1) Rules and Film picks.
I managed to get films from 11 out of the 12 countries taking part. The only missing entry was from Paraguay. Back in 2007, I failed to track down Paraguayan Hammock, a film that I finally managed to acquire for the 2010 Movie World Cup.
2) Group A results.
Films:
Uruguay: Whisky (2004, Juan Pablo Rebella/Pablo Stoll)
Peru: Dias de Santiago (2004, Josue Mendez)
Bolivia: Dependencia sexual (2003, Rodrigo Bellott)
Venezuela: Oriana (1985, Fina Torres)
3) Group B results.
Films:
Brazil: The Man Who Copied (2003, Jorge Furtado)
Mexico: El Compadre Mendoza (1934, Juan Bustillo Oro/Fernando de Fuentes)
Chile: Coronacion (2000, Silvio Caiozzi)
Ecuador: Como voy a olvidarte? (2004, Edgardo Viereck)
4) Group C results.
Films:
USA: North by Northwest (1959, Alfred Hitchcock)
Argentina: The Official Story (1985, Luis Puenzo)
Colombia: Los Ninos Invisibles (2001, Lisandro Duque Naranjo)
Paraguay: none
5) Final First round group standings.
6) Quarter Finals.
Quarter Final 1: Uruguay (Whisky) 5-0 Colombia (Los niños invisibles)
Quarter Final 2: Mexico (El compadre Mendoza) 3-3 Bolivia (Dependencia sexual)
** Mexico win on penalties
Quarter Final 3: Brazil (The Man Who Copied) 2-3 Argentina (The Official Story)
Quarter Final 4: USA (North by Northwest) 5-2 Peru (Días de Santiago)
7) Semi Finals.
Semi-Final 1: Uruguay (Whisky) 5-1 Mexico (El compadre Mendoza)
Semi-Final 2: Argentina (The Official Story) 2-4 USA (North by Northwest)
8) Final and third place.
Third place: Mexico (El compadre Mendoza) 3-3 Argentina (The Official Story)
Mexico wins its second penalty shoot-out to take third.
Final: Uruguay (Whisky) 3-2 USA (North by Northwest)
The wonderful Uruguayan feature Whisky (Juan Pablo Rebella/Pablo Stoll) wins top prize.
Showing posts with label Copa America 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Copa America 2007. Show all posts
Monday, May 24, 2010
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Copa America Film Festival, Final & Third Place
The Final soccer match in Copa America 2007 won't take place until Sunday July 15 but I am wrapping up the Copa Film festival a week earlier.
Final: Uruguay (Whisky) vs USA (North by Northwest)
This is surely a worthy final. Just like in the semi-final between Argentina and USA, both films are completely differently paced -- Whisky uses minimal action and hardly any background music but it invokes plenty of humour and emotion. North by Northwest on the other hand guides its audience down a path of mystery and intrigue by having appropriate background music to create the desired emotion. Both feats are hard to achieve (emotion without showing much and emotion with a heap of action) but I have to give a slight edge to Whisky because of its uniqueness -- there have been enough spy movies in the last few decades and Hitchcock's film came in 1959 after more than a decade of femme fatale, film noir and spy movies. On the other hand, there aren't too many dead-pan style films around. Moreover, watching such a film is a rewarding experience as one never really knows what action a character will take. So we are only able to fully understand a character by watching them carefully in the film.
Total points for Whisky: 3 (Acting, Story, Direction)
Total Points for North by Northwest: 2 (Cinematography & Production Values)
Final Score: Uruguay wins 3-2 over USA
So the Uruguayan film wins the first ever Copa America film festival. It was a truly enjoyable experience to watch films from different South American countries (plus Mexico & USA) and compare them. While Brazil and Argentina produce a healthy dosage of films in South America, it is refreshing to see other South American countries making some creditable efforts as well. But when it comes to soccer, Brazil and Argentina are still miles ahead of other South American nations. And there are no signs of that trend changing for the next few years either.
And finally a consolation match for 3rd place:
Mexico (El compadre Mendoza) vs Argentina (The Official Story)
The cinematography and production values of neither film really stood but the Mexican film managed to seamlessly integrate a lot of extras and set props (revolutionaries) despite being made in 1934. The real strength of the Argentinian film is the combination of action, story and direction; The Official Story has scored no points for cinematography and production values in any of the 3 second round matches.
Total points for El compadre Mendoza: 3 (Story, Cinematography, Production Values)
Total points for The Official Story: 3 (Acting, Story, Direction)
Final Score: Mexico wins on penalties after 3-3 tie
I have to give a slight win to the Mexican film as I throughly enjoyed watching the characters trying to maintain a slim line between friendship and betrayal.
Final: Uruguay (Whisky) vs USA (North by Northwest)
This is surely a worthy final. Just like in the semi-final between Argentina and USA, both films are completely differently paced -- Whisky uses minimal action and hardly any background music but it invokes plenty of humour and emotion. North by Northwest on the other hand guides its audience down a path of mystery and intrigue by having appropriate background music to create the desired emotion. Both feats are hard to achieve (emotion without showing much and emotion with a heap of action) but I have to give a slight edge to Whisky because of its uniqueness -- there have been enough spy movies in the last few decades and Hitchcock's film came in 1959 after more than a decade of femme fatale, film noir and spy movies. On the other hand, there aren't too many dead-pan style films around. Moreover, watching such a film is a rewarding experience as one never really knows what action a character will take. So we are only able to fully understand a character by watching them carefully in the film.
