Spanish film festival in Jamaica
Topic: Arts and Culture, Ideal hang out spots|Spanish Film Festival in Jamaica
Some of the patrons who turned out for the opening.
By P Gavin James
THE INTERNATIONAL MOVIE Showcase of the Latin American-Caribbean Group and Spain began on Tuesday, October 21, at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica Building Auditorium. This highly anticipated film festival featured nine films of various genres, as chosen by the nine Spaninish and Latin American embasssies on the island.
Each night the accent, culture and character of the varied Spanish countries represented on the island were highlighted through the chosen film. This also afforded each participating country the opportunity to market both its film and tourism industries. Movie makers in addition to various representatives from each contingent, as well as movie aficionados enjoyed the festival.
The festival kicked off into high gear with a wide array of food from varied Spanish-speaking countries.
The first featured film, from Mexico was titled “Morirse en Domingo/ Dying on a Sundayâ€. The film begins with the death of the uncle of the central character Carlos, who is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that his uncle’s body is cremated by a crooked mortician. As fate would have it the mortician bamboozles the family by replacing the uncle’s ashes with that of stray dogs, while selling the body of Julio’s uncle on the side as a business deal. On realizing that the uncle’s remains have not been cremated, Carlos is sent on a roller coaster ride preserving the body while grappling with his feelings of guilt. Unexpectedly, Carlos develops a romantic connection with the daughter of the mortician, and this was an interesting film.
In Caracas Love Unto Death, featured on the Venezuelan night, director Gustavo Balza sets a scenario where two worlds collide in a tale of teenage trauma, survival in the slums and no choices. Central character Ramon runs from the police and local gangsters, while close associate Aixa is pregnant and homeless, trapped between the priest and the doctor who fight over whether she should keep her baby. The film is set against the grim expressions of corridors and staircases that imprison the residents living within and on the periphery of Caracas. The film opens with a police killing, and ends quite touchingly,
with great dramatic effect.
On the Argentinean night, the comedy/romance /Who sa¿Quién dice que es fácil? ys It’s Easy was featured. It starred Diego Perreti as Aldo and Carolina Pelleretti as Andrea.The two main characters are polar opposites of each other with Aldo living an ordered and mundane lifestyle as a radio control race car driver, while Andrea is a well travelled photographer who throws caution to the wind in the way that she lives. She realizes that she is pregnant, and as testament to her way of life, she does not know the father of her child. At first, it seems impossible for the two to co-exist, but as time goes by, they create a connection with each other and overlook their eccentricities.
The Chilean night presented a historical lesson of sorts with the feature film Machuca.
The Andres Wood directed film takes viewers back to 1973, in the Chilean capital Santiago. During the transition period between Salvador Allende’s government and the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, two friends, a poor Pedro Machucha and a better off Gonzalo Infante. The two young friends, during the transition of the government find that their lives are thrown terribly off track, and they have difficulty adjusting. The film was said to have had a musical score which complemented the action greatly as the film chronicled the developments taking place during the time.
On the fifth night of the festival, patrons were treated to the 1995 film Nueba Yol: Por fin llegó Balbuena”/New York, which was presented by the contingent from the Dominican Republic. The film tells the tale of a character Balbuena, played by Luisito Marti, who upon becoming a widower in the Dominican republic seeks to turn a new page and seek a better life in New York. When he actually arrives, he finds himself in a problematic situation with his family, finds himself in a failed relationship with a woman of similar nationality, and realizes that everything is not what it seems when he finds himself unemployed because he cannot secure a green card. In summation, it tells the story which is quite popular with many immigrants entering the United States, but from the Dominican perspective, as Balbuena is a famous character in the Dominican Republic to which Dominicans can relate to.
All the way from Spain the film the La Lengua de las Mariposas / Butterfly’s Tongue was sceduled to show on Sunday. The film follows the journey of a youngster, Moncho, played by Manuel Lozano who begins school at the start of the film. In his schooling he develops a liking for a kindly old man, Roque who helps to shape his developing mind shortly before the Spanish War. As the film transcends into turbulent times, Moncho finds himself battling both internal and external conflicts, and at times he finds himself drawn to a political sides within the struggle. The film essentially describes the main character’s coming of age under unfavourable circumstances.
The seventh film of the series, LucÃa, which was hosted by the Cuban contingent, sought to explain the struggle for Cuba’s emancipation through the experiences of three women in three separate time periods in the liberation quest. The first Lucia captured the Cuban War of Independence from Spain, while the second and third captured periods during the 1930’s and 1960’s. Through each of the three characters, it was the intention of director Humberto Solás to show issues unique to the particular time periods. The first Lucia is faced with betrayal and revenge during colonialism, while the second Lucia finds herself in a peculiar situation of frustration in what were “pseudo-republican†times. The third Lucia, representing 1960’s Cuba presents herself as a conformist to the values of her society and prescribes to conventional values.
The penultimate film, Columbian offering Soñar no cuesta nada / Dreaming Doesn’t Cost Anything outlines the tale of a company of soldiers in an anti-guerilla movement, who find a treasure which they were not actively seeking of $ 46 million, which happens to belong to an insurgent group. Being that they are overworked and underpaid, instead of reporting the money to their headquarters, they decide to keep the money for themselves. This decision alters the life of everyone involved. The story follows the lives of four soldiers out of the company of 147 from the “destroyer†battalion. They fall into desperation when they become completely isolated as a bridge, the only way to leave the mission, has been destroyed. These soldiers don’t have their essentials, but they sleep on their bags loaded with money, which presents an interesting twist.
On the final night, an introspective Brazilian film Abril Despedaçado/Behind the Sun, presented in the early 20th century, presents accounts on the life of a twenty year old by the name of Tonio. He faces a situation where he is ordered by his father to avenge the untimely death of an older brother. This puts him next in line to kill and then die in a long feud with the Ferreira clan. This tears the central character between his morals and his father’s wishes in an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth setting, in which neither family benefits.
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