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Mon, Dec 29, 2008
Cinema Latino, screening Fridays in January at the Wexner Center, spotlights the best new films from Latin America, affording a rare opportunity in this region to view these films on the big screen. Featuring dramas, comedies, and documentaries, the series expands the reach of the Wexner Center’s well- received January 2006 survey of Argentine cinema and responds to a growing public interest in films from Latin Amer ica. While the selection represents current filmmaking in several countries, Cinema Latino places an emphasis on recent Mexican cinema, revealing the diversity of the rich film culture that has produced such heralded figures as Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro, and Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu. This series was organized by the Wexner Center’s film staff.
Note that the first film of the series is free; the other nights are double features and carry the following ticket price (per night): $7 general public; $5 members, students, and senior citizens; $3 children under 12. All films include English subtitles, and all will be screened in the center’s state-of-the-art Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St. inside the Wexner Center. More information: 614 292-3535 or www.wexarts.org.
Convenient parking is available in Ohio State’s Ohio Union Garage and Arps Garage, both with entrances from North High Street and College Road. Parking is also available nearby at the South Campus Gateway Garage, located one block east of North Street between 9th and 11th Avenues. The Wexner Center is also on the COTA #2 bus line.
CINEMA LATINO
Friday, January 4 at 7 pm
Under the Same Moon (La Misma Luna) (Patricia Riggen, Mexico/USA, 2007). 109 mins., 35mm. Free; tickets required. Call 292-3535 to reserve a ticket (pick up tickets the day of the film).
One of the biggest hits of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, Under the Same Moon manages a skillful balance in addressing one of today’s most urgent political issues—illegal immigration—in the midst of a powerful family drama. The film tells the parallel stories of Carlitos, a 9-year-old boy living in Mexico, and his mother, who works illegally in the U.S. in the hopes of providing a better life for her son. As unexpected circumstances drive both mother and son to separately attempt to reunite, the film builds to a dramatically and emotionally rich finale that’s sure to leave few dry eyes in the house. The excellent ensemble cast includes America Ferrera (of Ugly Betty fame), the Mexican comedian Eugenio Derbez (receiving great praise for his first dramatic role), and a cameo and original song by the popular band Los Tigres del Norte.
DOUBLE FEATURE
Friday, January 11 7 pm:
Drama/Mex (Gerardo Naranjo, Mexico, 2006). 93 mins., 35mm.
8:45 pm: Duck Season (Temporada de patos) (Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico, 2004). 85 mins., 35mm.
The inventive and energetic Drama/Mex tells three intersecting stories set in Acapulco, a tourist destination that’s fallen on hard times. The striking cinematography flits between the erotic and the tense to bring to life these engaging stories of misspent youth and squandered lives. Actors and best pals Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna (Y tu mamá también) served as executive producers. Reminiscent of the deadpan comedies of Jim Jarmusch, Duck Season is a portrait of youth on a much smaller and quieter scale—but all the more charming for it. Two 14-year-old best friends hope to spend a lazy Sunday hanging out in an apartment without parents. Constant interruptions from power outages, pizza deliverymen, and the pushy girl next door on a brownie binge reveal just how important this seemingly ordinary day is.
Friday, January 18 7 pm: Chronicle of an Escape (Crónica de una fuga) (Israel Adrián Caetano, Argentina, 2006). 103 mins., 35mm.
8:50 pm: Salvador Allende (Patricio Guzmán, Chile, 2004). 100 mins., 35mm
The gripping Chronicle of an Escape—based on real events during the Argentine “disappearances” in 1977—centers on a goalkeeper for a professional soccer team who is held prisoner and tortured after (wrongly) being identified as a terrorist. With its exceptional performances, the film documents the experiences of the prisoners by focusing on their detailed psychological battles with their captors rather than the physical brutalities. The second film in the double feature is the latest essential film by Patricio Guzmán, one of the great political documentarians of our time; it’s a heartfelt, personal tribute to Salvador Allende, the Chilean president who was the world’s first democratically elected Marxist leader.
Friday, January 25 7 pm:
The Violin (El Violín) (Francisco Vargas, Mexico, 2005). 98 mins., 35mm.
8:50 pm: The Sugar Curtain (El Telón de azúcar) (Camila Guzmán Urzúa, Cuba,’05). 82 mins., 35mm.
In the acclaimed The Violin, a grandfather and musician lives a double life. He’s a supporter of a peasant guerrilla movement who acts as a harmless old violin player to recover an ammunition cache that the government stole from his village. A captivating game of cat-and-mouse ensues as the army captain is charmed by his music and orders the musician to return daily. Notes Guillermo del Toro, director of Pan’s Labyrinth, “The Violin is one of the most amazing Mexican films in many a year. Filmmaking in its purest form... Moving, urgent, and necessary.” The Sugar Curtain, an even-handed debut documentary from the daughter of Patricio Guzmán, is an autobiographical portrait of Cuba. Returning to the country where she was raised during the “golden years” of the Cuban revolution, Guzmán Urzúa is forced to reconcile her nostalgia with the reality of contemporary Cuba, discovering that, as the Village Voice phrased it, “to be Cuban is to be conflicted.”
CALENDAR INFORMATION for Cinema Latino: Four-night, six-film series showcasing the best in new Latin American film, January 4–25 (Fridays). Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N. High St. Tickets vary. 614 292- 3535 or wexarts.org.
EVENT AND SEASON SUPPORT
Promotional support for Cinema Latino provided by Fronteras de La Noticia and MidwestLatino. Community partner is Hispanic Chamber of Columbus. Major support for the Wexner Center’s 2007– 08 film/video season is generously provided by Abercrombie & Fitch. Significant contributions are also made by the Rohauer Collection Foundation.