Total points for Whisky: 3 (Acting, Story, Direction)
Total Points for North by Northwest: 2 (Cinematography & Production Values)
Final Score: Uruguay wins 3-2 over USA
So the Uruguayan film wins the first ever Copa America film festival. It was a truly enjoyable experience to watch films from different South American countries (plus Mexico & USA) and compare them. While Brazil and Argentina produce a healthy dosage of films in South America, it is refreshing to see other South American countries making some creditable efforts as well. But when it comes to soccer, Brazil and Argentina are still miles ahead of other South American nations. And there are no signs of that trend changing for the next few years either.
And finally a consolation match for 3rd place:
Mexico (El compadre Mendoza) vs Argentina (The Official Story)
The cinematography and production values of neither film really stood but the Mexican film managed to seamlessly integrate a lot of extras and set props (revolutionaries) despite being made in 1934. The real strength of the Argentinian film is the combination of action, story and direction; The Official Story has scored no points for cinematography and production values in any of the 3 second round matches.
Total points for El compadre Mendoza: 3 (Story, Cinematography, Production Values)
Total points for The Official Story: 3 (Acting, Story, Direction)
Final Score: Mexico wins on penalties after 3-3 tie
I have to give a slight win to the Mexican film as I throughly enjoyed watching the characters trying to maintain a slim line between friendship and betrayal.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Copa America Film Festival, Semi-Final
On Sat, July 7 in the soccer tournament Uruguay demolished the hosts Venezuela 4-1 while Brazil ran riot over Chile in a 6-1 win. Brazil's wealth of talent finally shone. In terms of the film festival, the Brazilian film lost in the Quarters, while the Uruguayan film marches on powerfully. The film semi-finals are indeed rich with 4 very good films competing against each other.
Semi-Final 1: Uruguay (Whisky) vs Mexico (El compadre Mendoza)
Once again, the film from Uruguay wins easily.
Total points for Whisky: 5 (scores point in all categories)
Total points for El compadre Mendoza: 1 (Story)
Final Score: Uruguay 5 -1 Mexico
Semi-Final 2: Argentina (The Official Story) vs USA (North by Northwest)
This is a tough one. Both films are completely different genres (political drama vs Hitchcock's spy thriller) and play at different pace. The Official Story slowly develops and only hammers the emotional punch near the end. Whereas, North by Northwest immediately jumps into action and offers only a few moments of respite in a very action packed scenario.
Total points for The Official Story: 2 (Acting, Story)
Total Points for North by Northwest: 4 (Story, Direction, Cinematography & Production Values)
Final score: USA wins 4-2 over Argentina
Semi-Final 1: Uruguay (Whisky) vs Mexico (El compadre Mendoza)
Once again, the film from Uruguay wins easily.
Total points for Whisky: 5 (scores point in all categories)
Total points for El compadre Mendoza: 1 (Story)
Final Score: Uruguay 5 -1 Mexico
Semi-Final 2: Argentina (The Official Story) vs USA (North by Northwest)
This is a tough one. Both films are completely different genres (political drama vs Hitchcock's spy thriller) and play at different pace. The Official Story slowly develops and only hammers the emotional punch near the end. Whereas, North by Northwest immediately jumps into action and offers only a few moments of respite in a very action packed scenario.
Total points for The Official Story: 2 (Acting, Story)
Total Points for North by Northwest: 4 (Story, Direction, Cinematography & Production Values)
Final score: USA wins 4-2 over Argentina
Copa America Film Festival, Quarter-Final results
The 5 areas where the films are scored at:
Acting, Story, Direction, Cinematography and Production Values
Quarter Final 1: Uruguay (Whisky) vs Colombia (Los niños invisibles)
This is not really a fair contest. Even though Los niños invisibles is a good coming of age film, it really is no match up for the polished dead-pan comedy Whisky.
Final Score: Uruguay 5 -0 Colombia
Quarter Final 2: Mexico (El compadre Mendoza) vs Bolivia (Dependencia sexual)
In terms of acting, both films are very good, so they score 1 point each. Even though the story of the Mexican film is simpler and linear than the multiple plots in the Bolivian film, I have to give the edge to the Mexican film for having a better story.
The direction of the Mexican film is slightly superior but the fancy cinematography & good usage of sync sound earn full points for Dependencia sexual.
Total points for El compadre Mendoza: 3 (Acting, Story & Direction)
Total points for Dependencia sexual: 3 (Acting, Cinematography & Production Values)
So the only way a 3-3 tie can be broken is by a penalty-shootout, which involves a subjective vote on my part. At the end of the day, I have to give the win to the Mexican film as its story of friendship, politics and betrayal is more naturally developed and has an easier flow to it.
Final Score: Mexico wins on penalties after 3-3 tie
Quarter Final 3: Brazil (The Man Who Copied) vs Argentina (The Official Story)
This is a tough comparison. The Man Who Copied has a lighter and more commercial feel to it than the emotionally powerful The Official Story which is made not to entertain people but to raise awareness and even to heal certain wounds in Argentina's dark history. Here goes the comparison:
Total points for Brazil: 2 (Cinematography, Production Values)
Total points for Argentina: 3 (Acting, Story, Direction)
Final score: The Argentinian film wins the contest 3-2.
I have to admit that despite all its flaws The Man Who Copied is an enjoyable film but The Official Story has more substance to it.
