Cine - Movies

Title: El Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil's Backbone)
Released: 2001

Another great film directed by Guillermo del Toro, The Devil's Backbone is a film about superstition, fear and courage. The story takes place during the Spanish Civil War, which offers more of a backdrop than a focus to the film, conveying the sense of horror and darkness present at the time.

An unexploded bomb lands right outside of the Santa Lucia School, an orphanage for young boys who lost their parents during the war. The bomb provides the symbolic reminder of the growing pressure and mounting fear caused by the war: its presence is undeniable, yet nobody knows when it will finally explode.

The main story is about young Carlos, the most recent arrival to the Santa Lucia School, who discovers hidden secrets and is forced to deal with adult issues overnight.

Title: Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes)
Released: 1997

Plot Summary

This surreal Spanish film written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar stars Penélope Cruz and Eduardo Noriega, and provides the storyline for the American version of the film - Vanilla Sky.

Cesár (Noriega) is young, good-looking, and notorious for being a playboy. He meets Sofia (Cruz), and sees something in her that makes him want to pursue a more real relationship with her. Shortly after meeting, Cesár is in an accident that leaves his face disfigured which irreparably changes his life.

The story floats between fantasy and reality, thriller and drama, and Amenábar somehow manages to pull it all together in a wonderfully made film.

Spanish Language Learning Notes

Title:Love in the Time of Cholera (El amor en tiempos del cólera)
Released:2007

Movie and Plot Summary

I'm still not sure why this movie, based on the magical realism classic by Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Márquez, is in English. It's not just in English, but characters have Spanish accents perhaps only authentic in the case of Spaniard Javier Bardem, while the background dialog is in Spanish. For as authentic as other aspects like scenery and costumes may have been, changing the language that created this beautiful opening line seems like a mistake:

Era inevitable: el olor de las almendras amargas le recordaba siempre el destino de los amores contrariados.

It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.

Title: XXY
Released: 2007

Movie and Plot Summary

Being different is rarely easy, especially if you're a 15 year old hermaphrodite. This Argentine film deals with teenage angst and how the decisions we make alter our path.

Fifteen year old Alex faces having to make a decision about her gender when her mother invites a plastic surgeon and his family to stay at their family home by the sea. Alex's father resents the surgeon's presence, and accepts Alex completely as she is. Witnessing the difficulty Alex faces in personal relationships, her father comes to understand the complexity of the situation and society's inability to accept the undefined.

While certainly an interesting film concept, I would recommend XXY to people who like fringe independent movies, not Hollywood moviegoers.

Spanish Language Learning Notes

Title: La suerte está echada (The Luck is Tossed)
Released: 2005

Mufa: A person who suffers an inexplicable stigma which brings bad luck to himself and those around him.

La Suerte Está Echada is a film of luck, destiny and the human response to it. The main characters are two half-brothers who simultaneously and independently pass through a string of bad luck. When they find out about their father's sickness, their stories come together as they try to fulfill their father's last request. Although both Guillermo and Felipe seem to be mufas, their response to their bad luck sets them apart and eventually brings them together.

The film is entertaining and thoroughly Argentine, complete with tango and lunfardo, Argentine slang.

When we gave up our TiVo, my husband had to pull the machine out of my clutches as I was trying to get in my final recorded episodes of my favorite telenovela, Soñar no cuesta nada. I stand by the theory that watching telenovelas is a great way to learn Spanish.

Why you should find a Telenovela

To start with, the Spanish is generally slow and easy to understand, as the actors are trying to be as dramatic as possible. If you're an intermediate Spanish speaker and you turn on a soccer game with Spanish commentary, the news in Spanish, or Spanish talk radio, you will probably get frustrated because of how quickly people are talking. Not in a novela...

Title: Valentín
Released: 2002

Set in 1969 Buenos Aires, the film is the story of 8-year-old Valentín, a boy who, wise beyond his years, dreams of becoming an astronaut. He is raised by his grandmother after his parents all but abandon him. Despite his careless parents, Valentín dreams of being with his mother again. When his grandmother gets sick, young Valentín tries to resolve the family's problems. The best part of the movie is getting to know the adorable, charming yet adult-like character Valentín (Rodrigo Noya), who apparently in real life is much like his character. Despite the adult issues the film deals with, it is extremely heart warming and well done.

Title: Volver (Coming Back)
Released: 2006

Ask any American about Spanish actress Penélope Cruz and they'll say: "she's beautiful". But is she a good actress? Hollywood films like Blow don't do a very good job of showcasing Cruz's talents as an actress; instead, they focus on her beauty and 'exoticness'. Enter Pedro Almodóvar, one of the most well-known Spanish directors, who also happens to know how talented Cruz is. Working together for the first time since Todo sobre mi madre, Volver is a fantastic film and Cruz is a worthy main character.

Title: El laberinto del fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)
Released: 2006

Title: El Pasado (The Past)
Released: 2007

Gael García Bernal stars in Argentine/Brazilian film: El Pasado, directed by Argentine director Hector Babenco. The story starts where a relationship ends: after 12 years of marriage, Rímini (Gael García Bernal) and Sophia (Analía Couceyro) decide to separate. Once Rímini moves out of the couple's Buenos Aires apartment, Sophia begins to pursue him. At first, her concerns are practical: she wants them both to divide the couple's lifetime of photos. Later, her pursuit is to hold on to the history they shared together: a history that Rímini considers the past. Meanwhile, Rímini moves on: he meets other women, advances in his career, becomes a father. Despite his attempts to form a new life for himself, his past, in the form of Sophia, haunts him. El Pasado definitely falls into the category of Latin films that aren't afraid of a racy sex scene or the naked human body...