Chile & Peru

The Motorcycle Diaries (Widescreen Edition)

The beauty of the South American landscape and of Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Bad Education) gives The Motorcycle Diaries a charisma that is decidedly apolitical. But this portrait of the young Che Guevara (later to become a militant revolutionary) is half buddy-movie, half social commentary--and while that may seem an unholy hybrid, under the guidance of Brazillian director Walter Salles (Central Station) the movie is quietly passionate. Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna, a lusty and engaging actor) set off from Buenos Aires, hoping to circumnavigate the continent on a leaky motorcycle. They end up travelling more by foot, hitchhiking, and raft, but their experience of the land and the people affects them profoundly. No movie could affect an audience the same way, but The Motorcycle Diaries gives a soulful glimpse of an awakening social conscience, and that's worth experiencing. --Bret Fetzer

The Motorcycle Diaries (Full Screen Edition)

The beauty of the South American landscape and of Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Bad Education) gives The Motorcycle Diaries a charisma that is decidedly apolitical. But this portrait of the young Che Guevara (later to become a militant revolutionary) is half buddy-movie, half social commentary--and while that may seem an unholy hybrid, under the guidance of Brazillian director Walter Salles (Central Station) the movie is quietly passionate. Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna, a lusty and engaging actor) set off from Buenos Aires, hoping to circumnavigate the continent on a leaky motorcycle. They end up travelling more by foot, hitchhiking, and raft, but their experience of the land and the people affects them profoundly. No movie could affect an audience the same way, but The Motorcycle Diaries gives a soulful glimpse of an awakening social conscience, and that's worth experiencing. --Bret Fetzer

Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Quite simply a great movie, one whose implacable portrait of ruthless greed and insane ambition becomes more pertinent every year. The astonishing Klaus Kinski plays Don Lope de Aguirre, a brutal conquistador who leads his soldiers into the Amazon jungle in an obsessive quest for gold. The story is of the expedition's relentless degeneration into brutality and despair, but the movie is much more than its plot. Director Werner Herzog strove, whenever possible, to replicate the historical circumstances of the conquistadors, and the sheer human effort of traveling through the dense mountains and valleys of Brazil in armor creates a palpable sense of struggle and derangement. This sense of reality, combined with Kinski's intensely furious performance, makes Aguirre, the Wrath of God a riveting film. Its unique emotional power is matched only by other Herzog-Kinski collaborations like Fitzcarraldo and Woyzek. --Bret Fetzer

Fitzcarraldo

Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald (Klaus Kinski), known as Fitzcarraldo to the native Peruvians, is an avid opera lover and rubber baron who dreams of building an opera house in the Peruvian jungle. To accomplish this, he plans to reach an isolated patch of rubber trees and make his fortune. But these trees are not directly accessible by river because of dangerous rapids, so Fitzcarraldo runs his ship as close as possible via an alternate river and then enlists the aid of the native Peruvians to drag his ship over a mountain to the desired area. However, the natives seem to have their own agenda in so mysteriously acceding to Fitzcarraldo's wishes. The results manage to both mock and affirm the dreams of determined figures like Fitzcarraldo, making absurdity out of the stuff of human endeavor without negating the beauty of that effort. There is hardly a more awe-inspiring or arresting image than that of Fitzcarraldo's ship pulling itself up the mountain with cables and pulleys, or of the ship resting in mid-ascent as seen through the thick morning fog of the jungle.

The tortured production history of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo (ably recorded in Les Blank's documentary Burden of Dreams) tends to take the spotlight away from this deeply mesmerizing film. And that's unfortunate, because the film itself is even more fascinating than the trials and tribulations, amazing though they might be, that led to its being made. Part of the problem is the film's deliberate, some might say ponderous, pace, which invites the viewer to experience the slow immersion into the jungle that Fitzcarraldo and company experience. Herzog did something similar in Aguirre, the Wrath of God, sometimes aiming his camera at the river rapids for extended periods of time, with hypnotic results. This could never happen in a Hollywood film, and it should be treasured. --Jim Gay

Eternal Blood

Soccer Stories - Historias De Futbol

This is the first release in a series entitled: Spotlight on Chilean Masterworks. Some say in Latin America, football (soccer to the US) is the center of everything. Soccer Stories uses this incredibly favored sport to explore a diverse Chilean geography and culture and link three Chilean lives: a third-division player from Santiago de Chile is handed a life-changing offer; a boy living in the Calama Desert must face making a bold sacrifice; and a football fan stuck in a remote corner of the southern island of Chilé is given an unexpected chance to experience another kind of passion. El Metropolitano has rated this heartfelt film as one of the top ten motion pictures in the history of Chilean cinema. Directed by Andres Wood. Originally released in 1997. Spanish with English subtitles. 87 minutes.

Gringuito

Gringuito is the story of a young child that is uprooted from his New York home and forced to move back to Chile with his parents. He has always lived in New York and feels totally out of place the day his parents settle in to their new apartment in Santiago, Chile. Ivan, the Gringuito, considers his parents return very disappointing and feels that his mother's pregnancy will also take attention away from him and cause him to lose his "exclusivity". Shortly after moving in, he decides to runaway and gets involved with "El Flaco", who looks after Ivan and for whom he develops a true friendship. Ivan̢۪s experiences develop into a young boy̢۪s rite of passage and lead him to a poignant encounter with Chile.

El Nominado

In the brutal battle for ratings, how far will a reality show go? With a standout cast that includes Christian de la Fuente (Basic, Hidden Hills) and Rene Lavan (Christmas with the Kranks, Azucar Amarga), this hard-hitting, action-packed thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat as contestants struggle to survive in the most extreme reality show ever. Dropped by helicopter into the snow-covered Andes Mountains, a group of 12 people live together in an underground bunker, every move of their lives captured on camera. Each week one of the contestants is voted off the show, but when one man refuses to leave and starts shooting people, the ratings skyrocket from meager to incredible. Cast your ballots for this twisted look at the reality show phenomenon.

Coronation

Winner of 39 international awards and the most honored film in Chilean history, CORONATION is a beautifully photographed and haunting tale of obsession and repressed desire set admist a decaying mansion in Santiago. Glum, middle-aged bachelor Don Andres hires Estela, a 17-year old country girl, to care for his wealthy and abusive grandmother. He grows increasingly obsessed with her, blinding himself to the threats around him and his own mental breakdown. CORONATION is the third entry in a series of films by Silvio Caiozzi based on the classic novels by popular Chilean author Jose Donoso.

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