I hope all of you enjoy this blog with two categories (Cinema and documentaries information and a second one with different tasks for English classes). You will be able to see interesting cinema reviews about films related to different topics, videos, documentaries,songs, texts…
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, mime (US: pantomime) and title cards. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with the perfection of the Audion amplifier tube and the introduction of the Vitaphone system. After the release of The Jazz Singer in 1927, “talkies” became more and more commonplace. Within a decade, popular widespread production of silent films had ceased.
Link to the lectures and information about Silent Film…in Fundación Juan March
*Silent Cinema
Primer ciclo: Melodrama y Star-system
Short films:
3- Barney Oldfield´s race for a life (Mack Sennett)
Barney Oldfield’s Race for a Life (1913) is a silent comedy short, directed and produced by Mack Sennett and starring Sennett, Mabel Normand, and Barney Oldfield as himself. It is considered one of the earliest to create the common archetypal silent film plot of a villain tying a young damsel to the tracks of an oncoming locomotive.
[edit]Plot
Legend Barney Oldfield stars in this early Sennett comedy. He races a speeding locomotive to rescue Mabel Normand who plays a damsel in distress tied up on the tracks by evil villain Ford Sterling.
City Lights – review (7 minutes)
City Lights (Charlie Chaplin)
To Know a bit more about the actor Charlie Chaplin, you can read this short page in Cashiers du Cinema (one of the best magazines about cinema)
And if you still want to know more about the beginning of the Cinema world, learn a bit more about this woman: Lotte Reiniger
(June 2, 1899 – June 19, 1981) was a German silhouette animator and film director
Another great actor is Buster Keaton. Learn more about him in “The Art of the Gag”
*An example of a very good Norwegean film is “Markens Grode” by Gunnar Sommerfeldt (La bendición de la tierra). “Markens Grode” was based on a very successful book written by the Norwegian Nobel Prize writer Herr Knut Hamsun
We will talk about all the above matters during the class. What do you think about all of them. For or Against original version…
As an example to talk about these points, here you can see a good example from the film Net Work directed by Sidney Lumet (1976)
1) Original vertion
2) Spanish version
Which version do your prefer and why?
What do you think about the translations and the dubbed version?
What do you think about the dubbing actor or voice over actor?
Would you like to know a bit more about this film after watching this clip?
4.Have a brief discussion about zombies eg do students know any films ,series, songs or videogames about zombies? Would they like to watch this series? Then tell them that you’re going to describe a scene from later in the same episode to them . Students should note down key words (not every word) while you say (something like)the following:
5. Students in pairs compare the words they’ve noted down. Then ask them if they want to ask any vocabulary questions. They will. Then they reconstruct the scene, using the present simple.
6-Tell students they are going to watch the scene, and they should find the differences between the description and the clip from 2.40 to almost the end. (*there are several differences).
Students predict what happens next. Play the scene until he hears the voice coming over the radio, and ask them to predict again. (In the next episode, the voice tells him the best route to take from the tank to a nearby meeting place. The police officer follows the instructions and meets the owner of the voice).
7. Now its their turn. Give students time to think about a scene from a film or series which sticks in their mind for some reason, and how to describe it. Help with vocabulary. Then they tell in pairs, and say whether they would like to watch their partner’s film / series.
B) Lion king Circle of Life
Count the number of different animals ie five elephants and three lions count as two animals.
Lyrics I Say a Little Prayer
The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup
I say a little pray for you
While combing my hair now,
And wondering what dress to wear now,
I say a little prayer for you
Forever, and ever, you’ll stay in my heart
and I will love you
Forever, and ever, we never will part
Oh, how I love you
Together, forever, that’s how it must be
To live without you
Would only meen heartbreak for me.
I run for the bus, dear,
While riding I think of us, dear,
I say a little prayer for you.
At work I just take time
And all through my coffee break-time,
I say a little prayer for you.
Forever, and ever, you’ll stay in my heart
and I will love you
Forever, and ever we never will part
Oh, how I’ll love you
Together, forever, that’s how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me.
