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Lakposhtha parvaz mikonand (2004)
Turtles Can Fly
I thought this movie was extremely well paced and had lots of interesting insight to offer. It played things from the Kurdish point of view during Saddam Husain's rule. However, I felt like some of the scenes were extremely strange. I know I'm not a child during war time, so I don't really now what they were supposed to be. I really liked both Satellite's character, and that of the arm less boy. I thought they were both very invested in the movie, and I felt like they would have been friends in normal circumstances. I was really invested in each of the characters in the story, and I thought it was very gripping how the sister took her own life and that of her child. I was confused however about the threat of bombing the arm less boy was supposed to have predicted. Was he predicting the American's would come, or was he predicting there were bombs?
Omar (2013)
Omar
Omar was an overall interesting movie to watch. Unfortunately, I didn't understand a lot of what was going on in the film. The idea of climbing over the walls is very foreign to me and I didn't understand where they were located or if they were in the same city. Another was the conflict between the main character and the Israeli secret service. They singled out Omar and I understood that, but I wasn't sure what happened with Amjad. I didn't understand whether he was actually captured by the Secret service, or if he was lying to Omar in order to get in with Nadia. It could have gone either way. I did find it a nice touch how Amjad actually lied about Nadia being pregnant so she would end up with him and not Omar. Even though it was an extremely selfish thing to do, I definitely did not see it coming and thought it was an interesting way to move the story along.
Paradise Now (2005)
Paradise Now
Paradise Now was an eye-opening movie. It was really interesting to see the life of a suicide bomber. It definitely was different from what I've perceived most suicide bombers to be like. Though, the conflict in the Palestine territories is different then most of the terrorist suicide bombing that occurs with radical groups such as ISIS. I thought the direction of the movie was well placed and the actors made brilliant choices. I honestly did not expect Said to be the one who kills himself. He seemed to have more to live for than his friend, with a potential girlfriend, a job, and a loving family. It was also interesting seeing all of the military checkpoints and learning about how all of the territories are split up. It seems very ineffective in the grand scheme of things, but it was made that way for a reason. I thought the movie did a good job on allowing the viewers to look into the lives of the bomber, while allowing him to remain humane.
Tuya de hun shi (2006)
Tuya's Marriage
Tuya's Marriage was an interesting movie to say the least. It was the first Mongolian film that I had ever seen, and it was also one of the most interesting to say the least. I felt like there was an interesting story behind the movie, but I felt as if the actors and director didn't really as much passion for this. Then again, this is coming from an American perspective rather than someone who is actually Mongolian, so I don't truly know how much they put in to this film. I did enjoy all of the camera angels in the film, as well as the location and props. They did a wonderful job recreating a Mongolian home. I also liked how well they all rode their horses during the film. It was clear that some time and thought was put in to making the actors ride as if they were Mongolian.
Xi you: Xiang mo pian (2013)
Journey To The West, A Journey To Perfection
Journey To The West is now one of my favorite movies that I have watched, foreign or otherwise. I thought it was a hilarious movie to watch and sometimes I even forgot that it was in a different language. I also found myself picking up a lot of the subtle jokes, such as a nose bleeding part, when the rest of the people watching it with me didn't seem to understand. It was a lot of dry humor and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the animation was beautiful, both the execution and the artistic style that they chose for it. The directing of the movie was very good, and I liked the tie ins to mythology. It's rare to find movies that deal with mythology in a new light that is successful, and I think Journey To The West did an excellent job explaining it. I really don't have any complaints for the movie, and I can't wait for an English translation to be released for the sequel.
Qin ai de (2014)
Review of Dearest
Dearest was a wonderful movie to watch and experience. I thought it was directly beautifully, and all of the actors did a wonderful job. I thought it was interesting how the movie changed perspective halfway through, from the view of the child's parents to the wife of the child abductor. I found both of their stories extremely compelling and I felt bad for both of them as I watched. Though, I felt like the parents were in the right as opposed to the wife. I think the wife buried her knowledge of the fact that her husband was an abductor. She certainly had feelings for the children, but I felt like in the back of her mind she knew they weren't hers. Also, the ending was very uninformative. I felt like it was a great cliffhanger, but I don't think it should have ended that way. I don't think they should have wrapped everything up neatly, but they should have at least said what happened in the credits like they did with other subjects.
