Tierra de los padres dir. Nicolás Prividera (Argentina 2011) Of all the things one could say about it, it would be hard to accuse Tierra de los padres of a lack of ambition, aesthetically or politically. The film, which was controversially excluded from the BAFICI and Mar del Plata festivals despite being lauded in Toronto, … More the angels of history
Las acacias dir. Pablo Giorgelli (2011, 82′) If ever a notion of writing formulated while drunk and likely brandishing a firearm sparked a radical change in the way stories are told, it would have to be Hemingway’s ‘iceberg theory.’ In an interview with George Plimpton for The Paris Review, Hemingway describes his approach as a … More fallen, in the forest
The moon is full tonight And hurts the eyes, It is so definite and bright. What if it has drawn up All quietness and certitude of worth Wherewith to fill its cup, Or mint a second moon, a paradise? – For they are gone from earth. – Philip Larkin Melancholia, dir. Lars von Trier (2011, … More ’till death do us part
TV Utopía, dir. Sebastián Deus (Argentina 2011, 92′) Since the dawn of time, or at least the invention of cable, the lament has remained unchanged: so many channels, and nothing’s ever on. For a moment, though, in one neighborhood in Buenos Aires, something was: a pirate television station that aired programming of and by the … More The media is the message
I’m a little late getting to the party, but I thought I’d toss in my two cents on the most recent winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, Juan José Campanella’s El secreto de sus ojos. The film is, without question, an immensely enjoyable noirish detective romance – tossed together with a buddy film … More Miscarriages of Justice
When people talk about Fabián Bielinsky, the first thing they usually mention is the mythic quality of the director’s brief, but intensely creative career; the director made only two feature-length and one short film, but all received impressive critical acclaim. Striking a balance between auteur and commercial cinema, his work was poised to take Argentinean … More Director profile: Fabián Bielinsky
The stars must have been aligned last week when I wrote about the literary conference in Ushuaia; that evening I happened across Carlos Sorín’s “Historias mínimas” (2002, translated as “Intimate Stories”), a beautiful, meditative work that also takes place in the southern reaches of Argentina. In the work, Patagonia serves as more than an emblem … More Lives in Miniature
A freight train, laden with would-be immigrants to the United States, lumbers resolutely north through Mexico, a tableau of impoverished rural towns stretching out to either side. We know that these are images of human struggle in the face of oppressive conditions, but we can’t help but notice how beautiful the landscape is, how striking … More Sin Nombre, but with a Hollywood sensibility
Imagine you were told that for the next three days you could do as you pleased without any moral consequence. Madeinusa, Claudia Llosa‘s 2006 feature film debut and the darling of the festival circuit, does just that. Looking in on the fictional mountain town of Manataycuna over a period known as “Tiempo Santo” – the … More Madeinusa
Heather Cleary 