I say a little prayer for you
I say a little prayer for you
My darling believe me, ( beleive me)
For me there is no one but you!
Please love me too (answer his pray)
And I’m in love with you (answer his pray)
Answer my prayer now babe (answer his pray)
Forever, and ever, you’ll stay in my heart
and I will love you
Forever, and ever we never will part
Oh, how I’ll love you
Together, forever, that’s how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me (oooooooooh)
I’ll stick to your heart
Straight to your heart
I can’t get to your heart
She said five seconds and you’re high
Straight to your heart
I can’t get to your heart
Thinking bout the right time
Talk in your head,
To be mine
Give you a sign
I don’t believe in you
You don’t believe in me
So how could you make me cry
Five seconds to your heart
Straight to your heart
I can’t get to your heart
There’s no way to get iron
Five seconds to your heart
Straight to your heart
I can’t get to your heart
Five seconds to your heart
straight to your heart
I can’t get to your heart
She said five seconds in your heart
Straight to the heart
I can’t to your heart
You keep loosing on
On a stream
Could you feel
When it comes it sounds like
And when it comes we kiss
When it comes it sounds like
And when it comes we kiss
Five seconds in your heart
Straight to the heart
I can’t get to your heart
She said five seconds in your heart
I can’t get to your heart
That’s no way to get it on
Five seconds in your heart
Straight to the heart I can’t to your heart
I’m not trying to make you cry
I don’t believe in you
You don’t believe in me
So how could you make me cry
That’s no way to get it on
I don’t know why
But I’m not trying to make you cry
Five seconds in your heart
Straight to your heart
I can’t get to your heart
Five seconds in your heart
Straight to the heart
I can’t get to your heart
That’s no way to get it on I don’t know why
But I’m not trying to make you cry
Five seconds in your heart
Straight to your heart
I can’t get to your heart
Five seconds in your heart
Straight to the heart
I can’t get to your heart
Lyrics to Imik Si Mik :
Imik si mik
afousse hou fousse
wink d’winou ira n’ftou
i will take the train
leave the sun for the rain
and come downtown
i will spend money and time
loose friends and cry
more than motherless child
i will come downtown to you now
………………………………………………………………………………….
Imik si mik
afousse hou fousse
wink d’winou ira n’ftou
lih t’sfa tassa inou
lih toumtz afoussinou
lih sfane iwaininou
lih toumtz afoussinou
imik si mik
afousse hou fousse
wink d’winou ira n’ftou
i will take the train
leave the sun for the rain
and come downtown
i will spend money and time
loose friends and cry
more than motherless child
i will come downtown to you now
so baby won’t you please open the door
and let me untill we can forget all
just you and me
forever downtown in the city
my love
my dear
my sweet baby
i need to see
to feel
to breath
your touch
your kiss
your smile
your lips
i need to see you
leave the sun for the rain
and come down town
Imik si mik
afousse hou fousse
Lyrics:
I was so high I did not recognize
The fire burning in her eyes
The chaos that controlled my mind
Whispered goodbye and she got on a plane
Never to return again
But always in my heart
This love has taken its toll on me *Take a toll = Have a negative impact on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won’t say goodbye anymore
I tried my best to feed her appetite
Keep her coming every night
So hard to keep her satisfied
Kept playing love like it was just a game
Pretending to feel the same
Then turn around and leave again
This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won’t say goodbye anymore
I’ll fix these broken things
Repair your broken wings
And make sure everything’s alright
My pressure on your hips
Sinking my fingertips
Into every inch of you
Cause I know that’s what you want me to do
This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won’t say goodbye anymore
This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And my heart is breaking in front of me
She said Goodbye too many times before
This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won’t say goodbye anymore…
There’s a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch,
It’s bringing me out the dark
Finally I can see your crystal clear
Go head and sell me out and I’ll lay your shit bare
See how I leave with every piece of you
Don’t underestimate the things that I will do
There’s a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch,
And it’s bring me out the dark
The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love they leave me breathless
I can’t help feeling
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart and soul
And you played it
To the beat
Baby I have no story to be told
But I’ve heard one of you
And I’m gonna make your head burn
Think of me in the depths of your despair
Making a home down there
It Reminds you of the home we shared
The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love they leave me breathless
I can’t help feeling
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart and soul
And you played it
To the beat
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart and soul
And you played it
To the beat
Throw your soul through every open door
Count your blessings to find what you look for
Turned my sorrow into treasured gold
You pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow
We could have had it all
We could have had it all
It all, it all it all,
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart and soul
And you played it
To the beat
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart and soul
And you played it
To the beat
MELODY GARDOT- Who will comfort me?