Quarter Final 4: USA (North by Northwest) vs Peru (Días de Santiago)
Am I committing a crime here by daring to compare a classic film from Hitchcock against an entry from a Peruvian director only making his third film? Not really. Because in soccer, the mighty and powerful teams have to play the little minnows to advance in tournaments. Similarly, such uneven match-ups have to take place in this film tournament as well.
Total Points for North by Northwest: 5 (superior on all counts)
Total points for Days of Santiago : 2 (Acting, Cinematography)
Final score: USA 5-2 Peru
The acting is top-notch in the Peruvian film along with good blend of black & white + coloured visuals. I especially liked the fact that black and white was used to depict the main character's inner thoughts with colour used to show the reality around him. But despite having a good story, one can make a point that such a story has been done before. In fact, the character of Santiago is a poorer cousin of Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver). And the fact that both characters drive a taxi also helps provide an extra resemblance.
Acting, Story, Direction, Cinematography and Production Values
Quarter Final 1: Uruguay (Whisky) vs Colombia (Los niños invisibles)
This is not really a fair contest. Even though Los niños invisibles is a good coming of age film, it really is no match up for the polished dead-pan comedy Whisky.
Final Score: Uruguay 5 -0 Colombia
Quarter Final 2: Mexico (El compadre Mendoza) vs Bolivia (Dependencia sexual)
In terms of acting, both films are very good, so they score 1 point each. Even though the story of the Mexican film is simpler and linear than the multiple plots in the Bolivian film, I have to give the edge to the Mexican film for having a better story.
The direction of the Mexican film is slightly superior but the fancy cinematography & good usage of sync sound earn full points for Dependencia sexual.
Total points for El compadre Mendoza: 3 (Acting, Story & Direction)
Total points for Dependencia sexual: 3 (Acting, Cinematography & Production Values)
So the only way a 3-3 tie can be broken is by a penalty-shootout, which involves a subjective vote on my part. At the end of the day, I have to give the win to the Mexican film as its story of friendship, politics and betrayal is more naturally developed and has an easier flow to it.
Final Score: Mexico wins on penalties after 3-3 tie
Quarter Final 3: Brazil (The Man Who Copied) vs Argentina (The Official Story)
This is a tough comparison. The Man Who Copied has a lighter and more commercial feel to it than the emotionally powerful The Official Story which is made not to entertain people but to raise awareness and even to heal certain wounds in Argentina's dark history. Here goes the comparison:
Total points for Brazil: 2 (Cinematography, Production Values)
Total points for Argentina: 3 (Acting, Story, Direction)
Final score: The Argentinian film wins the contest 3-2.
I have to admit that despite all its flaws The Man Who Copied is an enjoyable film but The Official Story has more substance to it.
Quarter Final 4: USA (North by Northwest) vs Peru (Días de Santiago)
Am I committing a crime here by daring to compare a classic film from Hitchcock against an entry from a Peruvian director only making his third film? Not really. Because in soccer, the mighty and powerful teams have to play the little minnows to advance in tournaments. Similarly, such uneven match-ups have to take place in this film tournament as well.
Total Points for North by Northwest: 5 (superior on all counts)
Total points for Days of Santiago : 2 (Acting, Cinematography)
Final score: USA 5-2 Peru
The acting is top-notch in the Peruvian film along with good blend of black & white + coloured visuals. I especially liked the fact that black and white was used to depict the main character's inner thoughts with colour used to show the reality around him. But despite having a good story, one can make a point that such a story has been done before. In fact, the character of Santiago is a poorer cousin of Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver). And the fact that both characters drive a taxi also helps provide an extra resemblance.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Copa America Film Festival, First Round Standings & Quarter-Finals Draw
Final First Round Standings:
Group A:
Group B:
Group C:
Both the films from Colombia and Bolivia are joint third after the group standings. But I have to pick the Bolivian film as the best third place team because it took more risks and had more of a bold experiment than the simple & sweet Colombian entry.
As per the tournament schedule, the draw for the Quarter Finals is:
As it turns out, not a single match-up is the same in the soccer and film draw. Although, a lot of similar teams occupy the same position. Interestingly, the films from Brazil and Argentina clash very early and that promises to be a close tie.
Group A:
Group B:
Group C:
Both the films from Colombia and Bolivia are joint third after the group standings. But I have to pick the Bolivian film as the best third place team because it took more risks and had more of a bold experiment than the simple & sweet Colombian entry.
As per the tournament schedule, the draw for the Quarter Finals is:
As it turns out, not a single match-up is the same in the soccer and film draw. Although, a lot of similar teams occupy the same position. Interestingly, the films from Brazil and Argentina clash very early and that promises to be a close tie.
Copa America Film Festival, Group C
Both Paraguay and Argentina started off in fine form in this group, with each team scoring 8 goals in their first two games -- Paraguay beat Colombia 5-0 and USA 3-1, with Argentina securing 4-1 and 4-2 results against the US and Colombia. Argentina won the group beating Paraguay 1-0 and Colombia took third spot beating the Americans by the same score.
As it turns out, things were a bit different in the film standings. Of the 4 countries, Colombia managed the same position in both the Copa and film tournament -- 3rd spot.
Argentina:
Along with Brazil, Argentina are considered one of the best soccer teams in the world. Over the past few decades, they have produced quality players who have shown great flair and genius in front of goal. In fact, Argentina were quite a team from early days of soccer in the late 1920's and 1930's -- they reached the final of the first world cup losing 4-2 to Uruguay. But despite all their talent, there is a shade of darkness that lurks behind their success. Both the Argentinian world cup wins are tainted with accusations of cheating.