Chennai Express (2013)
Chennai Express
Chennai Express has been my favorite movie that I have seen so far, and I don't believe that will be changed. Everything was phenomenal, from the lighting and productions, to the costumes, the choreography, the singing, and especially the acting. I thought the story was brilliantly told, not only through dance and song, but through the actor's interpretation as well. I liked how they made Meena into a well thought out character who was fighting back against the arranged marriage her father was trying to force her into. I also enjoyed seeing Rahul transform from his weaker and more submissive form into a strong dependable character. Though, it did confuse me on how love alone powered him to beat Tangaballi and his men alone. I would understand if he had had some form of training in hand to hand combat, but it just seemed as if love gave him the power to overcome his foes, and that was weird to me.
Ajeossi (2010)
The Man from Nowhere
The Man From Nowhere was one of the best films that I have watched this year. Not only was it a well put together action movie, but there was also a little comedy thrown in to help spice things up. It was also interesting to see how they placed the story from different perspectives as well. I really enjoyed looking at things from the DEA's perspective, as well as So-Mi's perspective. One thing that did confuse me about this film was both the presence and lack of guns. It seemed like all of the police were able to obtain guns, and at one point so was the main character. However, almost no one in the drug ring had guns, and when they did it was only for specific parts. I don't know if that's coming from an United States perspective where guns are plenty around here, but it seemed like there wasn't as many as there could have been. Everything else about the movie was fantastic, especially the fighting sequences.
Whale Rider (2002)
Whale Rider
Whale Rider was an interesting movie to experience. It was wonderfully written, directed, and performed. I thought it was a great piece, and it showed the lives of the Maori people. I enjoyed what I saw, and was glad to get a glimpse at the world of the Maori. However, I was confused about some of the cultures and ritual aspects that occurred during the movie. It seemed strange to me that the Maori culture looked down upon women so much that there was no possible way for them to become chiefs. Not until Pai passed all of the trials was her grandfather finally able to see that she was the whale rider. Another part that confused me was when the grandfather was training the young men. Some of it made sense, such as slapping the chest, making loud noises, and sticking out the tongue to frighten people. However, it seemed strange that if you spoke one of the verses wrong, their dicks would fall off. I couldn't tell if the grandfather was joking about that, or if that was actually a belief in the culture.
Merantau (2009)
Merantau
I thought that Merantau was a wonderful film to watch. I enjoyed the martial arts aspect of it extremely, and I felt that the story was well written as well. I found it interesting that they decided to take on the idea of human trafficking. I felt like it tied in well with the story and had an accurate portrayal of the situation on human trafficking. However, I felt like I wasn't fully understanding the situation. One thing that threw me off was the lack of fire arms in the group of human traffickers. I felt like more than two of them would have guns, and the fact that they completely emptied their clips into a man seemed strange and abnormal.
Allende en su laberinto (2014)
The maze of his presidency
Truthfully, I loved watching this film. I felt so involved and invested with the story, and the music really helped immerse me into the story. I enjoyed the way they showed the heroism of President Allende, while also showing the side of him that was afraid of what was to come. I found the ending really compelling, the way that all of the soldier's simply rushed passed him, and it wasn't until the firemen arrived that anyone noticed him. Though, the final scene confused me when he was talking to himself. I didn't quite understand it, but I did feel like it was a nice ending to the story. Another part of the story that confused me was when Allende died. Many people say that he killed himself instead of being shot by one of the soldiers, but I wasn't sure the film took it in either direction. I felt like it was looking more towards the fact that he died rather than how he was killed. Overall, I thought this was a beautiful movie, and I recommend it to anyone.