My soul is wearying
My soul is wearying
My soul is wearying
I said my soul is wearying
My soul is wearying
Beating down from all of my misery yeh
Oh Lord who will comfort me?
Gotta hold of my heart
Keeps me bound where the whole wide world is free yeh
Oh Lord who will comfort me?
My home is a wreakage a family ground
impli-ed in poverty yeh
Oh Lord who will comfort me
Review:
If you missed Gardot’s remarkable story when she released her debut, Worrisome Heart, in 2006, or the bestselling My One and Only Thrill in 2009, then here’s the quick version. She was knocked off of her bicycle when she was 19, suffered a broken pelvis and severe head and spinal injuries which have left her with memory problems, an unusual sense of time and a hypersensitivity to light. She had begun playing the piano in Philadelphia bars when she was 16 so one of her doctors suggested music therapy. She taught herself the guitar in hospital and – unable to tolerate the louder music she’d enjoyed before her accident – began writing quiet, jazzy songs.
Her sultry third album plays like a late-night, gipsy travelogue spiced with world music influences reflecting, we are told, “time spent in the deserts of Morocco, the tango bars of Buenos Aires, the beaches of Brazil and the streets of Lisboa”.
Produced by Brazilian composer and guitarist Heitor Pereira, and woven from wafts of intricately picked acoustic guitar, heat-hazy flutes and silky strings, it’s music that moves with the soft, supple drama of a flamenco dancer’s fan. Songs of wandering souls and aching hearts are embroidered with klezma clarinet, moody drifts of harmonica and castanet flourishes. Gardot’s dusky voice smoulders as it slinks and scats through the mix – never breaking a sweat but always in control as she sings in English, French and Portuguese.
By Helen Brown
Have a look to the different examples and choose one of then to do your presentation. Remenber you can also bring your own topic for the presentation Other kinds of architecture (read and click on the photos, videos…9
Painting with a stencil(plantilla) in the film The Return of Lancho (Guatemala)
The FUN THEORY
CARBONERO SINGING (canto del carbonero)
Remember you can choose any topic you are keen on and you can just take pictures from newspapers, photos or presents you have in your house… in order to speak for five minutes about you topic.
Example of a topic to Make a BIOGRAPHY (lesson 3)
Pianist Lang Lang (considered to be the best pianist player in the world) performing Tchaikovski´s piano concerto No.1 at 2009 National Memorial Day Concert with the National Symphony Orchestra
Lang Lang concert:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lang Lang after a performance at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, 2010
Lang Lang (Chinese: 郎朗; pinyin: Láng Lǎng; born 14 June 1982) is a New York-based Chinese concert pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. He is known for his concert performances, television, as well as releasing albums and soundtracks. Lang has done much to encourage children and young musicians to take an interest in classical music, especially through the international foundation he launched in New York in 2008.
3000 OBSTÁCULOS
28´34´´ Documental. 2011
Idioma Original: castellano/euskera
Subtítulos: Sí Director: ION ETXEZARRETA ESPARZA
Guión: ion etxezarreta esparza
Música Original: ernesto amondarain
retrato coral en el día a día de personas con minusvalías físicas:naiara,luisi,javier,entre la denuncia social y el afán de superación..
BLINDNESS (2008) Fernando Meirelles
Blindness
Runtime: 121 mins
Directors: Fernando Meirelles
Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga..
