The 33 – Movie Review 12/10/2016
Posted by Films to consider in Based on true events, Drama, Imagen Foundation Awards, Movies, Spanish language film.1 comment so far
The 33 (Chile/Spanish/English) 2015
Based on true events
Directed by Patricia Riggen
Starring Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, and Juliette Binoche
Among other awards and nominations:
WINNER, Best Picture, Best Director (Riggen), Best Actor (Banderas), Best Actress (Binoche), Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress; NOMINATED, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress (all for Feature Film), Imagen Award
When a copper-gold mine in Chile collapses in 2010, 33 miners are trapped inside. As the miners deal with the reality that they have only a few days worth of supplies to survive on, the horrible working conditions of the mine are revealed.
Mario Sepúlvedo (Banderas) emerges as the leader of the men, rationing out the food available until supplies can be sent down to them. Aboveground their families, including María Segovia (Binoche), the sister of one of the miners, keep watch. They refuse to allow the mine owners or government authorities to give up trying to reach the men. The ordeal continues for an incredible 69 days.
Although the story of the miners’ survival is already known, the film keeps the tension going throughout. My admiration for The 33 is tempered by ongoing questions about compensation for the miners, however.
127 min.
Tristana-Movie Review *** 11/16/2015
Posted by Films to consider in Academy Awards, Black & white, Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Classic film, Drama, Emotional Drama, Fotogramas de Plata, Luis Buñuel, National Syndicate of Spectacle, Premios ACE, Psychological Drama, Sant Jordi Awards, Spain, Spanish language film.add a comment
Tristana (Spanish) 1970 ***
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Catherine Deneuve and Fernando Rey
NOMINATED, Best Foreign Language Film, Academy Awards
WINNER, Best Film; Best Actor (Rey); Best Director (Buñuel), Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain
WINNER, Best Spanish Movie Performer (Rey); NOMINATED, Best Spanish Movie Performer (Lola Gaos), Fotogramas de Plata
WINNER, Best Supporting Actress (Lola Gaos); Best Film; Best Male Star (Rey); Best Cinematography, National Syndicate of Spectacle, Spain
WINNER, Best Actor (Rey), Premios ACE
WINNER, Best Film (Buñuel); Best Performance in a Spanish Film (Rey), Sant Jordi Awards
When Tristana (Deneuve), an innocent young woman, loses her mother, she is sent to Toledo to live with Don Lope (Rey), a poverty-stricken nobleman, as her guardian. Lope is a lecherous man who is losing his charm as he ages. He seduces the innocent Tristana and tries to keep her in his clutches.
A psychological drama spotlighting the talents of two popular actors: a young Catherine Deneuve and the seasoned Fernando Rey. Famed writer and director Luis Buñuel (1900-1983) often took on the hypocrisy in Spanish society and in the Catholic Church, and this story includes both those themes. Although not a big award winner outside Spain in the early 1970s, the film, which was shot in black and white, stands as part of Buñuel’s legacy.
*** Highly recommended.
95 min. Rated PG-13
Amador-Movie Review 12/07/2013
Posted by Films to consider in Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Dark Comedy, Drama, Emotional Drama, Spanish Actors Union Awards, Spanish language film.Tags: Celso Bugallo, Fernando Léon De Aranoa, Magaly Solier
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Amador (Spanish) 2010
From Film Movement
Screenplay written by Fernando Léon De Aranoa
Directed by Fernando Léon De Aranoa
Starring Magaly Solier, Celso Bugallo, Fanny deCastro, and Pietro Sibille
NOMINATED, Best Supporting Actor (Bugallo); NOMINATED, Best Actress (Solier), Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain
NOMINATED, Award of the Spanish Actors Union, Film: Supporting Performance, Female (DeCastro), Spanish Actors Union
When Marcela (Solier), a young immigrant from Peru, discovers she is pregnant, she hides the fact from her boyfriend because she’s not sure about their future together. To make money for their plans to open a flower shop, she takes a job caring for Amador, an elderly invalid man. Her plans go awry when Amador dies.
This movie took me by surprise. Without revealing more about the plot, there was a backdrop of dark humor behind a story that generally has sad overtones. Director De Aranoa and actress Magaly Solier do an admirable job of holding the two elements in balance. I’m surprised that it didn’t receive more accolades, at least according to IMDB’s listings.
Also watch the short film, How It Ended, starring Debra Winger.