Rebelle (2012)
Rebelle
I thought that Rebelle was a very interesting movie to watch during class. I found the characters to be very compelling and the story to be a great view. Though, I didn't really understand why she was able to do everything that she could. Why was she able to see ghosts and why was she able to kill all of the soldiers? I understand that most of it was just for effect, but why was it able to happen in the first place? Also, I was confused about all of the spiritual aspects of the story. The magician had a large amount of talismans that he would give away like a sort of currency, but what were they? Also, why did the uncle continue to let the magician and the witch back into his house after they repeatedly destroyed his life? It probably has to do with the weight that family has in African culture, but I couldn't imagine anyone in America doing that.
Simshar (2014)
Simshar
I thought that Simshar was a very touching and emotional film. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I found it interesting about the background summary that they gave. The film seemed to have two different stories, one about the Simshar, and another about a merchant vessel that has stopped to rescue some migrants (I believe it was the Pinar E, but it could have had a fake name). The Simshar sinks, leading to the death of four out of the five members on board. There were some parts of the story that I did not understand however. For instance, why did the crew not fix their ship? They obviously knew that there was a problem, since they had to put out a fire a few days earlier. Is it because they could not afford the parts to fix the ship? And why was there such a hostility towards the refugees? There wasn't a great deal of logic behind their hatred, but when has there ever?
Un homme qui crie (2010)
A Screaming Man
A Screaming Man takes place in Chad, during a period of civil unrest among the population. The story focuses around the main character of Champ, an accomplished former swimmer. He makes his living working as a pool attendant for a hotel. His son then becomes drafted into the army after he refuses to pay to keep him out anymore. The story then follows as this man with the guilty conscience goes back to save his son from life as a soldier. Unfortunately, he dies of his wounds. I loved the directing for this movie. I thought it was phenomenal and completely different from American movies. There was a lot less fast paced action and it felt more like a real life situation than a movie. I also thought the title was a nice touch even though the man never screams. It felt more like he was internally dying.
Kinyarwanda (2011)
Kinyarwanda
Kinyarwanda was a very motivational movie to watch. It went through the rehabilitation process of extremest Hutu's after the Rwandan Genocide and showed how people of different religions in the community came together in order to protect each other, despite their differences. There were some parts of the film that I did not understand however, and that made it somewhat confusing. The story doesn't progress in a linear fashion, instead, it jumps around to different periods of time and different perspectives. That made it very difficult not only to distinguish between characters, but understand what was happening. I did like it for its artistic choice however. It was very interesting to see the story through other character's eyes. I was also confused about the Rwandan Genocide. I know that this doesn't have to do with anything about the movie, but the Genocide confused me still. Why did so many people want to kill each other and hurt each other?
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda was about the Rwandan Genocide that occurred recently. Almost a million people were killed in this conflict, many of them being innocent people who were blamed for crimes they did not commit. The Hutu extremists wished to exterminate the population of Tutsi's in their country, as well as any sympathizers to their cause. As a result, thousands were killed and the governments of the world didn't help to stop all of the killing until much later. This story instead focuses around a hotel manager who wants to get his people to safety and has to struggle against the Hutu extremists who wish to wipe out everyone in the hotel. After convincing others and offering them bribes and blackmail, he manages to extract everyone from the hotel. It was both a very sad and uplifting movie to watch. It was powerful to see the way that he struggled through in order to keep his family safe, as well as everyone at the hotel.
Voces inocentes (2004)
Innocent Voices
Innocent Voices was a very thought provoking movie that showed the life of a child during a crisis in El Salvador. Young men between the ages of 12 and 15 were taken out of the school at random and chosen to become part of the army. I appreciated that even though the movie took place during a war with all of it's horrors, the director still took time to show the innocence of children by shooting scenes of them playing, laughing, and having fun together. My favorite character would have to be Ancha, the mentally challenged character. He was so full of life on screen. He, along with the other kids, made the scenario much more bearable to watch. He was such a great role in the film, and it was interesting to see how the other characters treated him. No one purposefully interacted with him besides the children.
Cidade de Deus (2002)
City of God
City of God was a wonderful movie to watch. It was a thrilling experience to see and it had me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed the camera angles of the film as well as the entire plot. I found it interesting that the scenes would jump from one period in time to a completely different period. Also, I liked when the camera would show two different scenes going on at the same time before they converged into one scene. It was also strange to see how many scenes included drugs or sex. I did enjoy the character's of both Benny and Rocket. Benny was the kind of guy that everybody liked and I found myself growing attached to him. I had the same feeling with Rocket. He was a man of convictions who wanted to obtain his goal of becoming a photographer no matter what it took.
