This Fall: Amigos del Cine's Top Picks

Las favoritas de Amigos del Cine/Amigos del Cine’s Top Picks

 

In 2011, Amigos del Cine celebrates its eight year of activity. It is an odd number to commemorate – a fifth or a tenth anniversary are all more traditional landmarks. And yet, it just happened to be one of those moments where we realized it is never too late, or too early, to show a side of ourselves that is as vital for what we do as the topics we often select to anchor our choices of screenings – our very own, individual tastes in movies.  Although brought together by a love of cinema, nostalgia for our respective homelands, and a need to celebrate the latter through former (not to mention our affiliation with the University of Pittsburgh), Amigos del Cine is a very diverse group with personalities that audience members at our screenings might be somewhat familiar with, but that to this day remain somewhat distant – we are faces and names who come on stage before the lights go out, give you some background information on the film you are about to see, and then return to thank you for your presence and attention. You might know us as a collective, but you are yet to glimpse, behind our choices as series programmers, how we really feel about the movies we eagerly share with you. So consider this as our way of introducing ourselves to you, our audience, the most important element of our series.  And what could be more revealing of our identities than our favorite movies?

 

Welcome, then, to our Fall 2011 series, where our unifying theme is the closeness of the films to our hearts – enjoy “Amigos del Cine’s Top Picks,” presented by those who selected them to tell you, rather simply, why these four films are so special.

 

 

Thursday, Sept. 8             Under The Same Moon / La Misma Luna   Director:  Patricia Riggen   (2008)

For some of us, immigrants by choice, not by force, the topic of immigration is very close to our hearts and minds.  “Under the same moon” is one of my favorite films.  I like this movie because it presents the realities of illegal immigration in a very simple and yet powerful way.  This is a simple movie that tells a simple story:  a child’s journey in search for her mother who has gone to US to build a better life for both of them.  Regardless of your political views on immigration, this is a wonderful and very human story.  It brings laughter, sadness, and a sincere sense of happiness into an enjoyable, movie-going experience.   Martha Mantilla

 

                                               

Thursday, Oct. 6               Profundo carmesí            Director: Arturo Ripstein (1996) 

After three decades of being among the most internationally renowned Mexican filmmakers and the country’s undisputed paragons of sordid, unflinching film drama that found ever more direct paths to hopelessness, director Arturo Ripstein and screenwriter Paz Alicia Garciadiego made their first bona-fide black comedy in Profundo Carmesí, a madly hilarious tale of murder and twisted love between a couple (Regina Orozco and Daniel Giménez Cacho) who kill wealthy spinsters for their money. Despite the lurid subject matter and some extremely hard-to-watch moments, the film sports a glorious sense of humor that magically balances drama with horror, and that opens unexpected affective possibilities where other Ripstein/Garciadiego (and many other highly regarded Mexican films, for that matter) shut them down as they wallow in their characters’ misery. It is film that is disturbing and enjoyable all at the same time.  - Felipe Pruneda

 

 

 Wednesday, Nov. 2        El bolero de Raquel / Raquel's Bolero  with Mario Moreno CANTINFLAS  Director: Miguel M. Delgado (1957)  

 

Thursday, Dec. 1               TBA