What to Watch On Cinema Tropical This Week, Jan 4-11
Films Available to Stream Now:
Daily Recommendation:
BRIMSTONE & GLORY
(Viktor Jakovleski, USA/Mexico, 2017, 67 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
ESPN will debut the next installment in the Peabody and Emmy award-winning 30 for 30 series, The Infinite Race, on December 15. Directed by Bernardo Ruiz (Harvest Season, Reportero), the documentary explores the story of the Tarahumara, an indigenous community in Mexico, famed for their legendary running ability, and their preference for running barefoot, who inspired an ultrarunning craze across the world, and whatâs happened as their homes and communities were ravaged by drug cartels and violence.
Daily Recommendation:
DAYS OF THE WHALE
(Los dĂas de la ballena, Catalina Arroyave, Colombia, 2019, 80 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Set in the bustling city of MedellĂn, Colombiaâs second-largest city, Days of the Whale follows Cristina (Laura TobĂłn) and Simon (David EscallĂłn), two young graffiti artists who tag spots around where they live. SimoÌn comes from a more working-class background and lives with his grandmother. They are part of an art collective that is the center for a group of young revolutionaries. Cristina is a college kid from an upper-middle-class family who finds herself living with her dad because her mother is a journalist who moved to Spain when threatened by the cityâs criminal street gangs. The love that unites them, and their friendship with other artists keeps Cristina from leaving the city as tensions rise when Cristina and Simonâs rebellious, restless spirit leads them to defy this same gang by painting a mural over a threatening tag at the center.
Daily Recommendation:
THE THREE DEATHS OF MARISELA ESCOBEDO
(Las tres muertes de Marisela Escobedo, Carlos PĂ©rez Osorio, Mexico/USA, 2020, 109 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Directed by Carlos PĂ©rez Osorio, The Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo / Las tres muertes de Marisela Escobedo tells the true story of a mother’s tireless crusade to jail her daughter’s murderer after Mexico’s justice system failed to do so. When RubĂ, a sixteen-year-old teenager is murdered by her boyfriend in Ciudad JuĂĄrez, Marisela Escobedo began a tireless crusade to achieve the capture and trial of the man who killed her daughter. With the support of family and friends, Marisela traveled the country for two years, conducted her own investigations, and faced criminal organizations and corrupt officials. Throughout her fight, she risked her life exposing the failures of the justice system in Mexico, a country where ten women they are killed every day and most of the cases go unpunished. The film follows Escobedo during the two years that she dedicated to carry out her own research to clarify the femicide of her daughter. The film also depicts her perseverance to find the truth, and her unshakable strength that continue to be an example for those who knew its history, and those who are about to discover it.
Daily Recommendation:
HEROIC LOSERS
(La odisea de los giles, Sebastian Borensztein, Argentina/Spain, 2019, 117 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
The top-grossing Argentine film of 2019 stars father and son Ricardo and Chino DarĂn for the first time together on the big screen. Set in 2001, this delightful heist dramedy follows a group of friends and neighbors who pool all of their savings to reactivate an agricultural cooperative in their small town. The day after they deposit the group’s money in the bank, the banking system collapses, and they lose it all. But they soon find out that they are not only victims of the country-wide crisis, they have been scammed by an unscrupulous lawyer and bank manager who were poised to take advantage of the situation. This group of everymen and women band together and put a plan into action to recover whatâs rightfully theirs.
Daily Recommendation:
ROMA
(Alfonso CuarĂłn, Mexico/USA, 2018, 135 min. In Spanish and Mixtec with English subtitles)
In Alfonso CuarĂłnâs autobiographically inspired film, set in Mexico City in the early â70s, we are placed within the physical and emotional terrain of a middle-class family whose center is quietly and unassumingly held by its beloved live-in nanny and housekeeper (Yalitza Aparicio). The cast is uniformly magnificent, but the real star of ROMA is the world itself, fully present and vibrantly alive, from sudden life-changing events to the slightest shifts in mood and atmosphere. CuarĂłn tells us an epic story of everyday life while also gently sweeping us into a vast cinematic experience, in which time and space breathe and majestically unfold. Shot in breathtaking black and white and featuring a sound design that represents something new in the medium, Roma is a truly visionary work.
Daily Recommendation:
CANOA
(Felipe Cazals, Mexico, 1976, 115 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
One of Mexicoâs most highly regarded works of political cinema, Canoa: A Shameful Memory reimagines a real-life incident that had occurred just eight years before its release, when a group of urban university employees on a hiking trip were viciously attacked by residents of the village of San Miguel Canoa who had been manipulated by a corrupt priest into believing the travelers were communist revolutionaries. Director Felipe Cazals adopts a gritty documentary style to narrate the events in Canoa while referencing the climate of political repression that would lead to the massacre of student protesters in Mexico City shortly thereafter. The resulting film is a daring commentary on ideological manipulation, religious fanaticism, and mass violence, as well as a visceral expression of horror.
