PART 2 - INTERNATIONAL CINEMA

Today's list is films I saw in the theaters this year that were not from the US, Argentina or Britain. Buenos Aires is full of wonderful, funky art house theatres, where I got to see a wide variety of stuff. I saw a couple of these upon my return to the states, in the fine city of Chicago. HAEVEN (IN A BETTER WORLD) - DENMARK This was the Academy Award winner this year for best foreign language film. A powerhouse of beautiful images, intense storylines and enjoyable pacing. I saw it with Spanish subtitles. The trailer here is with English. LA PIEL QUE HABITO (THE SKIN I LIVE) - SPAIN I saw Almodovar's last one in the theatres too, "Broken Embraces." I was blown away by that one, and this new flick just takes it a step further. Many things he does here are literally unbelievable. A complex, creepy, fucked up storyline that only ALmodovar could pull off in good taste. LE HAVRE - FINLAND / FRANCE I'd seen one of Aki Kaurismaki's films. My good friend in college turned me on to him. I'd heard so many glowing reviews that I knew it was a must see in the theaters. Sure enough, highly charming and intimately played. A fine wine of a character study and, moreso, an unlikely friendship story. Good times, and ya leave the theater with some joy in your heart. TAMBIEN LA LLUVIA (EVEN THE RAIN) - SPAIN / BOLIVIA The first big budget film shot entirely in Bolivia, was about the COchabamba water war. Living for a time in Cocha, it was thrilling to see the city on the big screen, portrayed so grittily as the center of the big water riots in 2000. I was lucky enough to be in Cochabamba when it came out, and actually attended a panel of sorts that included one of the films' stars, Luis Tosar. Also, got to see the film in Santa Cruz with Hernan Meyer, one of the stars of my own film, NO WAY TO SAY GOODBYE. He definitely had a first hand perspective and it was cool to hear his take on it. CARLOS aka CARLOS THE JACKAL - FRANCE / GERMANY Saw this one on my birthday with a bunch of friends in BA. Was really stoked. Walked away half impressed. I enjoyed the worldiness of it, the globetrotting aspect. Also, there were some worthwhile badass scenes. But overall, a B rating. I saw the "short" theatrical version, which was 140 minutes. SOUL KITCHEN - GERMANY A visiting friend from the US tipped me off about this one. Hot director Faith Akin directs a fun, wild picture dripping with cool music and funny characters. A tasty desert of a film. Well made, sweet but not to sweet and a lot of rich flavor. I AM LOVE (EL AMANTE) - ITALY Tilda Swinton is great in this, but my favorite part of the film was the food. It was like food was sexy to the director, he focused on it like a sex scene or something. Not to mention, there was a great sex scene in this one. Sexy, subtle, delicate. Muah. and two older films (not released in the past year) MACARTHURS CHILDREN (1984) - JAPAN Never before have I seen such a carefully composed film. Each shot you can tell was perfectly composed. Slow, yes, but worth it. Plot is a bit cumbersome. There are some funny moments but the careful composition is what I took away from this one. CINEMA PARADISO (1988) A classic I should've seen a while ago. Sentimental, joyous, a lot of heart. But a bit boring and overtly simple I thought. So sue me.