The film “explains a story full of moral dilemmas, more than the novel, where things are presented more in black and white. I tried to add more grays to the tale”, Meirelles explained, and he added that “this is a story that will raise tons of questions, but that doesn’t give concrete answers”. Mierelles
Review:
The catastrophe begins with a terrified Japanese businessman (Yusuke Iseya) who goes blind at the wheel of his luxury car, seeing only a milky whiteness, and passes his condition to an opportunist thief (Don McKellar) who is pretending to help him; the businessman is taken by his wife to an eye doctor (Mark Ruffalo) who is also treating a high-class prostitute (Alice Braga) who unwittingly passes the terrible plague to the barman (Gael García Bernal) at the hotel where she plies her trade – and so it goes on.
All these people, in this casual chain of human non-contact, are led like terrified animals into the sordid, hellish blindness camp: they neither knew nor much cared who they brushed up against in the teeming city, but now this sequence of indifference is transformed into a horribly important choreography of doom. The key fact is that one inmate, the doctor’s wife, played by Julianne Moore, can secretly see; she alone must bear the burden of observing how horrendous the world can become.
The world of the blindness camp is an unthinkable nightmare, but for all its horror and despair, it is not aimed at us with precisely the same realist stab as, say, Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men. As in the book, none of the characters is named and the occasional musing voiceover and comic interlude indicate that the proceedings are to be taken seriously, but somehow not entirely literally. When I first saw this, it reminded me of both George Romero’s zombie movies and Peter Shaffer’s stage-play Black Comedy; on a second viewing, this latter, absurdist quality predominates, although with a darker hue: the white blindness as black tragedy. Cinema is a visual medium, so no film version of Blindness could entirely reproduce its buried literary conceit of the “blind” reader having to imagine what the narrator is describing, and yet this film is an intelligent, tightly constructed, supremely confident adaptation.
*Interview- In the director´s chair (The Guardian)
The director of City of God and The Constant Gardener talks to Jason Solomons about his new film, Blindness, why he’s drawn to films where small characters battle huge problems, and working with his longtime director of photography César Charlone.
What do you think about the way blind people are treated in this film. Do you agree with the following commentaries?
Activists plan protest of movie ‘Blindness’
From BBC, AP/MSNBC:
The National Federation of the Blind has announced plans to stage protests against the movie “Blindness” at 75 theaters across the country when it opens this weekend.
The NFB says the movie, a Miramax Films release starring Julianne Moore, reinforces inaccurate stereotypes by portraying blind people as helpless, perpetually disoriented and unable to care for themselves.
“We face a 70 percent unemployment rate and other social problems because people don’t think we can do anything, and this movie is not going to help – at all,” said Christopher Danielsen, a spokesman for the NFB.
Based on a novel by Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago, the film depicts a mysterious epidemic that causes residents of a town to go blind, resulting in a collapse of the social order. Blind people are portrayed as quarantined in a mental asylum, attacking each other, soiling themselves and trading sex for food.
“The movie portrays blind people as monsters, and I believe it to be a lie,” said Marc Maurer, president of the NFB. “Blindness doesn’t turn decent people into monsters.”
BBC- Disable people demonstrate in Spain
After watching the information from the BBC and 3000 obstacles, read this summary and comment the news
2 December 2012 Last updated at 18:14 GMT Help
Streets in the centre of the Spanish capital were closed off on Sunday as thousands marched in Madrid to protest against the effects of government cuts on people with disabilities.
Spain has seen regular protests and two general strikes this year, but this is the first mass protest against austerity measures by disabled people.
Link to disabled demonstration
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What do you think about this commentary once you have seen the video?
