What to Watch this Week on Cinema Tropical
This week, Cinema Tropical is thrilled to present our first in-person screening in over a year: a special 20th anniversary presentation of Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron‘s landmark film Y Tu Mamá También starring Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna.
Taking place this Sunday, May 30 as part of the grand opening of the Sag Harbor Cinema in eastern Long Island, the screening is the first in a series of events hosted by SHC as a tribute to the 20th anniversary of Cinema Tropical — just in time for summer!
The film will be followed by a Q&A with Carlos Cuarón, the co-writer of the film, and preceded by the panel “Cinema Para Todos – Latin American Cinema Today and Tomorrow” focusing on the creative explosion of Latin American and U.S. Latinx cinema in the past two decades.
And our TropiChat 20 conversation series featuring key Latin American filmmakers also continues this week: join us this Wednesday, May 26 at 7pm EDT for a very exciting “bate-papo” with the multi-award winning Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho. Internationally-renowned for his widely acclaimed, and record breaking, films Neighboring Sounds, Aquarius, and of course, Bacurau (co-directed with Juliano Dornelles), this is bound to be a conversation you do not want to miss.
20th Anniversary Screening at Sag Harbor Cinema:
Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN
(Alfonso Cuarón, Mexico, 2001, 106 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
In collaboration with Cinema Tropical, Sag Harbor Cinema (SHC) is proud to present a special 20th anniversary viewing of Y Tu Mamá También, the landmark film by director Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Roma). A raunchy rode comedy starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, Y Tu Mamá También combined sexually explicit subject matter with emotional warmth to offer a moving look at human desire and the nature of friendship. The film follows Mexico City teenagers Julio and Tenoch, best friends from different classes who, after their girlfriends jet off to Italy for the summer, are bewitched by a gorgeous older woman from Spain they meet at a wedding. When she agrees to accompany them on a trip to a faraway beach, the three form an increasingly intense and sensual alliance that ultimately strips them both physically and emotionally bare.
The screening will be introduced by Cinema Tropical’s co-founder Carlos A. Gutiérrez, and will be followed by a Q&A with Carlos Cuarón, the co-writer of the film. Free reception to follow in the Green Room, sponsored by Hornitos.
Sunday, May 30, 7pm — Buy Tickets
Preceded by the panel discussion “Cinema Para Todos – Latin American Cinema Today and Tomorrow” focusing on the creative explosion of Latin American and U.S. Latinx cinema of the past years.
In Theaters:
Theatrical Release:
NEW ORDER
(Michel Franco, Mexico, 2020, 88 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Conceived six years ago, Michel Franco’s near-future dystopia feels ripped from headlines that haven’t yet been written. While protests rage in the streets, Marianne’s high society family prepares for her wedding. At first, only splatters of green paint and the appearance of Rolando, a former employee seeking emergency medical funds, intrude on the festivities. But soon the party is unable to keep the reckoning at bay, and what follows is a swift disintegration of law and order defined first by class lines, then by disastrous government recapitulation. The Mexican film was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
Learn More
Available to Stream Now:
Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2021:
BAJO FUEGO
(Sjoerd Van Grootheest and Irene Vélez-Torres, Colombia, 2020, 85 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
In November 2016, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the office of President Juan Manuel Santos signed the Colombian peace deal. Many hoped this would mark an end to 52 years of armed conflict. For farmers in the coca-growing region of Cauca however, this “peace” has proven to be short-lived. Bajo Fuego follows “cocaleros” as they mobilize to protect their livelihoods after the government instructs them to destroy their crops as part of the “war on drugs.” As new armed groups arise, the promised peace turns out to be an illusion for these farmers whose lives are threatened and who are displaced from their homes. Bajo Fuego exposes the lived reality behind the politics that has left many Colombians in a continued state of war.
FORGET ME NOT
(Olivier Bernier, USA, 2021, 100 min. In English)
As 3-year-old Emilio is ready to start school, his family finds itself cornered in the United States’ most segregated education system – New York City public schools. Fighting for their son’s right to an inclusive education – where Emilio and other children with disabilities would be taught alongside their classmates without disabilities – film director Olivier and his wife Hilda investigate the personal stories of students and their parents in the US. With children with disabilities worldwide less likely to attend school, these experiences expose just a handful of the widespread injustices currently taking place in the educational system and beyond for kids with disabilities. Forget Me Not reveals a path to a more inclusive society that starts with welcoming diversity in the classroom.
Available to stream through Thursday, May 27
Streaming Premiere of the Films by Eugenio Polgovsky:
RESURRECTION
(Resurrección, Eugenio Polgovsky,
Mexico, 2016, 93 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
LIGHTBRYINTH
(Eugenio Polgovsky, Mexico, 2016, 7 min.)
SUCCESS
(Eugenio Polgovsky, Mexico, 2014, 3 min.)
