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Reviews
Tropa de Elite 2: O Inimigo Agora é Outro (2010)
American Vibe
The movie Elite Squad was a very captivating movie with a ton of corruption and action. There were a lot of interesting twists and turns that kept me very interested. It had a strong American type of movie vibe to it. I think it was a very interesting representation of the police force in Brazil and showed the true possibility of corruptness within a government or a police force. It was also interesting to compare it to the other foreign films that I have seen in my Global Perspectives class in the aspect that there was actually wealth. There were both sides of the spectrum instead of just the poor side of the equation. I think that was what was making seem very American to me. But the plot itself was very intriguing and the twists along the way kept the movie alive and surprising which I really liked. I would definitely recommend it and overall was a very great movie.
Simshar (2014)
Lot done but well done
Simshar was a really familiar film. The overall excitement of the film had a very Americanized feel to it. The idea of a family going out on the water and a problem occurring. Then they are left at sea with no way to get help. There are American movies that are centralized around just that idea. But this movie had this, as well as other stories to tell. There was the concept of immigration to Europe and the lives of those people on the boat. There was the people who were working with those people. There was the mother and youngest son of the family at sea. All well told stories that strung together very nicely. The actors were really good, even the children. It was pretty hard to find anything negative to say about the movie but the ending was kind of confusing. The son was strapped into what they were floating on and then when the father regains consciousness and is saved the kid somehow is not there anymore. I don't understand that part and i think it could have been done better but definitely a great film overall.
Un homme qui crie (2010)
Slow and Silent
This movie is a rather slow movie that contains a lot of, what seems like, never-ending silences. It starts off in the pool and the entire movie, and the decisions made by the characters really revolve around a pool. The father loves working at the pool and claims it is his life. But at one point his son ends up replacing him as the life guard and he is moved to the gate guard. This triggers his silence and eventually, the son is taken by the army and is drafted and the father does nothing to try and stop it. I believe this was out of greed and selfishness. The father let his son be taken so that he would get his life guard job back and to me that is ridiculous. I think this because later in the movie he regrets his decision and claims that he was wrong. He goes to save his son but he is greatly injured and on the ride back he dies. I didn't like this movie very much but the messages that are given are strong ones.
Kinyarwanda (2011)
Stories to be told
Kinyarwanda was a very informational film. It was interesting how one movie was able to give a story on many different aspects of the actual genocide in Rwanda. It showed the lives of regular people who were just trying to get on through the day, the girl who was Tutsi and her "boyfriend" who was Hutu. It caused me to understand why this movie, in my opinion, was hard to follow. It was because there were so many different stories being told in just the span of a movie. The Hutus during the actual genocide, the Hutus after the genocide in the re-edukation camps, the Tutsi trying to survive during the genocide, and then the Tutsi rebels who came to the rescue for the Tutsi that were hiding. This film showed all of these stories in one movie and was trying to display the reality and impact of the genocide in each of these groups of people's lives and that is really difficult to do. I think that it was done really well for the task that was trying to be completed and the movie in the end did what it was meant to do.
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Rwandan Genocide
Hotel Rwanda was the first movie that we have watched in English and it didn't really stand out that much. The other movies were just as easy to follow which was surprising to me. This movie provided a wonderful, yet frightening, reality of the genocide in Rwanda. It went into depth the struggles that all of the Tutsi citizens when through as well as the harshness of the treatment they received from the Hutus that were out to kill them. Paul was a very friendly and loving character who always was the center of most things and was nice enough to overflow his hotel with Tutsi guests who had no where to go. He seemed to know most of the people and have connections that were able to save him and others lives when in need. I was kept on the edge of my seat most of the time because really anything could happen at anytime. Movies that aren't predictable are much more exciting to watch and movies that are surrounded by chaos and disorder are unpredictable.
Voces inocentes (2004)
Civil War in El Salvador
This is the second time that I have seen the movie Innocent Voices. The first time I saw it was in Costa Rica on a school service trip. This movie did a fantastic job of showing the viewers how intense and dangerous the civil war was in El Salvador. The children and really everyone was never able to feel 100% safe. The young main character, Chava, was deeply afraid of turning 12 because the soldiers were able to recruit children if they were 12 and older. They would show up at the schools or even the homes and just take the children, the parents had no say. It was very saddening to see the way things were and all the hardships Chava and his family went through. Chava saw two of his friends get shot in the head and was almost killed many times himself. All together I think that it was a really good movie that kept my attention and interest.
Cidade de Deus (2002)
The City of God was GREAT
The City of God was definitely the best international movie that I have ever seen. I really enjoyed the filming styles that were used because it made the film that much more interesting than the plot and plot twists themselves. The background stories of each character and the fact that the movie started with the end just like a lot of American films made it really interesting and suspenseful at a lot of parts. It is really easy to get used to the fact that the entire film is in subtitles and that doesn't effect the quality of the film at all. It is easy to understand it while also following what is happening. I really liked the characters in the film and the interactions that they had with each other as well as the clear personality traits that they had. I really wish that Benny wasn't killed but overall I really enjoyed this movie and even the way it ended.
Hermano (2010)
Overall a great film
The movie "Hermano" was a really great movie in my opinion. I found myself biting my nails during some scenes and blown away by others. I am a huge fan of soccer and knowing how difficult filming is as well as soccer, when put together I can't imagine how tough it had to have been to make it realistic. I think the actors played their parts very well and the movie was constantly doing something. If I am to complain about something it would be the ending for sure. I can't say much about international films of course but I feel that in general, massive plot twists aren't supposed to happen within 5 minutes of the end of the movie. Even though this can be a negative aspect of the movie it can also be looked at as the movie is very unpredictable which is hard to do while still following a story line and answering questions. Overall I definitely like it.
Una noche (2012)
The Truth Hurts
This movie was very attention grabbing. There was a lot of real life struggles and absolutely nothing hidden about the lives of these people. The change in the lives of Elio and his sister, Lila, as they grow up has a huge impact on their lives. They need each other because their family is breaking apart. They want to help their mother but end up leaving her. A friend Elio makes at work changes their lives when he convinces Elio to leave with him to Miami. The movie is based off of a true story and the fact that Elio dies out in the water and Raul and Lila end up back in Cuba with no happy ending. Even in American films based off of true stories they are mini pulsates to end the way the directors would expect the viewers to want. There is no crowd appeal in these films the truth is given with no cushion. Overall I think it was a well acted and well directed film.
También la lluvia (2010)
Yaku (Water) Conflicts
This film was very interesting and also was not at all what I expected it to be. The title of the film in no way gives away the fact that the film is about another film being filmed inside the film, and all the problems and conflicts affect this inside film. It was a based off of a real event that happened in Bolivia where there were water shortages and huge conflicts about this shortage and the over-sized demands made by the government. Throughout the film the (what I would call two main characters) change quite drastically and almost switch roles. I don't like that the viewers never really find out what happens to the film that they were filming there considering that the entire movie was really about that movie being finished, but other than that ending part I think that it was a really well put together film with some great actors that filled the parts well.
Sin nombre (2009)
American input on international film
I really enjoyed watching this film because it was intense and realistic. The fact that the entire movie was in subtitles didn't even bother me. It was easy to follow what was going on and why things were happening. Some indications that showed that this film is not American would be that the main character was killed of in the end. The former friend of Willy, Smiley, was the one to kill him and in an American film this would not have happened. Willy would have ended up with the girl and gotten to New Jersey. Also the movie was mainly about getting across the border which wouldn't be the focus of an American movie. I think that as an American myself I would've had Smiley join Willy and Sarya to escape the gang and in turn have a happy ending but overall I really enjoyed the movie.