I am not against this video or ike but I do jus wanna say that ppl with downs and other disabilities rally to be treated fairly and like they are jus like everyone else and then exceptions like this are made…. mixed signal…. I think so. Either treat them like everyone else or treat them special. Either way go ike and to lakestevens good sportsmanship. I went to school in the area and they do have a fierce rivalry
Interview to the director of Blindsight (Lucy Walker)
808pimpcess hace 3 meses
BERIK by the Danish director Daniel Borgman
Writer / Dir. Daniel Joseph Borgman / 16 mins / Denmark / 12 mins / Berik, a short drama about friendship and understanding, takes place in Semey, Kazakhstan. Berik, 33, blind and deformed due to radiation poisoning, spends his days at home alone, while his brother is at work. That is until Adil, 11, the smallest and least popular of the kids in the apartment block, turns up on Berik’s doorstep looking for the local bully’s football, which he has lost./ Festivals: 2010 Winner of Grand Prix Canal +- Semaine de la Critique, Festival de Cannes, France, 2010 59th Melbourne International Film Festival, Australia / www.nzfilm.co.nz / Sales Agent: NZ and Australia: NZ Film Juliette Veber
or visit: http://www.nzfilm.co.nz/FilmCatalogue…
REVIEW
“No one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.” says Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), the earnest, elegant John the Baptist figure in the Wachowski brothers’ allegorical science fiction masterpiece. Well, we’ll give it a shot.
He’s talking to Neo (Keanu Reeves), a blank-faced computer whizz who’s about to go through the looking glass – out of the late 20th century world as he knows it, into the real, post-apocalyptic “desert of the real”.
It’s a reality where robots rule the planet and keep humans plugged into a virtual reality matrix, living in a dream world, while their energy fuels the machines.
Morpheus thinks Neo is The One, the messiah figure who will destroy the Matrix and resurrect humanity. Fellow freedom fighter Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) is convinced too. But Neo isn’t certain, and will have to face the pernicious, powerful, Matrix meanie Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) to find out.
At first viewing, the action sequences stun, but there’s more to this than the groundbreaking “bullet time” photography, or the adolescent allure of flash, black clothes and big, black guns.
Sure, “The Matrix” is almost untenably cool, but beneath the sheen there’s substance. The story’s a potent mix of buddhism, Greek mythology, and – predominantly – the Christian gospel.
The image of a superficial existence, where ignorant people thrive by blocking out a troublesome reality, is potent for a Western society drowning in wealth while the rest of the world suffers.
The performances, too, wow. Admittedly Reeves is gifted the perfect role – he has to look good while hitting things – but Moss is charismatic, clever and sexy, while Fishburne is monumental.
Nestling next to “The Terminator” and “Metropolis”, this is one the finest sci-fi flicks ever made.
Life of Pi
Directed by: Ang Lee
Written by:
David Magee (screenplay)
Yann Martel (novel)
Starring: Suraj Sharma – Pi Patel- Irrfan Khan – Adult Pi Patel Ayush Tandon – Pi Patel (11/12 Years)
Not only has Ang Lee managed to create a stunningly crafted visual movie but he’s also successfully provided a truly captivating story. With little knowledge of the novel, on the face of it Life of Pi movie quotes serves up an engaging metaphor with a heartfelt message about living with faith when our will is being tested to its limits. The story revolves around Piscine Molitor, who goes by the name Pi Patel, and he tells his remarkable story of being shipwrecked to a writer and how his family dies and he ends up being stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a life boat with Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, and it’s the story of how they survive together that creates the parable with the narrative focusing on the idea of survival and spirituality. Life of Pi is one of those movies where the ending and it’s message can be interpreted in multiple ways and has been left entirely up to the viewer’s perception. Whether or not you believe it or can relate to it is up to you, but one thing is guaranteed; it will give rise to many interesting discussions.
The Commitments (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Plot[edit]
Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins) aspires to manage the world’s greatest band, with only one music in mind: soul. Disgusted with bands in Ireland, he assembles a soul band in the tradition of Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and Wilson Pickett. Jimmy holds auditions at his parents’ home and assembles a group of young musicians. Unlike his idols, Jimmy’s band is white. With the help of Joey “The Lips” Fagan, the veteran musician of the band who has unlikely stories about meeting and working with famous musicians, Jimmy begins to whip the members into shape – coming together beautifully onstage, only to have the group fall apart in a clash of egos.