Hermano (2010)
Hermano
Hermano was a very gripping movie to watch. The story throws all sorts of twists and turns throughout the movie, and it was a pleasure to watch. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. Though, the ending did confuse me. Maybe it is because I'm used to American movies, but I find it strange that they chose to kill Daniel off in the end of the movie. He took revenge against his mother's killer by beating him within an inch of his life, but he did so after winning the championship game. I do find it very clever though, now looking back, that they had Daniel make a double contract so that his brother would get a contract as well. Daniel most likely already knew what he was doing and had already planned on killing the goalie of the team at some point after the game so his brother could live his own dream.
Una noche (2012)
Una Noche, The One Night. The Last Night
Una Noche was a gripping film about three "friends" trying to escape Cuba for a better life in America. I enjoyed the film because there was phenomenal acting by everyone involved in the production, and I was drawn into the story. Though most of the entire movie was clear, some parts of it were a little strange to me. For instance, when Elio purchases a motor, they never make it clear whether he obtained any gas for it. Perhaps he did and it was just water logged, but that little hole confused me. Also, the ending was a little strange at first. As my class and I were watching the movie, most people thought that Raul and Lila did intact make it to Miami. The directors did a brilliant job in tying in the tourists who were in Cuba, showing that the pair did not in fact reach Miami, but were back in Havana. Unfortunately, it didn't seem very clear to some of my classmates and I admit that I was confused on the subject as well. A subject that was a little strange for me was all of the sex in the movie. I'm assuming that this was to show how the Cuban's passed the time, but it was a little strange. Also, I found it really interesting that the brought in the LGBT community. They showed the reactions of everyone towards gay men in Havana, being called names and insulted. I thought the most powerful example was when Elio kisses Raul. Raul freaks out and can't stop talking about how weird it is, but Lila seems to understand Elio and even sympathizes with him.
También la lluvia (2010)
Even the Rain Review
I did not expect this film to be the way that it is. I expected the film to be about only water and potentially a water crisis. I never expected that Christopher Columbus would be involved. I did enjoy the fact that they placed in parallels between the film about Christopher Columbus and the Bolivian Water Crisis. Overall, I really enjoyed the film. I found it strange that there was no clear "bad guy" in the movie. In most American films, there is a good guy and a bad guy. Mostly the good guy wins. In this film, everyone seemed to be both good and bad. The native people were fighting for their water, but they also attacked people before they were attacked. The water company that was coming in was helping the people to get water, but it also charged a great deal of money to the people. The government had to outsource the water, making the people angry, but if the government hadn't done so, the people would have no water at all. Also, just like Christopher Columbus came into America and exerted his power over the natives, so do others. The water company from America and Britain comes in and places a large price on all of the water, making it almost impossible to buy. Also, the production team working on the movie comes in and imposes themselves on the people. They pay them only two dollars a day while the rest of the crew lives in a highly expensive hotel. In the beginning of the film, it seemed like Costa cared more about the film and about the money then Sebastian, who seemed to care about the people more. But as the film continues, Sebastian becomes more focused on the film. And Costa risks his life to save Belen, a girl who was an extra on the set.
Sin nombre (2009)
Review of Sin Nombre
Sin Nombre was a very interesting film to watch. I haven't viewed many foreign films before, but I found this one very compelling. I thought all of the actors did a great job, and I loved how some of the characters weren't even actors. I was confused a little during the story. They never explained why Sayra, a Honduran girl who is fleeing to America with her family, makes the journey. I know that most immigrants who journey to America do so to find a better life, but the movie never explained if Sayra even had a bad life. Overall, I thought that it was a phenomenal movie, and even though I do not speak Spanish, I could clearly understand what everyone was saying. It was a powerful movie and I recommend it. It is not for the faint of heart though, but the story is so compelling it just makes you want to continue watching.