In 1978, Argentina hosted the tournament and won a pulsating final, 3-1 against a very good Dutch team. Mario Kempes may have been the hero for Argentina that tournament but it was the manner that the host team got to the final that still leaves a bad taste. Argentina had to beat Peru by 4 goals in the final game to reach the final ahead of Brazil. Peru hardly put up a fight and rolled over 6-0 to Argentina. Was there a bribe involved? Or were Peru scared of Argentina's dictatorship? No only well ever truly know.
In 1986, Argentina showed nothing but skill in all their games, except for a second of cheating in their quarter-final game against England. Argentina beat the English 2-1 thanks to two goals from Diego Maradona -- the second goal is still truly one of the best world cup goals of all time but the first is a shameful account of the worst this game has to offer. Maradona clearly punched the ball into the net but the referee didn't see that and awarded the goal. The second goal proved Argentina's superiority and even made the first incident seem worse -- such a good side didn't need to cheat but they did. And over the years, you can still find some incidents of cheating occurring despite the wealth of talent that the country has.
The 1978 world cup also helped mask the real problem of the Argentina's political situation. The dictatorship freely went about doing whatever they pleased and kidnaped anyone who opposed them. The "disapperances" of innocent people is something well documented now with new stories emerging every year as to what went on. Luis Puenzo's powerful & emotional film The Official Story weaves a story about such shadowy political acts. A couple adopt a little child. But where did the child come from? The husband does not want the wife to find out lest they lose the child. She can't resist and probes deeper. The truth threatens to tear them apart -- the child was one of those "disappeared" babies that was born when her mother was taken away. The film probes into a dark past of Argentina's history -- it scratches the surface to find the secrets and scars conveniently tucked away. And to think that while people were being taken away, the world was watching a soccer game?
Colombia:
Colombia is another South American country that is only mentioned in North American media when some crime has occurred -- we only hear and read of their drug and crime rate. But a nation is more than what a few corrupt people do with it. So in that sense, it was refreshing to see a cute film about innocent children from Colombia. Los niños invisibles is about that precious age when kids believe in magic and are still forming their view of the world. We get to see the children's first feelings of love, infatuation and see them lie for the first time. The film's title refers to three children's plan to use a secret formula to become invisible. Just a sweet harmless film.
Paraguay:
Cinema is not Paraguay's major export. Maybe that will change in the future? It was really impossible to find a film from this landlocked country. 2006's Paraguayan Hammock was my best bet but the film is not out on DVD yet.
USA:
The Americans sent a young team to Copa America. So it was not surprizing that the team lost all three games, but atleast the youngsters put up a fight and gained some valuable experience for the future. While the soccer team might have been inexperienced, I picked an American entry from one of the most experienced film-makers. Alfred Hitchcock is considered a genius and his films are dissected and studied endlessly. Even though Hitchcock directed more than 60 films, only a handful of his films are mentioned more than others -- Vertigo, Rear Window, Psycho, The Man Who Knew too Much and North by Northwest. Even though I had not seen this 1959 film, I had seen a few of its scenes in trailers over the years -- the plane heading down sharply towards Cary Grant and the chase scene over Mt.Rushmore.
This is a classic spy film. From the first frame, the action starts. Fast, fast...confusion. 30 minutes go by, and we are given a clue as to what the mystery is about. Phew. Relax. Now, it seems the rest of the film will be an easy relaxing watch. But no, another twist. Chase. Run. Then another clue and we can breathe easy again. But the action picks up again...finally, when we have all the clues, a long chase sequence ends the film.
I was not a big fan of the action scene in the end but as it turned out, Hitchcock wanted to make a film with a chase sequence on Mt. Rushmore. So if that scene didn't exist, then this movie might not have existed either! But I am a big fan of that plane scene -- how the plane heads menacingly towards Cary Grant is well filmed. Ofcourse, the background music is pitch perfect as usual, touching all the right emotions.
Final Group Standings:
As it turns out, things were a bit different in the film standings. Of the 4 countries, Colombia managed the same position in both the Copa and film tournament -- 3rd spot.
Argentina:
Along with Brazil, Argentina are considered one of the best soccer teams in the world. Over the past few decades, they have produced quality players who have shown great flair and genius in front of goal. In fact, Argentina were quite a team from early days of soccer in the late 1920's and 1930's -- they reached the final of the first world cup losing 4-2 to Uruguay. But despite all their talent, there is a shade of darkness that lurks behind their success. Both the Argentinian world cup wins are tainted with accusations of cheating.
In 1978, Argentina hosted the tournament and won a pulsating final, 3-1 against a very good Dutch team. Mario Kempes may have been the hero for Argentina that tournament but it was the manner that the host team got to the final that still leaves a bad taste. Argentina had to beat Peru by 4 goals in the final game to reach the final ahead of Brazil. Peru hardly put up a fight and rolled over 6-0 to Argentina. Was there a bribe involved? Or were Peru scared of Argentina's dictatorship? No only well ever truly know.
In 1986, Argentina showed nothing but skill in all their games, except for a second of cheating in their quarter-final game against England. Argentina beat the English 2-1 thanks to two goals from Diego Maradona -- the second goal is still truly one of the best world cup goals of all time but the first is a shameful account of the worst this game has to offer. Maradona clearly punched the ball into the net but the referee didn't see that and awarded the goal. The second goal proved Argentina's superiority and even made the first incident seem worse -- such a good side didn't need to cheat but they did. And over the years, you can still find some incidents of cheating occurring despite the wealth of talent that the country has.
