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huckfinn135
Reviews
Voices of Iraq (2004)
A Fascinating Film
Check your pro-war or anti-war bias at the door and go to see this film. What you will see is an amazingly diverse country, from the Marsh Arabs in the south to the Kurds in the north. Over 100 digital video cameras were distributed to Iraqis and they shot footage of their lives. The footage was shot between January and September, 2004. I was struck by how limited our sense of who Iraqis are has been. Given all of our technology, why is it that we don't get to hear more Iraqi voices in U.S. media? Iraqis have an amazing sense of humor, irony and optimism. I came away hoping more than ever that they can succeed in building a stable country and asking myself why so many want them to fail.
Être et avoir (2002)
A Nice Film, but overrated
I fully expected to love the film. I'm an elementary school teacher and always enjoy films about teachers working with children. To be honest, I thought the film was dull. We don't really get to know the children or the teacher very well. There seems to be very little taught in the school. The students are constantly writing out dictations and the teacher, who is a very nice man and very kind to his students, is seen having the same type of interactions with his students over and over. After a while I became frustrated that we weren't really getting to know anyone in any depth...yes, the teacher says kind and gentle things, but it's like watching the same scene over and over. Even the antics of the kids are cute, but dull...in a year of filming these are the most interesting moments the director came up with? Still, a relaxing and sweet film.
Caracas amor a muerte (2000)
Brilliant Debut
This film deserves to be mentioned with the recent Mexican films that have received such acclaim (some might disagree but I actually like it better than "Amores Perros"). As a bit of background, there are around 100 murders each weekend in Caracas. Power failures are also frequent in the city, which comes into play. There's more to the story than that, but it's good background to have. Music is also central to the story. That this is Balza's first film is amazing. Well worth seeing if you can find it.