Roger Ebert’s REVIEW
Cast Films about: WORK WORLD -Film: DEVIL WEARS PRADA A naive young woman comes to New York and scores a job as the assistant to one of the city’s biggest magazine editors, the ruthless and cynical Miranda Priestly. Director: David Frankel Writers: Aline Brosh McKenna (screenplay), Lauren Weisberger (novel) Stars: Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and Adrian Grenie
The story tells the professional adventure of Andrea, whose greatest dream is to become a journalist. Andrea gets a job in the fashion industry through Runway magazine, the most famous of its type, to make ends meet. But Andrea won’t develop her writing skills in the magazine, but her talents as the editor in chief’s assistant, Miranda. The problem is that Miranda is a merciless, posh and cruel woman, making the experience a living hell for the girl. The environment in the place will be cold and extremely critical with the physical appearance. The girl will have to change her simple and plain style, for a more trendy and elegant one, in order to gain the acceptance of her ruthless boss and colleagues, specially Emily, her unpleasant workmate. Despite everything against Andrea in the office, she will consider the experience as a challenge, drastically changing her clothes and self-image, with the help of Nigel, the magazine’s art director. Nevertheless, the job becomes extremely demanding, because of Miranda’s tough work rhythm and nearly impossible tasks, leaving Andrea without a private life with her boyfriend, family and friends. Maybe the old Andrea has gone, now more preoccupied about her image and her future in the magazine. Written by Alejandro Frias
Listen to Anne Wintour, director of VOGUE magazine USA. Miranda´s character was inspired in her.What similarities and differences can you see between them?
What do you think about this Loewe ad? I really hope ALL of you have something to say about it to have an interesting debate.
You can see on the internet some of the “parody ads” many people have made(althoug the original ad is probably “the best”). We will talk about them later on.
Estómago (by Marcos Jorge Brazil) It describes the rise of an idiot with a talent for haute cuisine cooking, and in a very original touch it tells the same story twice with the same protagonist: once in prison and once as a flashback in the free world. It is an odd hybrid which can best be described as “Ratatouille” (yes, the Pixar movie) meets “Carandiru” (yes, the Brazilian prison drama). This film is one of those happy discoveries you can only have at a film festival. A sexy mix of comedy, good food and violence, Marcos Jorge’s film actually made me hungry while watching it. More after the break… The Story: Raimundo Nonato (João Miguel) is a country simpleton who arrives penniless in a big Brazilian city. Doing odd-jobs at a snack bar for food and lodging only, his future seems dire until he is allowed to assist with the food. Suddenly it turns out Raimundo is surprisingly talented, being able to work miracles with the simplest of ingredients. His cooking also wins him the affection of prostitute Íria, who is happy to share his bed on occasion in return for good food. When he quickly gets snatched up by the owner of a fancy restaurant it suddenly seems like the only way for Raimundo is up… But alas, this is all a flashback, because the present is quite different: Raimundo Nonato (João Miguel) is a simpleton who arrives in jail, banished to a cell he has to share with seven others. Beaten into the filthiest corner for being the new guy, his future seems dire until he lets slip of the fact that he can actually cook. His cellmates discover that Raimundo is surprisingly talented, being able to work miracles with the simplest of ingredients. His cooking also wins him a little respect from top-dog Bujiú, which increases his status. When Bujiú plans a feast to win the favor of feared imprisoned crime boss Etcetera it suddenly seems like the only way for Raimundo is up… But how will his prison adventure end? And why did he have to go to prison in the first place? Babette´s Feast (Academy Award in 1986 for Best Foreign Film).
ANTHROPOLOGY/MUSIC…Gadjo Dilo (The Crazy Stranger)
Endearingly shaggy comedy-drama, improvised around the thinnest wisp of plot: genial, wild-haired young Frenchman Stephane (Romain Duris) arrives in a remote Romanian village in search of Nora Luca, a Gypsy singer much loved by his late father. The local Roma community is initially hostile, but gradually accept Stephane after he first befriends blustery oldster Izidor (Izidor Serban), and then local ‘bad girl’ Sabina (Rona Hartner).
But this narrative is really just an arbitrary framework on which Algerian-Gypsy Gatlif strings colorful vignettes illustrating the richness of Roma life. He’s out to celebrate a remarkable culture that survives in Europe’s hidden corners, one whose Eastern roots are clearly exposed in the frequent bouts of singing and dancing.