MEXICAN RITUAL
(Mitote, Eugenio Polgovsky, Mexico, 2012, 54 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
THE INHERITORS
(Los herederos, Eugenio Polgovsky,
Mexico, 2008, 90 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
TROPIC OF CANCER
(Trópico de Cáncer, Eugenio Polgovsky, Mexico, 2004, 52 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Watch Now
Daily Recommendation:
PARADISE
(Paraíso, Mariana Chenillo, Mexico, 2013, 105 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
“Mariana Chenillo’s sophomore feature displays a warmth and delight in life that couldn’t be further from the dark humor of her acclaimed debut, Nora’s Will. This unpretentious romantic comedy about a happy overweight couple from the suburban middle-class neighborhood Satélite (the “paradise” of the title) takes refreshingly unexpected turns, as their move to Mexico City launches them both on a journey of self-discovery.” —Film at Lincoln Center
Daily Recommendation:
HISTORY OF FEAR
(Historia del miedo, Benjamín Naishtat, Argentina/Uruguay/France/Germany/Qatar, 2014, 79 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
“How strong does a fence need to be, or how loud must an alarm blare, or how brightly should an open field be lit for us to feel safe? The impossibility of a definitive answer to these kinds of questions lies at the heart of Benjamín Naishtat’s unsettling feature debut. Set in an economically destabilized Argentina, the film weaves stories of characters from multiple social strata into an interlocking narrative of paranoia and fear. The isolation of wealth and detachment from neighbors causes insecurities to fester, feeding a ‘security consumption’ culture and all its incumbent paraphernalia. As we begin to recognize and sympathize with the situations depicted, the most troubling realization of all arrives: we are doing it to ourselves.” —New Directors/New Films
TropiChat 20:
Kleber Mendonça Filho
Kleber Mendonça Filho began his career as a film critic and journalist, writing for newspapers and magazines, as well as for his own site, CinemaScópio. As a director, he experimented with fiction, documentary, and video clips in the 1990s. He migrated from video to digital and 35 mm film in the 2000s. Over the course of that decade, he made several short films, including 2002’s A Menina do Algodão (codirected by Daniel Bandeira), as well as a feature-length documentary, 2008’s Crítico. Neighboring Sounds (2013) was Mendonça’s first feature-length drama, and it won numerous awards. A. O. Scott of the New York Times included it in his list of the ten best films of 2012. Since then, Mendonça’s films (including his latest, Bacurau, co-directed with Juliano Dornelles) have received more than 120 awards in Brazil and abroad, with selections in festivals such as New York, Copenhagen, and Cannes.
Wednesday, May 26, 7pm EDT on Facebook Live
Theatrical and Digital Release: BLAST BEAT
(Esteban Arango, USA, 2019, 105 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
Colombian brothers Carly (Mateo Arias) and Mateo (Moisés Arias) prepare to move to the United States for their last years of high school. Metalhead Carly has his heart set on attending the Georgia Aerospace Institute and working for NASA, while his supportive parents (Diane Guerrero and Wilmer Valderrama) seize the chance to escape the political turmoil in Colombia and chase the American Dream. At first, Mateo is the only one to express any cynicism, but when the reality of their new life sinks in, the family struggles to adapt as their expectations are shattered. When events threaten to derail their future, Carly’s dream becomes his only lifeline.
Virtual Theatrical Release:
MARIGHELLA
(Wagner Moura, 2019, Brazil, 155 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
A searing and energized portrait of one of Brazil’s most divisive historical figures, Afro-Brazilian poet and politician, the legendary Carlos Marighella – played by famous actor/ musician Seu Jorge (City of God). Driven to fight against the erosion of civil and human rights following the CIA-backed military coup of 1964 and the brutal, racist right-wing dictatorship that followed, the revolutionary leaves behind his wife and son to take up arms, becoming a notorious enemy to the power structure. Relentlessly pursued as the government’s number one enemy, Marighella cleverly evades capture, all the while continuing to inflict damage and further enraging his sadistic pursuers.
POV Broadcast Premiere:
THROUGH THE NIGHT
(Loira Limbal, USA, 2020, 75 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 Puerto-Rican born, Bronx-based Afro-Dominican 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.
Streaming for free through June 9
Daily Recommendation:
THE LAST SUMMER OF THE BOYITA
(El último verano de la Boyita, Julia Solomonoff, Argentina/ Spain/ France, 2009, 93 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
A visually-stunning and beautifully-acted Argentine drama, The Last Summer of the Boyita is a tender portrayal of the unexpected revelations that affect two children as they begin the transition to adolescence. ‘La Boyita’, a little bubble-shaped caravan, has always been a place of refuge, games and confessions for Jorgelina and her older sister Luciana. As Luciana enters puberty she begins to seek privacy and independence from her adoring sibling. Rather than tag along after her sister at the beach, Jorgelina decides to spend her summer holidays with her father in the country. There she develops a close friendship with Mario, a local farm boy and jockey. As the children explore the sun-drenched Pampas prairies and each other, they begin to question the similarities they share, and what makes them different.
Virtual Theatrical Release:
MY DARLING SUPERMARKET
(Meu Querido Supermercado, Tali Yankelevich, Brazil/Denmark, 2019, 80 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
Grocery store employees, today’s essential workers, get star treatment in My Darling Supermarket (made prior to the pandemic). Set within a bright, colorful supermercado in São Paulo, Brazil, this charming, funny documentary glides through a seemingly endless array of vibrantly designed shelves and displays, but it’s the store’s employees who take center stage. Rodrigo (in bread) discusses quantum physics and parallel universes; Santo (a forklift operator) builds video game cities; a security officer tracks possible shoplifters on closed circuit TVs (“Two suspects near the condensed milk!”); Ivan (a baker) likes to dress as Goku, a Manga character; and then there’s the artist who lovingly paints the prices. A panoply of individuals with fears, hopes, and questions about their place in the universe are celebrated in a quirky portrait that juxtaposes their idiosyncrasies with the assumed mundanity of bringing food to our table.