The 1978 world cup also helped mask the real problem of the Argentina's political situation. The dictatorship freely went about doing whatever they pleased and kidnaped anyone who opposed them. The "disapperances" of innocent people is something well documented now with new stories emerging every year as to what went on. Luis Puenzo's powerful & emotional film The Official Story weaves a story about such shadowy political acts. A couple adopt a little child. But where did the child come from? The husband does not want the wife to find out lest they lose the child. She can't resist and probes deeper. The truth threatens to tear them apart -- the child was one of those "disappeared" babies that was born when her mother was taken away. The film probes into a dark past of Argentina's history -- it scratches the surface to find the secrets and scars conveniently tucked away. And to think that while people were being taken away, the world was watching a soccer game?
Colombia:
Colombia is another South American country that is only mentioned in North American media when some crime has occurred -- we only hear and read of their drug and crime rate. But a nation is more than what a few corrupt people do with it. So in that sense, it was refreshing to see a cute film about innocent children from Colombia. Los niños invisibles is about that precious age when kids believe in magic and are still forming their view of the world. We get to see the children's first feelings of love, infatuation and see them lie for the first time. The film's title refers to three children's plan to use a secret formula to become invisible. Just a sweet harmless film.
Paraguay:
Cinema is not Paraguay's major export. Maybe that will change in the future? It was really impossible to find a film from this landlocked country. 2006's Paraguayan Hammock was my best bet but the film is not out on DVD yet.
USA:
The Americans sent a young team to Copa America. So it was not surprizing that the team lost all three games, but atleast the youngsters put up a fight and gained some valuable experience for the future. While the soccer team might have been inexperienced, I picked an American entry from one of the most experienced film-makers. Alfred Hitchcock is considered a genius and his films are dissected and studied endlessly. Even though Hitchcock directed more than 60 films, only a handful of his films are mentioned more than others -- Vertigo, Rear Window, Psycho, The Man Who Knew too Much and North by Northwest. Even though I had not seen this 1959 film, I had seen a few of its scenes in trailers over the years -- the plane heading down sharply towards Cary Grant and the chase scene over Mt.Rushmore.
This is a classic spy film. From the first frame, the action starts. Fast, fast...confusion. 30 minutes go by, and we are given a clue as to what the mystery is about. Phew. Relax. Now, it seems the rest of the film will be an easy relaxing watch. But no, another twist. Chase. Run. Then another clue and we can breathe easy again. But the action picks up again...finally, when we have all the clues, a long chase sequence ends the film.
I was not a big fan of the action scene in the end but as it turned out, Hitchcock wanted to make a film with a chase sequence on Mt. Rushmore. So if that scene didn't exist, then this movie might not have existed either! But I am a big fan of that plane scene -- how the plane heads menacingly towards Cary Grant is well filmed. Ofcourse, the background music is pitch perfect as usual, touching all the right emotions.
Final Group Standings:
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Copa America Film Festival, Group B
Day Two of the Copa America had a huge upset -- Brazil 0 - 2 Mexico. Ofcourse, Chile's comeback to beat Ecuador 3-2 was news worthy but everytime Brazil loses a game, no matter at what level, it is considered a shock.
Brazil:
Brazil always has an abundance of talented soccer players at all age levels. In fact, the Brazilian soccer team is often spoiled for choices. Likewise, I found too many film choices for the Brazilian entry. But in the end, my choice was a film that I had wanted to see since I missed it at the film festival last year. And it was a good choice.
The Man Who Copied is an entertaining film that contains all the symbols one has come to associate with modern Brazilian movies -- poverty, crime, bank robbery, Rio & its postcard picturesque shots. Still the film is charming once the narrative overdosed first 25 minutes are over. As the title alludes to, the film is about a photocopier. André has a boring job photocopying documents all day long. But he manages to keep some sanity by photocopying book pages for his personal collection. And he rounds off his days by spying on Silvia, the cute girl who lives across the street. But love does not come cheap. André needs money for his future love, so he & an accomplice hatch up a scheme to mint money using his copy machine. A few twists manage to mesh his love story with his crime streak leading towards a cool finish.
Brazilian football is easy on the eyes -- slow movement accompanied with a string of beautiful passes, a few step-overs, jigs, fakes, dribbles and then an explosive drive to round off the game. Similarly, this is an easy going film that slowly gets into its groove, picks up speed, throws in a few twists to catch us off guard and then ties up all the loose ends.
Mexico:
Viva la revolution! Mexican folklore is rich with tales of revolution and fights against injustice. While El Violin (2006) was a recent black and white masterpiece about a revolution, it is refreshing to find a gem from the 1930's. El compadre Mendoza had a different take on the revolution -- it shows a wealthy person who can make or break a revolution. Rosalío supports both the government and Zapata's revolutionaries. But the tight political game that Rosalío plays has a price -- in this case it is his family's life that is at stake. An absorbing watch!
Chile:
Andrés lives a solitary life repressing his desires and needs; most of his time is spent looking after his grandmother. In order to better take care of his grandmother, he hires Estela. But the young Estela raises suppressed desires in Andrés. It turns out that his religious upbringing is to blame for him starving his body of carnal sins. And Estela is too tempting to pass up. On the other hand, Estela is new to the city and goes through her own self discovery. Coronación also gives us glimpses of the class differences that exist in Chile while handling a story of love, desire and crime.
The film may have gotten plenty of awards but at 140 minutes, it is too long and nothing to rave about.