Gadjo Dilo is much more successful in terms of anthropology and good-time atmosphere than as a feature-film drama.
CINEMA ABOUT OTHER CONTINENTS:
INDIA
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE by Danny Boyle
After having seen The Visitor, Welcome a part of 14 Kilometres, and some shorcuts about racism, debate in groups about some of the following points:
1.What do you think about the reasons to emigrate of the different characters from the films?(political reasons, gender and violence matters,love reasons, economical reasons…to reach a dream -become a football player-)
2. After talking to your parents, grandparents…could you talk about people from your country who emigrated? Why did they go to America, other European countries? Do you know something about this matter?
3.Game.
a)”Ponerse en el lugar del otro” What would you do if you were in his/her place?(chose any of the characters from the films).
b)What would you do in five or six years time,time to look for a job, if the unemployment situation continues?.
Video related to the two topics we have seen up till now.
Follow part of this lecture or talk by CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE (a Nigerian writer)to be discussed in class.
In the link you can choose English or Spanish subtitles.
In Youtube you can see the first part with Spanish subtitles.
THE VISITOR 1.45″ -2008/
by Thomas McCarthy (director of THE STATION AGENT 2003 a very good film)
—————-
After watching the film, read the following questions and work in class with your partners to talk about them.
1.- Find out the meaning of the following legal terms:
asylum, bag and baggage letter, deportation, detention, removal proceeding or deportation proceeding, due process, green card.
2- Which of the characters in the film did you relate to most? Why?
3-Why do you think Walter decides to let Tarek and Zainab stay at his apartment even though he knows nothing about them?
4-In your opinion, who is “the visitor”? In what way is each character “visiting”?
5- What was the most memorable moment in the film? Why?
6-Think of someone in your life who immigrated to your country. Why did they come here? What hardships has s/he faced as an immigrant?
7-What was your impression of the detention center? What did you notice? Is this different from what you expected?
8-What do we as global/American citizens have to gain or lose by providing immigrants and refugees with the right to due process?
9-What are arguments for and against detaining immigrants and refugees in prison-like conditions?
10-Can you think of alternative ways the U.S. government could handle cases like Tarek’s?
11-How do you think Tarek’s deportation will affect each character’s view of the world?
12-Is there any situation in the film you could consider racist?
These questions are taken from “The Visitor” Discussion Guide.
Read part of one of the reviews. Do you agree with the last paragraph? Do you have anything to add?
Review:
…a mellow, laid-back, and entirely satisfying little “people” movie, one that finds the beauty in the small gestures of genorisity: McCarthy finds a lot of beauty in the strangest friendships, and as The Visitor moves into more political areas (Tarek gets tossed into jail for no good reason), the director is careful to let the characters take precedence over the “issues.” Obviously the film has a lot to say about the Arab experience in America today, but The Visitor is much more interested in its interpersonal relationships than it is in climbing a soapbox and preaching to the choir. (Icing on the cake: In addition to Jenkins’ fantastic performance, newcomer Haaz Sleiman (as Tarek) is really quite excellent.)
The result is a movie with a message, sure, but it works even better as a touching look at a lonely man who finds some warmth, friendship and affection in the most unexpected of places: His own forgotten apartment.
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WELCOME – Movie Trailer
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Questions (from Didactic Guide- IPES)
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2.
Questions after reading or listening to some of the news about cases of people trying to get asylum in The United Kingdom , France or Lampedusa (Italy) from the news-paper (El País October 2013)
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La jaula de oro by Jon Garaño La Jaula de oro by Diego Quemada-Díez
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ON THE LINE by Jon Garaño
Review from Ideas y Palomitas
Cortometraje “On the line” de Jon Garaño
Pocas veces encuentras un corto de docu-ficción tan abrumadoramente real.
“On the line”, retrata la incomprensión de algunos americanos que viven cerca de la frontera que separa Estados Unidos de México, y que desde el autoconvencimiento por la “defensa” de su país deciden convertirse en el muro inquebrantable para aquellos que han superado el Río Grande, el frío, el calor, la deshidratación o el hambre.
