What to Watch Online This Week on Cinema Tropical
Premiering This Week:
Cinema Tropical Presents:
‘Music+Film: Brazil 2020’
Presented annually since 2008, Cinema Tropical’s popular series Music+Film: Brazil has showcased numerous screenings featuring the best of Brazilian music and a who’s who of performers from every corner of the South American country. The 2020 special online edition of the series, programmed by Mary Jane Marcasiano, is no exception. Co-presented by Brasil Summerfest, and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) at New York University, with additional support by Helio Campos.
GILBERTO GIL ANTHOLOGY VOL. 1
(Gilberto Gil Antologia Vol.1, Lula Buarque de Hollanda, Brazil, 2019, 73 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles. North American premiere)
Premieres Tuesday, September 29
WHERE ARE YOU, JOÃO GILBERTO?
(Wo bist Du, João Gilberto?,
Georges Gachot, Switzerland/ France/Germany, 2018, 107 min. In German, Portuguese, English and French with English subtitles. New York premiere)
Premieres Tuesday, September 29
BEYOND IPANEMA: BRAZILIAN WAVES IN GLOBAL MUSIC
(Guto Barra and Béco Dranoff, Brazil/USA, 2009, 89 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
Free stream on Monday, October 5
Broadcast Premiere:
THE INFILTRATORS
(Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera, USA, 2020, 90 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
Winner of the Next Innovator and Audience Awards at the Sundance Film Festival and the Cinema Tropical Award for Best U.S. Latinx Film, The Infiltrators is a docu-thriller that tells the true story of young immigrants who are detained by Border Patrol and thrown into a shadowy for-profit detention center—on purpose. Marco and Viri are members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a group of radical DREAMers who are on a mission to stop unjust deportations. And the best place to stop deportations, they believe, is in detention. However, when Marco and Viri attempt a daring reverse ‘prison break,’ things don’t go according to plan. By weaving together documentary footage of the real infiltrators with re-enactments of the events inside the detention center, The Infiltrators tells an incredible and thrilling true story in a genre-defying new cinematic language.
Films Available to Stream Now:
Latin American Films at the 58th New York Film Festival:
THERE ARE NOT THIRTY-SIX WAYS TO SHOW A MAN GETTING ON A HORSE
(No existen treinta y seis maneras de mostrar cómo un hombre se sube a un caballo, Nicolás Zukerfeld, Argentina, 2020, 63 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
Streaming through September 30
THE TANGO OF THE WIDOWER AND ITS DISTORTING MIRROR
(El tango del viudo y su espejo deformante, Raúl Ruiz and Valeria Sarmiento, Chile, 2020, 64 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Streaming through September 28
ISABELLA
(Matías Piñeiro, Argentina, 2020, 80 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Streaming through September 29
I CARRY YOU WITH ME
(Te llevo conmigo, Heidi Ewing, USA/Mexico, 2020, 111 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Streaming October 2
HER NAME WAS EUROPA
(Anja Dornieden and Juan David González Monroy, Germany, 2020, 76 min. In Dutch and English with English subtitles)
Streaming September 29 – October 4
THE LOBBY
(Heinz Emigholz, Germany/ Argentina, 2020, 76 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Streaming October 1 – 6
‘Program 6: Here and Elsewhere’
AQUÍ Y ALLÁ (Melisa Liebenthal, Argentina/France, 2019, 21 min.)
APIYEMIYEKî? (Ana Vaz, Brazil/France/Portugal/Netherlands, 2019, 27 min.)
Streaming October 2 – 7
POV Presents:
THE SILENCE OF OTHERS
(Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar, Spain/France/Canada/USA, 2019, 90. min. In Spanish and Catalan with English subtitles)
The Silence of Others reveals the epic struggle of victims of Spain’s 40-year dictatorship under General Franco as they continue to seek justice four decades into democracy. Filmed over six years, the film follows the survivors organizing the groundbreaking “Argentine Lawsuit” to fight a state-imposed amnesia of crimes against humanity, where the emotional court battle uncovers a country still divided over its fascist history. Shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature for the 91st Academy Awards. Winner, 2019 Goya Award for Best Documentary Film. A co-production of ITVS. Co-presented by Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB).
Daily Recommendation:
CLANDESTINE CHILDHOOD
(Infancia clandestina, Benjamín Avila, Argentina/Spain/Brazil, 2012, 110 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
1979: after years of exile, 12-year-old Juan and his family return to Argentina under fake identities. Juan’s parents are members of a left-wing political organization which is fighting against the Military Junta that rules the country. Because of their activities they are in constant danger of being captured by the oppressive government regime. But young Juan is still a child, and his world consists of his friends at school and his crush, Maria. He knows his family’s survival is at stake and accepts this reality until one day he is told that they must flee again immediately, and leave his friends and Maria behind without an explanation. This is a story about militancy, undercover life, and love. The story of a clandestine childhood.