Ecuador:
In the late 1990's Ecuador made the news in North America only for its kidnapings and crime. So it was not surprizing to find that crime and corruption formed the backdrop for the first ever film that I saw from Ecuador. The film's title comes from a popular hit song and hence music is the other major component of this movie. A forced love story is also thrown in for good measure. Poor acting and average camera work really make this a strained watch.
Final Group B Standings:
Brazil:
Brazil always has an abundance of talented soccer players at all age levels. In fact, the Brazilian soccer team is often spoiled for choices. Likewise, I found too many film choices for the Brazilian entry. But in the end, my choice was a film that I had wanted to see since I missed it at the film festival last year. And it was a good choice.
The Man Who Copied is an entertaining film that contains all the symbols one has come to associate with modern Brazilian movies -- poverty, crime, bank robbery, Rio & its postcard picturesque shots. Still the film is charming once the narrative overdosed first 25 minutes are over. As the title alludes to, the film is about a photocopier. André has a boring job photocopying documents all day long. But he manages to keep some sanity by photocopying book pages for his personal collection. And he rounds off his days by spying on Silvia, the cute girl who lives across the street. But love does not come cheap. André needs money for his future love, so he & an accomplice hatch up a scheme to mint money using his copy machine. A few twists manage to mesh his love story with his crime streak leading towards a cool finish.
Brazilian football is easy on the eyes -- slow movement accompanied with a string of beautiful passes, a few step-overs, jigs, fakes, dribbles and then an explosive drive to round off the game. Similarly, this is an easy going film that slowly gets into its groove, picks up speed, throws in a few twists to catch us off guard and then ties up all the loose ends.
Mexico:
Viva la revolution! Mexican folklore is rich with tales of revolution and fights against injustice. While El Violin (2006) was a recent black and white masterpiece about a revolution, it is refreshing to find a gem from the 1930's. El compadre Mendoza had a different take on the revolution -- it shows a wealthy person who can make or break a revolution. Rosalío supports both the government and Zapata's revolutionaries. But the tight political game that Rosalío plays has a price -- in this case it is his family's life that is at stake. An absorbing watch!
Chile:
Andrés lives a solitary life repressing his desires and needs; most of his time is spent looking after his grandmother. In order to better take care of his grandmother, he hires Estela. But the young Estela raises suppressed desires in Andrés. It turns out that his religious upbringing is to blame for him starving his body of carnal sins. And Estela is too tempting to pass up. On the other hand, Estela is new to the city and goes through her own self discovery. Coronación also gives us glimpses of the class differences that exist in Chile while handling a story of love, desire and crime.
The film may have gotten plenty of awards but at 140 minutes, it is too long and nothing to rave about.
Ecuador:
In the late 1990's Ecuador made the news in North America only for its kidnapings and crime. So it was not surprizing to find that crime and corruption formed the backdrop for the first ever film that I saw from Ecuador. The film's title comes from a popular hit song and hence music is the other major component of this movie. A forced love story is also thrown in for good measure. Poor acting and average camera work really make this a strained watch.
Final Group B Standings:
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Copa America Film Festival, Group A
June 26, 2007: The Copa America started with Peru beating Uruguay 3-0 and the hosts Venezuela managing a surprise 2-2 tie with Bolivia. It is also time to compare the 11 films I have seen from the countries taking part in the tournament. I still have not found a film from Paraguay and my deadline is running out. Rules and format of the film competition are outlined in a previous entry .
Uruguay:
I was first introduced to Uruguay through soccer. When my interest in the game was developing, I quickly learned two things:
-- Uruguay won the first ever soccer World Cup beating Argentina in an exciting 4-2 game.
-- Uruguay won their second trophy in 1950 by beating Brazil 2-1 against all odds in front of 200,000 people packed in the Maracanã stadium.
Besides the two World Cups, Uruguay's only major achievement in the international game came by winning the 1928 Olympic gold medal. But when it comes to Copa America, Uruguay is the all time joint-top winner along with Argentina with 14 titles. However, their last title came in 1995 and it seems unlikely that the soccer team will achieve much in the near future given current problems.
The best soccer related contribution that Uruguay have made in the last decade is due to their genius author Eduardo Galeano. His book, Soccer in Sun and Shadow is one of the best books ever written about the global game. In the book, Galeano also cleverly combines political pieces of history while talking about the game's beauty. And then there is a single stroke of wit by the Uruguayan author -- starting from the 1966 tournament upto the 2002 tournament, he causally slips this line in his historical look at global events happening the same time as the soccer tournament: "Well-informed sources in Miami announced the imminent fall of Fidel Castro, it was a matter of hours."
This is the only identical line repeated in about 10 chapters of the book. It is not a very subtle inclusion but the fact that Galeano does not expand on this line any further and just repeats it as is makes for a hilarious take on the stupidity of the entire situation. Dry humour? Perhaps but absolutely funny.
Interestingly, it is a similar kind of dry wit that makes the Uruguayan film Whisky such a pleasure to watch. I had never watched any film from Uruguay before but the movie's deadpan humour was very familiar -- I really felt that I was watching another film from the Finnish film-maker Aki Kaurismäki. In Whisky, Jacobo plays an ordinary man who owns a sock factory. He follows the same dull routine everyday and is made fun of on his daily walk to work -- his local newspaper store owner never misses a chance to taunt Jacobo's soccer team's poor performance. When his slightly successful brother (Herman) from Brazil is coming for a visit, Jacobo has to show that his life is better than it seems. He asks once of his co-workers, Marta to play his wife. Herman also owns a sock factory in Brazil and uses modern machinery to earn more profits. Yet, both brothers are jealous of each other for various reasons and continue their invisible rivalry at all times. Despite not seeing each other for years, the two have nothing to talk about. So in order to pass the time, Jacobo takes Herman to a local soccer game. And when Herman once again starts giving business advice to his brother, the normally quiet Jacobo takes out his frustration by abusing the referee.
