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pijaomonkey
Reviews
La virgen de los sicarios (2000)
A second view leads to disappointment.
The first time I saw this movie I was so excited to see a film not only touch on the subject of violence that is all to prominent in Colombia, but also see parts of Medellin, the beloved city of my family, on screen. However, when I watched for a second time and perhaps with a little more objectivity. I felt the movie lacked in a few areas. For one, the movie does seem to drag in prolonged scenes of silence that doesn't seem to serve even a dramatic effect. This makes the movie feel slow and boring. Also, the central relationships between Fernando and his two young lovers seem a little unplausible. Fernando is an aging writer with the rhetoric of a intellectual and a cynical academic. The young lovers, Alexis and Wilmar, are to young, too hip, and to modern for it to be believable that they would have such an intimate and profound relationship with Fernando. The ending also leaves with a void and a sense that there is something else that was left out. The acting is good, very natural in the dialogue but some of the non-verbal actions of the characters ( such as love-making or the killing) can seem a little rehearsed. The cinematography is beautiful and it uses the city of Medellin to the fullest as another character in the backdrop of the movie. It also gives a glimpse into the everyday life of the Colombian city culture with the infusion of music and outdoor shots of the people and places in the city. I like the fact that it doesn't hold back in portraying the violence it addresses as raw and common, but sometimes it seems a little unreal or dramatized.
Buenos Aires Vice Versa (1996)
A raw and moving look at a complex city.
Buenos Aires Viceversa is not a movie to watch for a good time. Although it has its humor (most of which can be easily lost if you are not fluent in Spanish) the film can be dark and even confusing at times. It is definitely artsy and it makes a statement about the turbulent political undertones that still linger in Buenos Aires two decades after a devastating dictatorship. However, the film excels in the honest and raw manner in which it presents its many characters. The acting is so good and the shots used are so simple and untouched that you almost get lost in these peoples' lives and you feel as though your eavesdropping on them. Despite the numerous characters, each one is given depth and personality through the course of the film without falling into the traps of stereotyping. Daniela, in particular, is revealed to us mind and body as the film progresses, and by the end you are moved by the shocking ending which mostly effects her. What I didn't like about the movie was how confusing it can be at times. You're really better off if you have some knowledge about the socio-political situation in Argentina in terms of the legacy of the dictatorship and the consequences from so many "desaparecidos". My knowledge on the subject is somewhat limited so I feel I didn't capture the message entirely. The film is interesting however, and the acting, like I said, is superb. Although I might have missed out on some of the message due to my lack of understanding on the subject of the "desaparecidos" it does raise my curiosity and that is a sign of a good movie.