ABCs at the Movies: The Doubles Round!

[oilgun]

Full Title: Las Poquianchis (De los pormenores y otros sucedidos del dominio público que acontecieron a las hermanas de triste memoria a quienes la maledicencia así las bautizó) 



From IMDb: "Las Poquianchis" tells the story of the girls who were taken from their families under false promises and sent to the Poquianchis brothel. On arriving there, the girls were virtually kept as prisoners and forced to work as prostitutes - they were mistreated and sometimes even killed. Government officials took part in this scheme and took their share of the profits. A government investigation discloses the activities of the Poquianchis brothel and terrible crimes are discovered - the corpse of a girl killed is unburied and many other revelations will follow. A web of horror is uncovered to the public and it's revealed that the pillars of society (government officials and the local respectable citizens) took part in it. The girls themselves accepted after a while their "fate" and some of them after reaching a higher position didn't hesitate in using their power to crush the other ones - the Poquianchis brothel was directed by women who once had also been kidnapped, forced to work as prostitutes and mistreated. These ones and all the others who helped them in some way are to be be tried by the tribunal. What may be disquieting for some of you is that the film doesn't show us who are the bad people. "Bad" is not located in a definite place and neither can be traced to someone or some organization. Who bears the guilt of everything? The managers of the Poquianchis brothel? The government? No, not so easy! Even the media that uncovers the case does it not for idealism - they see in the Poquianchis the golden chance to sell more newspapers etc..

Alongside the Poquianchis story, the film tells us a parallel story filmed in black & white that follows the father whose two girls were taken to the Poquianchis brothel. He and other small farmers are fighting legally for their own land, but they are fighting against a bigger enemy. Their fight is hopeless - corruption will stall them and deaths will ensue. As for the government officials, they are just cogs of a great wheel – but who really runs the machine? The government or human greed? It's not easy to answer this question, because government is an abstract word. There are hundreds of thousands of people, or more, contained by this word government – but be it the government officials, be it the others – all or them are fighting for their own interests ("legitimate" or not). Some fight for bare survival, for their land, some for more money, for their position. The girls who provoked the wrath of the Poquianchis managers suffered a beating (so severe that it sometimes led to death), administered by their own companions in suffering, acting under the orders of their superiors (who had once been themselves victims of the same system). A vicious circle. That's the way society works.

"Las Poquianchis" is a political film, but a political film in the greater sense of the word, that is, a political film bearing a capital P. It is not like those films made by Costa-Gavras that offer us an "objective" cold analysis of some socio-political subject. "Las Poquianchis" is like a punch in the gut – the film is not cold, but, on the other hand, it is neither sentimental nor a tear-jerker. It is raw and emotional (but not in the usual way). This is not your typical Mexican melodrama (even if I like some of them). It's a powerful film. I will try to see some other Cazals's films. Maybe "Canoa".

[southendmd]

Plot:  With his wife doing a book tour, a father of twelve must handle a new job and his unstable brood.

With Tom Welling as the oldest brother.

[memento]

From IMDB: In New Zealand, the teenager Janey (Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki), her young brother Jim (Aaron Murphy), her mother Kate (Sarah Peirse) and her father Ed (Alistair Browning) are spending their summer vacation in a seaside cottage. Janey takes care of Jim most of the time, teaches him how to have endurance under the water, and observes the behavior of her parents, whose marriage is near the end. Kate and Ed promote many parties in the house and mainly Kate drinks a lot. She is also having an affair with the photographer and owner of a boat, Cady (Marton Csokas). The confused adolescent, rebel with her mother and dealing with a growing sexuality, tries to act like an adult with tragic consequences to the family.

[Fran]

From IMDb:  When Sarah Cain, a self-involved big-city newspaper columnist, travels to Pennsylvania for the funeral of her Amish sister, she soon discovers that she is the legal guardian of her five Amish nieces and nephews. Rather than choose to move to Lancaster County to finish raising them there herself or let them be separated by the foster care system, Sarah decides to take them with her back to Portland where she believes she can make a new life for them. However, she soon realizes that the modern world has forced them to compromise who they are, and that she has moved them there for all the wrong reasons -- a motive which is soon exposed -- because secrets can really never be kept secret. In order to find her own redemption, she knows she must make a choice to give them back their lives in Amish Country. And whether she remains part of their lives will have a lot to do with how much she has grown to love them.

[Lynne]

From The New Yorker:

A gently paced rural drama, co-written and directed by Hilary Birmingham, about two brothers who work on their father's failing farm, and a secret that comes to light. Anson Mount and Glenn Fitzgerald play the brothers with a quiet regard that's quite moving. Birmingham's direction is deftly composed and filled with background details, like the disconnected seat belt inside the car of the town's wild girl. The movie is a bit precious, but cunningly melodramatic and surprisingly effective. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

[memento]

Plot: A brother and sister move into an old seaside house they find abandoned for many years on the English coast. Their original enchantment with the house diminishes as they hear stories of the previous owners and meet their daughter (now a young woman) who now lives as a neighbor with her grandfather. Also heard are unexplained sounds during the night. It becomes obvious that the house is haunted. The reasons for the haunting and how they relate to the daughter whom the brother is falling in love with, prove to be a complex mystery. As they are compelled to solve it, the supernatural activity at the house increases to a frightening level.

[Fran]

   

From IMDb:  Sandra comes back to Volterra, in Tuscany, the little town where she spent her childhood. She is with her American husband, Andrew. She wishes to pay homage to her father who died in Auschwitz where she was still a little child. In Volterra, Andrew meets for the first time Gianni, Sandra's brother. He soon realizes that Sandra and Gianni have a secret since their childhood.

[oilgun]

Plot: A sympathetic look at Republicans in early 20th century Ireland, and two brothers who are torn apart by anti-Brit rebellion.

[oilgun]

Original Title:  Les soeurs Brontë



From IMDb: A feast of perfect acting (the three actresses earn applause), inspired direction and splendid photography (which evokes the outside and the inner landscapes of the sister writers), but strictly reserved to Bronte admirers. The screenplay, built upon continuous references to the Bronte artistic work, can create a sense of icy estrangement, but who is familiar with the writings and the life of the Bronte sisters (maybe through the cult Charlotte bio by Elizabeth Gaskell) will be enchanted. It is a pity this movie remains mainly unseen. The only chance to obtain it at the moment is to get the Spanish DVD which also features the French version.

==Comment==
I saw this back when it was released and hated it.  However, the director, André Téchiné, unknown to me at the time, went on to become one of my faves so I should give it another chance.

[Fran]

Also known as:  The Banquet

From IMDb:  This movie, which I saw at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, follows a storyline similar Hamlet. However, this Hamlet has several major twists. First, the theme in this case is ancient China. Second, the dead emperor's brother, who takes the throne, is secretly trying to kill Hamlet from the start. Third, the empress has a thirst for power, is actually the prince ("Hamlet's") stepmother, is near the prince's age, and secretly harbors romantic feelings for the prince.

I would argue that the third point is the key because in many respects, the empress is the main character in this film. In contrast, the price seems at many times as an innocent bystander who is caught in a conflict out of misfortune of heredity.