Daily Recommendation:
SANTA & ANDRÉS
(Carlos Lechuga, Cuba, 2016, 105 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Set in 1983, during a time of political turmoil and oppression in the Caribbean island, Santa & Andrés takes place in the rural mountain region of Eastern Cuba where Andrés—a noncompliant gay writer in his fifties (played by Eduardo Martinez)—resides after he has been blacklisted by the government for having “ideological problems.” After a big event occurs someone reliable must be appointed to watch over him and make sure he does not get out and make any public political statement. Santa—a country girl in her thirties who works on a farm—is assigned to the task.
Daily Recommendation:
SÓLO CON TU PAREJA
(Alfonso Cuarón, Mexico, 1991, 94 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Before Alfonso Cuarón helmed the international sensation Y tu mamá también, he made his mark on Mexican cinema with the ribald and lightning-quick contemporary social satire Sólo con tu pareja. Don Juan–ish yuppie Tomás Tomás (Daniel Giménez Cacho, from Bad Education) spends his nights juggling so many beautiful women that he can’t keep their names straight—until one of his many conquests, a spurned nurse, gives him a taste of his own medicine. Beautifully filmed in widescreen by the inimitable Emmanuel Lubezki (The New World), Cuarón’s wildly successful feature debut (which has never been released in the U.S.) gave voice to a Mexican middle-class that had remained largely unseen onscreen, and surveys contemporary urban sexual mores with style to spare.
Daily Recommendation:
IN THE PIT
(En el hoyo, Juan Carlos Rulfo, Mexico, 2006, 84 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Using state of the art digital filmmaking, “gorgeous time lapse sequences” (NY Newsday), and a “terrific soundtrack” (Time Out) made of a “magical montage of found sounds” (Chicago Sun-Times), Juan Carlos Rulfo’s In the Pit is a powerful documentary about the personal struggles behind the construction of a massive elevated freeway. With lyricism and compassion, this Sundance Film Festival prize-winning film reveals the medieval nightmare underneath an ambitious utopian dream: Mexico City’s Periférico Beltway, more than ten miles of elevated reinforced concrete, supported by massive towers, that has been planned to both soar above and link the city’s densely gridlocked urban neighborhoods. But while the roadway is a spectacular miracle of modern architectural design, it comes with a human cost. A film of “unlikely beauty” (Variety), In the Pit lays bare “the secret human face of an inhuman world” (New York Times).
Daily Recommendation:
WORKERS
(José Luis Valle, Mexico/Germany, 2013, 122 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
After a whole life of work at Tijuana, Rafael and Lidia are victims of injustice against their rights and dignity: Rafael learns that due to a paperwork mistake, he will not be entitled to his retirement pension. And Lidia, she finds out that her employers will leave the entire heirloom to the dog. The fiction debut from Salvadoran-born director José Luis Valle, this deadpan comedy is an impressive masterclass in emotional subtlety and sense of timing. Minimalist in capturing the inner worlds of each character, Workers offers a biting, urgent commentary on the alienating ethics of modern labor.
Daily Recommendation:
NEIGHBORING SOUNDS
(O som ao redor, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazil, 2012, 131 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
Set in a middle and upper middle class residential block in Recife, a city of over 4 millions in northeast Brazil, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s sharply observed debut feature lays bare the inner dynamics of Brazilian society. Behind a peaceful and comfortable façade is the collective fear of violence and crimes brought in by outsiders. Residents who enjoy a privileged life join forces to hire a security team to keep watch over the neighborhood. Fragmented vignettes piece together a complex world defined by class and racial disparity. With three features to date, including Aquarius (2016) and Bacurau (2019), Mendonça has firmly earned a reputation for his penetrating takes on Brazilian life.
Virtual Theatrical and VOD Release:
THE GARDEN LEFT BEHIND
(Flavio Alves, USA/Brazil, 2019, 88 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
The Garden Left Behind tells the story of Tina (Carlie Guevara in a breakthrough performance), a young Mexican trans woman who lives with her grandmother Eliana (Miriam Cruz) in New York City as she navigates her transition and the pair struggle to build a life for themselves as undocumented immigrants. As Tina begins the process of transitioning, Eliana struggles to understand Tina and fears that their life together in America is no longer what they bargained for. Tina finds camaraderie in a small but mighty transgender advocate group but soon ends up having to fight for the life that she’s meant to live—facing violent threats, seemingly insurmountable medical costs, questions about her legal immigration status, and increasing skepticism from the man she loves. As she begins to lose all hope, Tina has unknowingly become the only hope for a shy young man who has been watching her closely from afar.
VOD Release:
I HATE NEW YORK
(Gustavo Sánchez, Spain, 2018, 75 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
New York, 2007-2017. Over a decade, the director delves into the private world of Amanda Lepore, Chloe Dzubilo, Sophia Lamar and T De Long; four artists and transgender activists from the city’s underground scene. Little by little, their testimonies reveal fragments of a past –sometimes dramatic, always fascinating and simply extraordinary– that formed their identities and transformed their lives. Their words, fears and hopes take the audience from an outsider’s point of view to being emotionally invested in their destiny.