La denuncia social está coronada por un guión tan auténtico que entran escalofríos, destacando la interpretación de Jeff Smallwood como Adam, junto a otros actores como Tania de la Cruz, Yvette Filanc o Mikel Morris. Al contrario de lo que parece, no está rodado en ninguno de los más de 3000 kilómetros que separan México y EEUU, sino en los terrenos más inhóspitos de Navarra y Gipuzkoa.
Porque pone voz al americano del sur de California con un patriotismo exacerbado, y golpea, angustia, oprime y despierta al espectador en la realidad de un muro invisible.
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14 kilómetros (dvd)
Los Invisibles (by Garcia Bernal in colaboration with Amnesty International)
14 KILOMETRES
Directed by Gerardo Olivares
REVIEW
by Felipe Gómez Isa
Fourteen kilometers is the geographical distance between the African continent and the South of Europe. It is, however, more than that. It also serves as the insurmountable obstacle that negates the dreams of millions of African teenagers who see the Western world as their only hope to escape from hunger, misery, and despair. 14 Kilometres,a road movie, wisely combines fiction and documentary to explore the human dimensions (and, unfortunately, inhuman dimensions) of the dramatic adventure of Sub-Saharan African migration to Europe. This journey can last months or even years, and all too often the final destiny is death—either in the sands of the desert or in the dangerous waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
The film 14 Kilometres is based on the story of Violeta Sunny, Buba Kanou, and Mukela Kanou, who represent an entire generation of African young people whose only desire is to migrate to Europe. Violeta escapes from a forced marriage with a much older man of her village and his repeated sexual abuse; Buba wants to be a football (soccer) star for one of the leading European teams, and he travels the entire way with a t-shirt of Real Madrid and a foot ball; and the third traveller is Mukela, Buba’s brother, who is responsible for convincing his brother to leave his village and make the journey but who ultimately dies in the harsh desert.
The three initiate their odyssey in Niger, crossing the Tenere and the Saharan deserts until they reach the Moroccan coast, where only two of them finally make it to their imagined “promised land.” In the course of their trip they face police corruption, the severity and cruelty of the desert, and unscrupulous human traffickers. However, they also experience the solidarity of the peoples of the desert, the Touareg. One of the culminating moments of the film is when a Touareg leader addresses Violeta and Buba with these words: “the future is here, in Africa.” This is one of the subliminal messages that the author wants to convey: migration is not the solution to the collective tragedy that the African continent is suffering. There are a number of remarkable aspects of this film. One is the stunning beauty of the cruel desert itself. Another is the film’s commitment to human beings and its capacity to illustrate the human suffering involved in the hard and extenuating migration process, a perspective that has not received much attention so far. As the Spanish writer Rosa Montero declares in the final scene of the movie: “They will keep coming and will keep dying, since history shows that there is no wall with the capacity to stop dreams.”
As a postscript, at the time of writing, May 2008, more than 1,200 Sub-Saharan migrants, including little children, are living in the surroundings of the Moroccan city of Oujda, fifteen kilometers away from the Algerian border, waiting for their opportunity to start their hazardous sojourn once again. They face extreme conditions, and survival depends on mutual solidarity and the support of NGOs. But, as a woman from Nigeria says, “I will try it again.” Highly recommended
Interesting films about Emigration:
-Grapes of wrath
Pele The Conqueror (sweden)
Based upon the famous 1910 novel of the same name by Danish writer Martin Andersen Nexø, the film is set in the end of the 19th century. A boat filled with emigrants from Sweden arrives at the Danish island of Bornholm. Among them are Lasse Karlsson and his son Pelle who have moved to Denmark to find work after the death of Pelle’s mother. They find employment at a large farm, but find themselves treated as the lowest form of life. It is only as Pelle starts to speak Danish that he begins to gain in confidence, but is still discriminated against as a foreigner. But neither boy nor father is willing to give up their dream of finding a better life than that which they left in Sweden.
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