It was a real treat to see this movie. It achieves humour in the same style as Kaurismäki & Jim Jarmusch. As it stands, the Uruguay's soccer team might not do anything in Copa America. But this film is a strong candidate to win the Copa America Film Festival.
Peru:
History will show that Peru did make some waves in the World Cup for both the right and wrong reasons. The skills of Teófilo Cubillas certainly made Peru a team worth watching. But it is Peru's 6-0 loss to Argentina in the 1978 World Cup that has tainted their reputation. Argentina needed to beat Peru by four goals to reach the World Cup final and they scored the 6 goals with little opposition from the Peruvians. The game is a certain candidate for an example of match-fixing and also might point to the threat posed by Argentina's dictatorship in 1978 who wanted to use the soccer win to hide their crimes.
The current Peruvian team does have some talented players plying their trade in Europe. And it is the skills of these players that enabled Peru to dismantle Uruguay in the opening game of this year's Copa.
Días de Santiago is the second Peruvian film that I have seen & like the previous City of M its story centers around poverty and unemployment. In the intense & powerful Días de Santiago, we see a young discharged Army person struggling to find a job. Santiago fought and killed for his country but he is appalled to see the corruption around him. He is even more upset that his service counts for nothing and can't help him find work. While his ex-military friends plan a bank robbery to earn money, Santiago opts to make honest money by driving a taxi.
The film is shot in both colour and black & white. Initially, all of Santiago's inner monologues & thoughts are shown in black and white; the harsh reality around him is shown in all its colorful glory. However, as the movie progresses, Santiago's inner thoughts start to confuse with reality. It gets to a point that Santiago is speaking his mind freely to people without filtering his words for any political correctness. Right from the film's start, we know that Santiago is on edge; he is waiting to burst and destroy everything around him. His troubled and abusive family does not help in calming his nerves either. And then he snaps. But can he differentiate between thought and action?
Bolivia:
A month ago I had not seen any films from Bolivia. And now, I have seen three. Two from Rodrigo Bellott (Dependencia sexual & Who Killed the While Llama?) & American Visa. But it is Bellott's 2003 film that was my first choice for the Bolivian entry.
Sexual Dependency is an interesting look at 5 stories about teenage/youth sexual experiences in Bolivia and the USA. The stories are linked nicely in a surprizing manner. The film's opening scene focuses on an underwear billboard at a street intersection. The billboard poster, with one male model and two blondes, paints to an image of perfection. We then see separate teenagers who run into each other at that intersection and are gradually introduced to each of their lives. Each of them has a sexual experience that is not pleasant at all, whether it is a painful first time, a rape or abuse. The film tries to explore a modern generation's complications and confusions. We also see how a Bolivian stud gets completely lost in an alien and hostile American city. Each youngster realizes something about themselves and undergoes plenty of grief, all in the name of sex. And then when everything is shockingly reveled, we truly see how hollow that billboard was at the start of the film.
The film employs experimental camera angles, with split screens being the most common one. Unfortunately, the split camera angles does not add much in most scenes and seems like a distraction.
Venezuela:
Venezuela are the hosts for this year's Copa but no one is expecting them to do anything. In fact, they have only won one previous game in the Copa America's history and that was against Bolivia. They nearly managed a win on June 26, but Bolivia scored a late goal to tie the game up 2-2.
When it comes to movies, the previous Venezuelan films I have seen have only focused on the country's drug and crime situation. So it was refreshing to see a tender story in Oriana.
At the start of the film, we see forbidden love forming but a young rich girl and a servant boy. But with a click of the camera, that story vanishes. The movie then picks up a few decades in the future, when a grown up woman (Marie) returns to her family's abandoned estate in Venezuela. There she starts to uncover the story of her dead aunt and a hidden secret. The film is tenderly paced and grew on me as it went along. The emotional ending is not unexpected but has a haunting effect.
Final Group A Standings:
Uruguay wins the group and advances along with the Peruvian film. The Venezuelan entry is eliminated. But the Bolivian film has a very good chance to take one of the two third best spots.
Uruguay:
I was first introduced to Uruguay through soccer. When my interest in the game was developing, I quickly learned two things:
-- Uruguay won the first ever soccer World Cup beating Argentina in an exciting 4-2 game.
-- Uruguay won their second trophy in 1950 by beating Brazil 2-1 against all odds in front of 200,000 people packed in the Maracanã stadium.
Besides the two World Cups, Uruguay's only major achievement in the international game came by winning the 1928 Olympic gold medal. But when it comes to Copa America, Uruguay is the all time joint-top winner along with Argentina with 14 titles. However, their last title came in 1995 and it seems unlikely that the soccer team will achieve much in the near future given current problems.
The best soccer related contribution that Uruguay have made in the last decade is due to their genius author Eduardo Galeano. His book, Soccer in Sun and Shadow is one of the best books ever written about the global game. In the book, Galeano also cleverly combines political pieces of history while talking about the game's beauty. And then there is a single stroke of wit by the Uruguayan author -- starting from the 1966 tournament upto the 2002 tournament, he causally slips this line in his historical look at global events happening the same time as the soccer tournament: "Well-informed sources in Miami announced the imminent fall of Fidel Castro, it was a matter of hours."