112 min. Not rated.
Me Too-Movie Review *** 06/30/2013
Posted by dbinder in Emotional Drama, Goya Awards, Movies, Romance, Rotterdam International Film Festival, San Sebastian International Film Festival, Spanish language film, Sundance Film Festival.Tags: grand jury prize, pablo pinedo, rotterdam international film festival, sundance film festival
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Me Too (Spanish) 2009 ***
Yo, también
Written and directed by Antonio Naharro and Álvaro Pastor
Starring Pablo Pinedo and Lola Dueñas
Among other wins and nominations:
WINNER, Best Actress (Dueñas); Best Original Song; NOMINATED, Best New Actor (Pinedo); Best New Director (Naharro and Pastor), Goya Awards
WINNER, Audience Award, Rotterdam International Film Festival
WINNER, Silver Seashell-Best Actor (Pineda), Best Actress (Dueñas);
NOMINATED, Golden Seashell (Naharro and Pastor), San Sebastián International Film Festival
NOMINATED, Grand Jury Prize World Cinema-Dramatic, Sundance Film Festival
Daniel (Pinedo) is a man in his 30s who has Down’s Syndrome. With his family’s loving support, he has developed the best of his abilities and graduates from the university.
Daniel meets Laura (Dueñas) when he starts a new job at the Department of Social Services. He immediately becomes totally smitten with her, although, unknown to him, Laura’s lifestyle is less than admirable. To put it simply, both learn something about love, in a touching and much less predictable way than that might make it sound.
Highly recommended.
103 min. Not rated. Suitable for older teens.
Cell 211-Movie Review *** 06/24/2012
Posted by Films to consider in Action/Thriller, Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Goya Awards, Seattle International Film Festival, Spanish language film, Suspense, Toronto International Film Festival, Turia Awards, Venice Film Festival.add a comment
Cell 211 (Spanish) 2009 ***
Directed by Daniel Monzón
Starring Alberto Ammann, Luis Tosar, Antonio Resines, Carlos Bardem, and Marta Etura
Among many other awards and nominations:
OFFICIAL SELECTION, Venice Film Festival; Toronto International Film Festival; Seattle International Film Festival
WINNER, CEC Award, Best Actor (Tosar); Best Director (Monzón); Best Film; Best Editing; Best Score; NOMINATED, Best Cinematography; Best New Artist (Ammann); Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actors (Bardem; Resines); Best Supporting Actress (Etura), Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain
WINNER, Best Actor (Tosar); Best Director (Monzón); Best Editing; Best Film; Best New Actor (Ammann); Best Screenplay; Best sound; Best Supporting Actress (Etura); NOMINATED in several other categories, Goya Awards
WINNER, Golden Space Needle Award, Best Actor (Tosar), Seattle International Film Festival
WINNER, Audience Award-Best Spanish Film; WINNER, Turia Award-Best Spanish Film, Turia Awards
When it comes to prison movies, here is one that is definitely worth watching. Prison guard Juan (Ammann) shows up a day early for his new job and gets caught up in a prison riot. Juan, whose wife is expecting their first child, must figure out a way to survive inside the cell block, which is run by vicious inmate Malamadre (Tosar).
The number of awards the film received, especially in Spain, is not surprising. This story takes many unpredictable and well-executed twists and turns. Actor Luis Tosar has many credits to his name, but this is the first film for Alberto Ammann.
111 min. Not rated, but do expect a good deal of bloody violence (it is a prison riot, after all).
Broken Embraces-Movie Review 10/15/2011
Posted by Films to consider in Cannes Film Festival, Drama, Golden Globes, Movies, Pedro Almodóvar, Romance, Spanish language film.add a comment
Broken Embraces (Spanish) 2009
Los abrazos rotos
Among many other wins and nominations:
NOMINATED, Best Foreign Language Film, Golden Globes
WINNER, Critics Choice Award, Best Foreign Language Film, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award
NOMINATED, Palme d’Or (Almodóvar), Cannes Film Festival
WINNER (tied), Audience Award, Best Foreign Language Film (Almodóvar), São Paulo International Film Festival
Written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Starring Penélope Cruz, Lluís Homar, José Luis Gómez, and Blanca Portillo
When now-blind screenwriter Harry Caine (Homar) learns of the death of the wealthy and powerful Ernesto Martel (Gomez), he reminisces about his own passionate love for Martel’s mistress Lena (Cruz). The story intermittently flashes back to the 1990s, depicting the jealousy and obsession that culminated in tragedy, and forward to the present where secrets are still being kept.