Daily Recommendation:
VIDEOFILIA (AND OTHER VIRAL SYNDROMES)
(Videofilia (y otros sĂndromes virales), Juan Daniel F. Molero, Peru/USA, 2015, 102 mins. In Spanish with English subtitles)
The first Peruvian film to ever win the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival, Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes)Â follows Luz, a teenage misfit from Lima who meets online Junior, a weird slacker who is obsessed with conspiracy theories, Mayan prophecies of the end of the world, and underground porn. They try to hook up in the real life but supernatural events start to unfold. Set in Lima, Juan Daniel F. Moleroâs exhilarating debut fiction film is a playful mashup of internet cafes, slackers, not-so-innocent schoolgirls, amateur porn, Google Glass, acid trips, and guinea pigs as extras in an exorcism.
Daily Recommendation:
A SORT OF FAMILYÂ
(Una especie de familia, Diego Lerman, Argentina/ Brazil/ France/ Poland, 2017, 96 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Legal adoption can be a long, laborious, and exhausting process. Its frustrations and disappointments often push eager would-be parents to find other arrangements. Diego Lermanâs latest feature, A Sort of Family, follows one determined woman as she navigates the complex world of child adoption in Argentinaâs Misiones province. Malena (BĂĄrbara Lennie), a doctor, is overjoyed when she learns that the woman whose child she intends to adopt is due to give birth soon. But after she travels from Buenos Aires to be present for the occasion, it becomes clear that the process will not be a smooth one â the biological motherâs family suddenly demands an extra $10,000. Urged by both the doctor at the clinic and a lawyer, Malena enlists the help of her estranged husband Mariano (Claudio Tolcachir), who has been hesitant to adopt a child under the coupleâs current circumstances. Through their experiences, Lerman exposes a legally and morally ambiguous system sustained by the complicity of medical and legal professionals.
Virtual Theatrical Release:
THREE SUMMERS
(TrĂȘs VerĂ”es, Sandra Kogut, Brazil, 2019, 94 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
Over a trio of summers, a caretaker for luxury condominiums (Regina CasĂ©) relies on her resourcefulness and her eye for opportunity to take advantage of whatever comes her way, in Sandra Kogutâs (Campo Grande) humorous and inventive episodic feature. Showcasing the rare talents of Brazilian acting legend Regina CasĂ© â star of The Second Mother and TIFF â00 selection Me You Them â the latest feature from director Sandra Kogut (Campo Grande, TIFF â15) is a brilliant comedy about gross class disparity and the infinite resourcefulness of those who can never take anything for granted. CasĂ© plays MadĂĄ, the fifty-something caretaker for a cluster of luxury beachside condos owned by a wealthy Rio de Janeiro family. Unfolding over the course of three consecutive summers â 2015 to 2017 â the film follows MadĂĄ as she invests in a roadside snack kiosk while tending to the every need of her condescending employers, becomes a bystander in a major money-laundering scandal, and eventually launches a whole new career.
Virtual Theatrical Release:
THE WEASELSâ TALE
(El cuento de las comadrejas, Juan José Campanella, Argentina/Spain, 2018, 129 min. In Spanish with English subtitles
From Juan JosĂ© Campanella, the director of the Oscar Award-winning The Secret in Their Eyes, comes The Weaselsâ Tale / El cuento de las comadrejas. a comedic thriller that stars a bumper crop of well-known older Argentine actors. The film is the story of a group of four long-time friends, including a used-to-be-famous actress, her now disabled husband and an actor as well, who she eclipsed, and the sharp-tongued screenwriter and director of her greatest hits. Their coexistence is menaced by a young couple who, feigning to be lost, slowly insinuate themselves into their lives. Itâs Sunset Boulevard meets The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, with a Latin twist. Financial gain, seduction, betrayal, and memories run amok are the elements that create the recipe for this delightful game of cat⊠and weasel.
Broadcast Premiere:
THE INFINITE RACE
(Bernardo Ruiz, USA, 2020, 70 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
ESPN will debut the next installment in the Peabody and Emmy award-winning 30 for 30 series, The Infinite Race, on December 15. Directed by Bernardo Ruiz (Harvest Season, Reportero), the documentary explores the story of the Tarahumara, an indigenous community in Mexico, famed for their legendary running ability, and their preference for running barefoot, who inspired an ultrarunning craze across the world, and whatâs happened as their homes and communities were ravaged by drug cartels and violence.
Virtual Theatrical Release:
THROUGH THE NIGHT:
(Loira Limbal, USA, 2020, 72 min. In English)
To make ends meet, people in the U.S. are working longer hours across multiple jobs. This modern reality of non-stop work has resulted in an unexpected phenomenon: the flourishing of 24-hour daycare centers. Through the Night, a documentary by Bronx-based Afro-Latina DJ, filmmaker, and film executive Loira Limbal, explores the personal cost of our modern economy through the stories of two working mothers and a child care provider – whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center.
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