This is the only identical line repeated in about 10 chapters of the book. It is not a very subtle inclusion but the fact that Galeano does not expand on this line any further and just repeats it as is makes for a hilarious take on the stupidity of the entire situation. Dry humour? Perhaps but absolutely funny.
Interestingly, it is a similar kind of dry wit that makes the Uruguayan film Whisky such a pleasure to watch. I had never watched any film from Uruguay before but the movie's deadpan humour was very familiar -- I really felt that I was watching another film from the Finnish film-maker Aki Kaurismäki. In Whisky, Jacobo plays an ordinary man who owns a sock factory. He follows the same dull routine everyday and is made fun of on his daily walk to work -- his local newspaper store owner never misses a chance to taunt Jacobo's soccer team's poor performance. When his slightly successful brother (Herman) from Brazil is coming for a visit, Jacobo has to show that his life is better than it seems. He asks once of his co-workers, Marta to play his wife. Herman also owns a sock factory in Brazil and uses modern machinery to earn more profits. Yet, both brothers are jealous of each other for various reasons and continue their invisible rivalry at all times. Despite not seeing each other for years, the two have nothing to talk about. So in order to pass the time, Jacobo takes Herman to a local soccer game. And when Herman once again starts giving business advice to his brother, the normally quiet Jacobo takes out his frustration by abusing the referee.
It was a real treat to see this movie. It achieves humour in the same style as Kaurismäki & Jim Jarmusch. As it stands, the Uruguay's soccer team might not do anything in Copa America. But this film is a strong candidate to win the Copa America Film Festival.
Peru:
History will show that Peru did make some waves in the World Cup for both the right and wrong reasons. The skills of Teófilo Cubillas certainly made Peru a team worth watching. But it is Peru's 6-0 loss to Argentina in the 1978 World Cup that has tainted their reputation. Argentina needed to beat Peru by four goals to reach the World Cup final and they scored the 6 goals with little opposition from the Peruvians. The game is a certain candidate for an example of match-fixing and also might point to the threat posed by Argentina's dictatorship in 1978 who wanted to use the soccer win to hide their crimes.
The current Peruvian team does have some talented players plying their trade in Europe. And it is the skills of these players that enabled Peru to dismantle Uruguay in the opening game of this year's Copa.
Días de Santiago is the second Peruvian film that I have seen & like the previous City of M its story centers around poverty and unemployment. In the intense & powerful Días de Santiago, we see a young discharged Army person struggling to find a job. Santiago fought and killed for his country but he is appalled to see the corruption around him. He is even more upset that his service counts for nothing and can't help him find work. While his ex-military friends plan a bank robbery to earn money, Santiago opts to make honest money by driving a taxi.
The film is shot in both colour and black & white. Initially, all of Santiago's inner monologues & thoughts are shown in black and white; the harsh reality around him is shown in all its colorful glory. However, as the movie progresses, Santiago's inner thoughts start to confuse with reality. It gets to a point that Santiago is speaking his mind freely to people without filtering his words for any political correctness. Right from the film's start, we know that Santiago is on edge; he is waiting to burst and destroy everything around him. His troubled and abusive family does not help in calming his nerves either. And then he snaps. But can he differentiate between thought and action?
Bolivia:
A month ago I had not seen any films from Bolivia. And now, I have seen three. Two from Rodrigo Bellott (Dependencia sexual & Who Killed the While Llama?) & American Visa. But it is Bellott's 2003 film that was my first choice for the Bolivian entry.
Sexual Dependency is an interesting look at 5 stories about teenage/youth sexual experiences in Bolivia and the USA. The stories are linked nicely in a surprizing manner. The film's opening scene focuses on an underwear billboard at a street intersection. The billboard poster, with one male model and two blondes, paints to an image of perfection. We then see separate teenagers who run into each other at that intersection and are gradually introduced to each of their lives. Each of them has a sexual experience that is not pleasant at all, whether it is a painful first time, a rape or abuse. The film tries to explore a modern generation's complications and confusions. We also see how a Bolivian stud gets completely lost in an alien and hostile American city. Each youngster realizes something about themselves and undergoes plenty of grief, all in the name of sex. And then when everything is shockingly reveled, we truly see how hollow that billboard was at the start of the film.
The film employs experimental camera angles, with split screens being the most common one. Unfortunately, the split camera angles does not add much in most scenes and seems like a distraction.
Venezuela:
Venezuela are the hosts for this year's Copa but no one is expecting them to do anything. In fact, they have only won one previous game in the Copa America's history and that was against Bolivia. They nearly managed a win on June 26, but Bolivia scored a late goal to tie the game up 2-2.
When it comes to movies, the previous Venezuelan films I have seen have only focused on the country's drug and crime situation. So it was refreshing to see a tender story in Oriana.
At the start of the film, we see forbidden love forming but a young rich girl and a servant boy. But with a click of the camera, that story vanishes. The movie then picks up a few decades in the future, when a grown up woman (Marie) returns to her family's abandoned estate in Venezuela. There she starts to uncover the story of her dead aunt and a hidden secret. The film is tenderly paced and grew on me as it went along. The emotional ending is not unexpected but has a haunting effect.
Final Group A Standings:
Uruguay wins the group and advances along with the Peruvian film. The Venezuelan entry is eliminated. But the Bolivian film has a very good chance to take one of the two third best spots.
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