A good storyline, made even better by a superior cast. The always notable Penélope Cruz plays Lena with a sweet vulnerability and more deference to the powerful Ernesto than one might expect. Lluís Homar’s character changes from confident to dependent; forced to give up his career as a film director when he becomes blind, he even goes so far as to change his name from Mateo Blanco to Harry Caine.
127 min. Rated R for sexual content, drug use, language.
The Maid-Movie Review 07/13/2011
Posted by Films to consider in Comedy, Dark Comedy, Golden Globes, Independent Spirit Awards, Light Drama, Movies, Sebastián Silva, Spanish language film, Sundance Film Festival.add a comment
The Maid (Chilean/Spanish) 2009
La Nana
Among many wins and nominations:
WINNER, World Cinema-Dramatic Jury Prize (Silva); Special Jury Prize-Acting (Saavedra), Sundance Film Festival
WINNER, Breakthrough Award (Catalina Saavedra), Gotham Awards
NOMINATED, Best Foreign Film, Independent Spirit Awards
NOMINATED, Best Foreign Language Film, Golden Globes
Directed by Sebastián Silva
Starring Catalina Saavedra and Claudia Celedon
A dark comedy. Raquel has worked as a maid in the same household for 23 years, taking care of the family’s four kids. Now, realizing that the older ones are growing up and no longer need her, she starts to develop headaches and reaches a breaking point. The mother of the household, Pilar, wants to make Raquel’s life easier by hiring some more help, but Raquel sabotages her actions every step of the way.
Kudos to director Silva and actress Catalina Saavedra for maintaining feelings of sympathy for the character Raquel despite the despicable things she does.
94 min. Unrated. Adult themes and some nudity.
The Violin-Movie Review *** 04/10/2011
Posted by Films to consider in Black & white, Drama, Mexican/Spanish language film, Movies, Spanish language film.add a comment
The Violin (Mexican/Spanish) 2005
El violin
Winner, Un Certain Regard, Best Actor (Tavira), Cannes Film Festival
Winner, Best Ibero-American Film, Miami International Film Festival
Winner, Horizon Award, Special Mention, San Sebastian International Film Festival
Winner, Skyy Prize, Audience Award, San Francisco Film Festival
Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival
From Film Movement; directed by Francisco Vargas
Starring Angel Tavira, Gerardo Taracena, Mario Garibaldi, Dagoberto Gama, and Fermin Martinez
An amazing film, beautifully filmed in black and white, about a farm family involved in the guerilla movement against their oppressive government. Don Plutarco (Tavira) is the grandfather of the family, who suffered torture and maiming but still continues to play traditional music. He teaches his son Genaro (Taracena) and grandson Lucio (Garibaldi) to do the same. When their village is overrun by soldiers, Plutarco takes it upon himself to save the stash of ammunition hidden on his farm.
The late Don Angel Tavira himself came from a long line of musicians and taught others to play traditional tunes. Maimed at a young age, he played the violin with the bow tied to the stump of his right arm. He was not trained as an actor before his performance in The Violin and won the award for best actor at Cannes. Read more about him here.
98 min. Unrated. Violence and adult themes.
The Window-Movie Review *** 03/07/2011
Posted by Films to consider in Argentinian/Spanish language film, Light Drama, Movies, Spanish language film.add a comment
The Window (Argentinian/Spanish) 2008
La Ventana
Official Selection, Sarasota Film Festival; Toronto International Film Festival; Palm Springs International Film Festival
Winner, Fipresci Prize, Valladolid Film Festival
From Film Movement; directed by Carlos Sorin
Starring Antonio Laretta
A lovely film that covers the last day of an old man’s life in a tender and often humorous way. Surrounded by caring household staff and a visiting piano tuner, eighty-year-old Antonio (Laretta) knows his time draws near. His memories of a babysitter that he had when he was a young boy makes the idea of his passing seem magical.
As Antonio waits for a visit from his estranged son and his girlfriend, his bedroom window draws him outside to enjoy the beauty of the land one last time.
Actor Antonio Laretta is better known as a Uruguayan writer and scriptwriter. I thought he was outstanding in this role.
77 min. Unrated.
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