Father Geek here submitting another Latin-AICN column for your information and enjoyment. First off we have another review of the AMORES PERROS screening at SXSW last week where it took the fest by storm... Playing to full houses in the largest venues...
I'm a longtime AICN viewer, but this is the first time I've ever sent anything in. I was at the Butt-Numb-a-Thon in December and I was going to send you a piece about my experience, but I never got around to it. But now I've just moved to Austin, just in time for SXSW, thank God. So maybe I'll be a regular contributor. Anyway, last night I saw two films, one which was excellent and one which was strange and bizarre, but still pretty enjoyable. Here's what I have to say:
Amores Perros (Love's a Bitch)
This is a Mexican movie which was nominated for the Academy Award for best foreign language film. I think it definitely deserves the nomination, but it won't beat CTHD. The Austin Chronicle compared the storytelling in this movie to Pulp Fiction, and I would agree that there are some similarities. There are three separate stories, all centering around a car crash. The first story involves two brothers, one of which is a wife-beating convenience store robber. The other loves the wife and is making money in dog fights so he can run away with her. In the second story, a model deals with being injured and having her dog stuck under her floorboards. In the third story, a homeless hitman learns about the value of life and longs to be reunited with his daughter, who he hasn't seen in 20 years and thinks he is dead. The stories all work very well and intertwine wonderfully. The characters are all well- rounded and three-dimensional, although I would have to say I didn't care as much about the characters in the middle story about the model as much as I did in the other two stories.
I would definitely recommend this movie to any filmgoer who isn't afraid of subtitles. Captivating and emotional. If you're at SXSW, try to see it.
Warren Peace
Here's a bit on Yuzna's Spanish project...
Heard you were wandering about what Brian Yuzna is doing in Spain. Well, he teamed up with producer Julio Fernandez to make seven fantastic films,shot in English, in the coming three years. This outward looking industry will be established in Barcelona (Brian is now living there). The big idea is to create a school of the genre and to compete with those already existing. Faust: Love of the Damned is their first project, I saw the film on Friday and I have to agree with Hannibal that the movie isn't very good. I have more hope for the flicks still to come in the future. Faust will be followed by Dagon, Arachnid and Beyond Reanimator (the latter probably featuring the great Jeffrey Combs). Fantastic Factory will also produce three movies taken on by newcomers Elio Quiroga, Tinieblas Gonzales and Jaume Balaguero.
Till next time
Groetjes
Youri
Now here's Coffin Joe Jr. with his report...
Hey there , Coffin Joe Jr. here , with this week´s edition of Latin-AICN , hope you geeks out there enjoy it .
Before we begin the news section , let´s talk about the Oscars for a sec , ok ? My point regarding the next Academy Awards is the following : HOW THE FUCK DOES MIRAMAX GET " CHOCOLAT " NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE ? Really , how do they ? Look at a number of other films , which are much more significant , and important : " Requiem for a Dream " , " Shadow of the Vampire " , " The Contender " , " You Can Count on Me " , " Dancer in the Dark " , etc . I´m sure there are others that are missing from this tiny list , movies that are just better than a poor excuse for a showcase of sweets . Fuck , if you´re gonna nominate " Chocolat " , put " Woman on Top " there as well , it´s basically the same crap done with a Latin flavor . This film will be forgotten within months , not even years . It´s that bland and uninspiring . Man , I´m pissed . Ah , forget it , just go ahead and read the column .
US
Before we begin the news section , let´s talk about the Oscars for a sec , ok ? My point regarding the next Academy Awards is the following : HOW THE FUCK DOES MIRAMAX GET " CHOCOLAT " NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE ? Really , how do they ? Look at a number of other films , which are much more significant , and important : " Requiem for a Dream " , " Shadow of the Vampire " , " The Contender " , " You Can Count on Me " , " Dancer in the Dark " , etc . I´m sure there are others that are missing from this tiny list , movies that are just better than a poor excuse for a showcase of sweets . Fuck , if you´re gonna nominate " Chocolat " , put " Woman on Top " there as well , it´s basically the same crap done with a Latin flavor . This film will be forgotten within months , not even years . It´s that bland and uninspiring . Man , I´m pissed . Ah , forget it , just go ahead and read the column .
US
-The Frida Kahlo bio pic that stars Salma Hayek (the other one stars Jennifer Lopez) is expected to begin principal photography this next April , in Mexico . The IMDB lists Julie Taymor (" Titus ") as the director , and other cast members include Edward Norton , Antonio Banderas , Geoffrey Rush and Ashley Judd . The writer on the project is Rodrigo Garcia (" Things you can Tell Just by Looking at Her ") , who is also one of the producers .
-Brazilian director Bruno Barreto´s latest film is " A View from the Top " , about a small-town woman who dreams of becoming a flight attendant . The all-star cast includes Gwyneth Paltrow , Mike Myers , Rob Lowe , Kelly Preston , Mark Ruffalo , Candice Bergen and Christina Applegate . There was also a strange rumour flying around that Sammo Hung , of all people , would be shooting some stuff in a plane for a sequence in the movie . The script was written by Eric Wald , and the movie is already in production , shooting began last year , so expect a release date soon .
BRAZIL
-Director Domingos de Oliveira ( " Amores " ) is currently at work on his new film called " Separações " . Domingos , whose last pic " Amores " won three awards at the 1998 Gramado Film Festival , decided to shoot " Separações " with digital cameras , instead of regular film stock . The budget is supposed to be under one million reais ( US$ 500.000) . The movie is inspired by the play of the same name , which was written , directed and starring Domingos himself . The cast of the movie is the same group of actors who did the play . The story is basically about a bohemian theater director , his troubles in life ; much of the material is lifted from Domingos´ own life and his problems . The film takes place in Rio , and was shot in basically four locations : the director´s house , a motel , the Glauce Rocha theater and at a friend´s house . The makers of the movie are still targetting a release date for 2001 (here in Brazil) , so let´s wait and see .
-More on the Walter Salles front this week , as a local paper called " Jornal da Tarde " , reported some casting choices for " Assuption of a Virgin " this week . Take this with a grain of salt , so for now it´s all rumours . They say Juliette Binoche is in it (who was one of early names tossed around , way back , during the Cannes Film Festival) , plus Geoffrey Rush , Benicio Del Toro and Chloë Sevigny .
-Actress Camila Pitanga will star in " O Poeta da Vila " for first time director Ricardo Van Steen . The movie chronicles the life of artist Noel Rosa . Other cast members include Marcelo Serrado (playing Noel Rosa) , Debora Bloch , Malu Mader and musician LuÃs Melodia . Camila will play the part of Noel´s wife Lindaura .
