This film along with Victor Erice's 'Spirit of The Beehive' are the two best films I've yet seen on the subject of childhood. This again stars the incomparible Ana Torrent as Ana - a young girl traumatised by the lingering death of her mother which she blames on her now dead father. Taken in by her austere aunt, Ana becomes obsessed with death and the idea of killing her in the same way she believes she killed her father - giving her milk laced with what her mother told her was a powerful posion (in fact just bicarbonate of soda). This is a complex but completely rewarding film in which Carlos Saura masterfully filters story elements and familial relationships through the dreams, fears and reminiscences of a child to stunning effect, helped tremendously by a beautifully controlled performance by young Ana Toerrent. A film. Also features a wickedly catchy pop tune - 'Porque te vas' by Jeanette.

The Exterminating Angel (Luis Bunuel - Mexico - 1962)

Bunuel once again indulges in one of his favourite past-times, namely taking pot-shots at the upper classes. In addition to succeeding brilliantly at satirising the pomposity of upper classes, with this film he's also produced one of the most perfectly realised examples of surrealism ever committed to film. It's not out and out surrealism like Un Chien Andalou though - the most famous of Bunuel's surrealist exercises, where there's very little in the way of plot or meaning. The Exterminating Angel is a lot more subtle than that; not as overtly surreal - although there's still the odd cow wandering around inside the bespoke mansion in which the film is set. You'd be forgiven for not realising it's a surreal piece until about halfway through, because the premise sort of sneaks up on you. A group of upper class bourgeois types arrive at a fancy manor house for a lavish dinner party. Once the party has finished the guests all find they cannot leave, for reasons that are never explained. It's as simple as that, but it's exquisitely executed. Over the course of the next few days these upper class, self-important types gradually shed their airs and graces as the situation becomes more and more desperate and their true animal nature is eventually uncovered. The fact that these people are mostly kind of unlikeable and that the doors and windows are clearly open and unobstructed make this film deliciously satisfying and very funny.

Open Your Eyes (Alejandro Amenabar - Spain - 1997)

Very good film essentially about the nature of reality. A young playboy is disfigured in a car crash - or is he? - and has to learn to live with the consequences. How do we know what is real and what is a dream? A tour de force of editing and plot structure keeps the audience wondering throughout which events are real and which are imagined. Features a stunningly realised finale that'll mess with your head. You may think that the downside to all this is that you'll have to put up with a dangerously high dose of Penelope Cruz - an actress who exudes irritatation from every pore. This may be true for the American films she's appeared in, (I found her pretty irritating in 'Vanilla Sky' - the US remake of this film, for instance), but you'll find she's a very capable actor when she's allowed to speak in in her native tongue.

The Orphanage (Juan Antonio Bayona - Spain - 2007)

I'm not one for horror films - used to be when I was young, but without that youthful innocence it's hard to sit through the crazy, nonsensical goings-on served up by horrormeisters these days. The Orphanage is a classy throwback though to a more subtle form of horror film than the brash, gory Hostels and Saws we have these days. This film is almost believable, which always helps a lot with horror films. The acting is good and the atmosphere of dark brooding tension really makes the experience of watching this film an extremely eerie and creepy affair. It concerns Laura and Carlos, a couple who have bought an old house, which used to be an orphanage that Laura lived in as a child. The couple's young son Simon goes missing one day, and is eventually presumed dead, but Laura is convinced there is a more sinister explanation for his disappearance. This is a perfectly executed chiller that's have the hairs on the back of your neck tingling - especially in the scene where Laura gets a team of paranormal investigators in to check the house for signs of paranormal activity. This is one of those films that's every bit as good as everyone says.

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.

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 trials 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.

Spirit of The Beehive (Victor Erice - Spain - 1973)

Set in in a tiny Spanish village in the middle of nowhere near the beginning of the second world war, this is a charming film from talented director Victor Erice. A travelling projectionist arrives one day and screens Jame's Whale's 'Frankenstein' in the village hall. Isabel and her younger sister Ana see the film and Ana is profoundly affected by the scene in which Frankenstein's monster kills the little girl and she believes her older sister when she tells her the monster is still at large, in the form of a spirit who's taken up refuge in their barn. Things come to a head when a fugitive soldier emerges to hide out in the barn, and Ana's worst fears are realised. This is a lovely film with some striking scenes featuring the two sisters ruminating on the big questions of life and death - remarkable for both performances, but most especially from seven year old Ana Torrent who plays Ana. Probably the best child actress to ever grace the screen.

Timecrimes (Nacho Vigalondo - Spain - 2007)

This is one of those films that a lot of people - myself included - will feel the need to watch at least another couple of times after the first viewing, not because it's a stylish, dazzling spectacle with amazing pyrotechnics (it's well put together but there's none of that stuff here) or that the acting is terrific (it isn't) but because it's an exquisitely intriguing scenario that will usually spark off endless debate between viewers trying to figure out the exact sequence of events. It messes with your head in a way that makes you want to watch it again to try and sort it all out. It's reminiscent of Shane Carruth's 2001 film Primer in that it's a no-frills low budget movie concerning the real-life implications of time travel but takes a more entertainment friendly route whereas Carruth's movie gives no quarter. It's a fun movie and yes, there are a couple of things that just don't add up about the whole thing, but then again time travel seems to be a subject that throws up a paradox or two no matter how you go about it so get your thinking cap on and enjoy the ride, because this is well-made and very good fun.