Welcome to another episode of Thursday Movie Picks, the weekly series hosted by
Wandering through the Shelves where you pick three films each week to fit the theme of that week.
This week's topic is movies in Spanish. Finally an easy one for me! I love the Spanish language, I love the way it sounds, and lucky me there are plenty of native Spanish speakers directors that are worth checking out. My picks for the week are a tribute to three great filmmakers as well as to three great films. Without further ado, I leave you with them.
All About My Mother // Todo sobre mi madre (1999)
The complicated story of the complicated life of Manuela, a woman who has just lost her son and travels back to Barcelona to tell the boy's transgender father about the death of the son he never knew he had. Pedro Almodóvar uses this story to pay a huge homage to all women, whether born a woman or a man, and teaches to accept ourselves for who we are and the others for who they are, even if they are different. Ultimately, it is a beautiful, moving hymn to life.
The Sea Inside // Mar adentro (2004)
After an accident that left his paraplegic, Ramon spends his time looking out of the window and writing poetry. After 25 years of living in this way, he tries a legal battle against the Spanish government for the right of euthanasia. Alejandro Amenábar's film is one of the most heartbreaking I've ever seen, and he handles the euthanasia matter without taking sides. Javier Bardem delivers one of his finest performances as he wonderfully conveys Ramon's feelings.
Biutiful (2010)
As he is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Uxbal finds his life in chaos as he has to deal with the depressed and abusive mother of his children, and escape the heat of crime in underground Barcelona. Alejandro Iñárritu brings to the screen a raw and intense drama that is both engaging and upsetting and that beautifully portrays the ugly beauty of life on two levels: the ugly side of big cities made of poverty, hunger and suffering, and the drama of a man that comes face to face with his life and death. And Javier Bardem gives another outstanding performance.
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Interesting choices, though I haven't seen them myself but I also picked a Alejandro Amenábar film called Thesis.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen it but I've read the storyline and seems interesting.
DeleteI liked All About My Mother when I saw it years ago but it's been so long now that the details of it are hazy. I do remember it being an excellent film though.
ReplyDeleteBardem, who is in one of my choices as well, is fantastic in Sea Inside but I expected to like the overall film more than I did. Still for him alone the picture's worth seeing.
I've heard of Biutiful but haven't gotten to it yet.
This week was tougher for me, I haven't seen many Spanish language films. Somehow when I was compiling I completely forgot Almodovar which made it all the tougher but did finally come up with three.
Before Night Falls (2000)-Based on the writings of Cuban author Reinaldo Arenas this film spans his lifetime through his country youth, embracing of the Revolution and his later persecution as a writer and openly gay man in Castro's Cuba, his escape in the Mariel Harbor exodus of 1980, exile and death in the United States. Not a pleasant film but worthwhile. Javier Bardem is staggering in the lead, earning a well-deserved Oscar nomination.
Burnt Money (2000)-Argentine action thriller about two violent bank robbers who are also lovers, a bank job they pull that goes wrong and the pursuit and standoff that follows. Very erotic for this type of action film, based on actual events.
Tristana (1970)-Luis Buñuel directed this murky tale of emotional battery and vicious score settling. Tristana (Catherine Deneuve) is orphaned and taken under the protection of respected elder Don Lope (Fernando Rey). He takes advantage of the situation and makes her a virtual prisoner while demoralizing her to break her spirit, eventually the tables are turned in an unexpected fashion. Good acting by Deneuve, Rey and Franco Nero but the characters are ultimately all a pretty loathsome bunch to care too deeply about.
I haven't seen any of your picks but I think I'll check out Before Night Falls because of Bardem.
DeleteI have seen all of these and really like all of them. Like that you have two wonderful performances by Bardem. Great picks.
ReplyDeleteI would have gone with three film with Bardem but I've only seen 2 that are in Spanish.
DeleteI also went with The Sea Inside. Bardem was great in that and in Buitiful. I haven't seen the first pick.
ReplyDeleteBardem is basically great in everything he does.
DeleteI love All About My Mother, but then, I love Pedro so of course I love this brilliantly crafted film. I wrote about it for an exam for my Alevels, so easy to write about this story. I haven't seen the other two but had wanted to.
ReplyDeleteAll About My Mother is perhaps the best of the three, but the other two are great as well, so I'm sure you'll like them.
DeleteI also picked All About My Mother and enjoyed that film very much. I haven't seen the other 2 but I have wanted to see Buitiful but, of course, haven't yet.
ReplyDeleteWell, I watched Biutiful only because I wanted to watch all Inarritu's movies. I ended up falling for it.
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