Beyond Hollywood: A Wealth Of Latin American Films

Description

Earlier film S/DG focused mostly on American, Japanese and European films.  There is much impressive talent outside of Hollywood, and in particular, coming from Latin America.  For the past fifteen years the region has been producing exciting and marvelous work, and these filmmakers are on the vanguard of great cinema.  

Overall, Latin American film offers us new societal and cultural areas for film enjoyment and rich discussions.  For example, the Fall 2018 release of the critically-acclaimed film Roma, written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, re-emphasizes the quality of Latin American film. One critique:   "Roma finds writer-director Alfonso Cuarón in complete, enthralling command of his visual craft – and telling the most powerfully personal story of his career."  

Exciting films such as The Secret In Their Eyes, Like Water For Chocolate, City of God and Pan's Labyrinth have come out of Latin America.  Overall, these films challenge the traditional notions of politics, culture, identity and even mass entertainment.  Join us to watch and discuss the films of phenomenally talented directors such as Guillermo del Toro, Lucrecia Martel, Pedro Almodóvar and Alfonso Cuarón, among others, who have created new and engaging narratives and cinematic styles. Other fine Latin American films may be found at the annual Latin American Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film nominations.

Our core book by Isabel Maurer Queipo, Directory of World Cinema: Latin America (IB - Directory of World Cinema) addresses traditional and contemporary Latin American films for our consideration.    

Scope

We will view at home, and then discuss during the SDG sessions, fourteen selected films from Latin America.  Given the usual S/DG time constraints, this S/DG will take a broad—rather than a deep—look at selected films which critics and reviewers have identified as “important” or “influential”.  The desired outcome is to understand better these major Latin films, and their influences—within both film appreciation and film studies contexts.

Some Recommended Areas and Topics for Discussions (As taken from past film SDGs)

Remember that our Latin American films are much more than just the plot and storyline, the back stories on the production, or the cast members.

1. The Basics:

    — Year of Release

    — Producer, Director, Screenwriter(s), Cinematographer, Music/Composer, Editor 

    — The Cast

    — Awards

2. Place within Latin American film, and place within the overall “world of film.”  (viz., Does this film “stand up” over time? Was it a product of its time and fashion, or a unique work of art?)

3. Setting of the film and Plot summary (Brief descriptions)

4. This film’s unique characteristics, techniques or breakthroughs

5. Director's own commentary on the film—Summary

6. Various critics’ reviews and commentaries—Summaries

7. Discussion about the film’s:

    — Key themes, Symbology and Imagery

    — Influences:  Societal, Stylistic, Political, Philosophical, Religious or Market audiences

    — Interpretative frameworks (e.g., Auteur theory, Realism, Feminist film theory, etc.)

    — Messages, or political or social commentary

    — Screenplay/Screenwriting (Quality, uniqueness, …)

    — Establishment of Time and Place

    — Main and Supporting Characters (and were the roles well- or mis-cast?)

    — Mise-en-scène (composition, sets, props, actors, costumes, and lighting)

    — Cinematography

    — Montage (Assembly, Editing, Juxtapositioning or Special sequencing of shots)

    — Music/score

    — Special Effects

    — Ending, “loose ends”, ambiguities, disconnects, surprises, etc.

8. Selected Important/Interesting scenes to view in class (Limited to < 15 minutes total so we’re not just re-watching the movie).

Weekly Topics

Proposed Weekly Films—All available on Netflix, and some on Amazon Prime

  1. ROMA (2018)

  2. EL ABRAZO DE LA SERPIENTE (EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT) (2015)

  3. LA MUJER SIN CABEZA (THE HEADLESS WOMAN) (2008)

  4. EL ESPINAZO DEL DIABLO (THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE) (2001)

  5. STELLET LIJCHT/LUZ SILENCIOSA (SILENT LIGHT) (2007)

  6. Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (AND YOUR MOTHER TOO) (2001)

  7. UN CUENTO CHINO (CHINESE TAKE-AWAY) (2012)

  8. EL HIJO DE LA NOVIA (SON OF THE BRIDE) (2002)

  9. EL LABERINTO DEL FAUNO (PAN'S LABYRINTH) (2006)

  10. CIDADE DE DEUS (CITY OF GOD) ( 2003)

  11. EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS (THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES) (2010)

  12. AMORES PERROS (LOVE'S A BITCH) (2001)

  13. DIARIOS DE MOTOCICLETA ( THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES) (2004)

  14. LA NIÑA SANTA (THE HOLY GIRL) (2005)

Alternates to consider: COMO AGUA PARA CHOCOLATE ( LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE) (1992);  BOMBON: EL PERRO (2005);  EL TOPO (1970);  or PAJAROS DE VERANO ( BIRDS OF PASSAGE)) (2018)  

Bibliography

Core Book (available used):

Isabel Maurer Queipo, Directory of World Cinema: Latin America (IB - Directory of World Cinema,  Paperback, Intellect Ltd (August 15, 2013)

OR as an alternate if you like:

Rafael Hernandez, Splendors of Latin Cinema, 1st Edition, Praeger; (November 19, 2009)

Reference Books (available used):

Keith John Richards,Themes in Latin American Cinema: A Critical Survey, McFarland (July 20, 2011)

Deborah Shaw, The Three Amigos: The Transnational Filmmaking of Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Alfonso Cuarón, Manchester University Press; Reprint edition (April 1, 2015)

General References on Film Studies (available used):

Monaco, James, How to Read a Film: Movies, Media, and Beyond, 4th Edition, Oxford University Press, New York (2009)

Giannetti, Louis, Understanding Movies, 11th Edition or later, various publishers

Armer, Alan, Directing Television And Film, 2nd Edition, Wadsworth Publishing, Belmont, California, 1990

Websites:

http://sensesofcinema.com/issues/issue-89/  (Latin American Cinema Today: An Unsolved Paradox)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_American_cinema {Latin American Cinema]