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SPAIN/ SOUTH AMERICA
Directed by Tomas Guiterrez Alea Guantanamera 1994. A Cuban political and satirical road movie. (VHS) Memories of Underdevelopment 1968. This was the first Cuban revolutionary film to be widely seen by European and US audiences. Strawberry and Chocolate 1993. Stinging Cuban comedy of sex and politics, and the first to openly deal with a gay theme.
Directed by Pedro Almodovar - All About My Mother / Todo Sobre Mi Madre 1999. After the death of her beloved teenage son in an accident a woman looks for ways to cope with her grief. Bad Education 2004. Examines the lasting ill effects of the Franco-era repressive/ abusive education system on the lives of two friends. Broken Embraces 2009. A man writes, lives and loves in darkness. Fourteen years before, he was in a brutal car crash on the island of Lanzarote. In the accident, he lost his sight along with the love of his life. Dark Habits One of the “lost” early films of Spain’s most outrageous contemporary filmmaker. Rated R. The Flower of My Secret 1995. An intimate portrait of pain & regeneration that strikes the heart without trickery. High Heels 1991. A mother returns after 15 years to discover her daughter has married one of her old boyfriends. Kika 1993. Dazzling, stylised & outrageous. Rated R. Labyrinth of Passions 1982. Frocks 'n' jocks. Rated R. (VHS) Law of Desire 1987. More outrageous comedy. Rated R. Live Flesh 1997. Freely adapted from a Ruth Rendell thriller. Matador 1988. Mind-boggling psychosexual melodrama carried to hilarious extremes. Rated R. (VHS) Pepi, Luci, Bom 1981. His first feature. Rated R (VHS) Talk to Her/ Hable con ella. 2002. Two men will meet by chance…. Tie Me Up Tie Me Down 1989. Examination of the power games implicit in marriage (VHS) Volver Superstition, life after death and convoluted family secrets abound. Stars Penelope Cruz. What Have I Done to Deserve This? 1984. Outrageous black comedy about a suburban housewife. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown 1988. Crazy comedy about relationships.
Directed by Carlos Saura - Ay! Carmela Concerns a ragged but enthusiastic cabaret trio entertaining troops in 1938. (VHS) Carmen 1983. Saura’s sensuous dance interpretation of the Bizet opera. Cría Cuervos (Raise Ravens) 1975. Geraldine Chaplin stars in elliptical film about the last days of Fascism in Spain. (VHS) Tango 1998 A tribute to the expressive and romantic power of the Tango. (VHS)
Amores Perros (Love’s a Bitch) Dir. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Brutally tough but ultimately rewarding Mexican drama. Rated R. The Aura/ El Aura Dir. Fabian Bielinsky, 2005. Argentinian thriller about a deluded taxidermist who plans the perfect crime. Belle Epoque Dir. Fernando Trueba. Tongue-in-cheek comedy set in Spain in 1931. Winner of 1994 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. (VHS) Black Orpheus/ Orfeu Negro Dir. Marcel Camus. 1959 Academy Award winning version of the Orpheus legend set during Carnivale in Rio. Bombon el Perro Dir. Carlos Sorin. Delightful film about an out of work mechanic who is given a dog. Brasileirinho Dir. Mika Kaurismaki. More than just a musical documentary it is a fascinating insight into the people of Brazil and a way of life. Bus 174 Dir. Jose Padilha. Brazilian Gripping documentary about a bus high-jacking in June 2000. Portuguese language. Camino Dir. Javier Fesser, Spain 2008. Camino is a beautiful and bubbly thirteen-year-old whose life is controlled by her mother's strict devotion to the Catholic Opus Dei sect. Central Station Dir. Walter Salles. A woman who writes letters for the illiterate at Rio de Janeiro's central train station feels obliged to help a 9 year old boy whose mother has just been killed. They journey to a remote area of Brazil in search of the boy’s father. Portuguese. (VHS) City of God Dir. Fernando Meirelles. Brazil. Gritty drama of ghetto life. Portuguese. The Crime of Father Amaro Dir. Carlos Carrera. Provocative Mexican drama about church corruption. Danzon Dir. Maria Navaro, a kind of Mexican "Strictly Ballroom" (VHS) The Devil’s Backbone Dir. Guillermo del Toro. A classy Spanish horror film set in an orphanage during the Spanish Civil War. Doña Herlinda and Her Son Dir. Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, nicely judged gay comedy. (VHS) El Topo Dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky, Mexico, 1970. A landmark film that spawned a genre and defined the way a generation watched underground cinema. Championed by John Lennon El Topo started the ‘midnight movies’ phenomenon in 1970. Family Law Dir. Daniel Burman, 2006. Becoming a husband and father makes a man reflect upon the similarities and differences between himself and his father. The Fencing Master Dir. Pedro Olea. A sensuous Spanish thriller. (VHS) The Holy Mountain Dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky, Mexico, 1973. An outrageous and over the top journey that tears apart false mysticism and religious ideology. I Don’t Want to Talk About It Dir. Maria Luisa Benberg, with Marcello Mastroiani. (VHS) Intacto Dir. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Spanish thriller with four players each the sole survivor of a catastrophe vieing for supremacy in a dangerous game. Jamon Jamon Dir. Bigas Luna. Crazy Spanish sex comedy. Rated R. King of the Hill Dir. Gonzalez Lopez-Gallego, Spain 2007. An intricate mystery thriller set in rural Spain. Libertarias Dir. Vincente Aranda. Story of six women’s’ fight for freedom during the Spanish Civil War. Rated R. (VHS) Like Water for Chocolate Dir. Alfonso Arau, Mexico. Magical feast of a film, winner of 25 international awards. Don’t miss this one. Lower City Dir. Sergio Machado, Brazil, 2005. Two hustlers fall passionately for the same stripper – a sultry lust triangle. Madame Sata Dir. Karim Ainouz Brazil 2002. Loose portrait of Jaoa Francisco dos Santos, a sometime chef, lover, father, transvestite, hero and convict. Maria Full of Grace Dir. Joshua Marston, 2004. Story of a young woman who works as a drug mule for Columbians in order to raise money for her family. El Mariachi Dir. Robert Rodriguez. A sort of Mexican "Mad Mex". (VHS) Matando Cabos Dir. Alejandro Lozanzo. A killer mob comedy. Me, You, Them / Eu Tu Elas Dir. Andrucha Waddington, Brazil, 2000. A suprising comedy about a woman with three husbands all living under the same roof. (VHS) The Method Dir. Marcelo Piñeyro, 2005. The competitive employment interview process taken to an extreme. Miracle Alley Dir. Jorge Fons. Adaptation of the novel by Naguib Mahfouz. (VHS) The Motorcycle Diaries Dir. Walter Salles. The story of youn Che Guevara’s formative journey through South America that ultimately transformed him from an apolitical introvert into a revolutionary. Mouth to Mouth Dir. Manuel Gomez Pereira. A slice of chic Spanish eroticism. (VHS) Nicotina Dir. Hugo Rodriguez, 2003. A science geek tangles with gangsters when he fails to deliver the correct computer disc. Nine Queens Dir. Fabian Bielinsky. Amoral Argentian thriller with a sting in its tail worthy of "The Usual Suspects". Nobody Will Speak of Us When We Are Dead Dir. Augustin Diaz Yanes. A gutsy thriller. Rated R. (VHS) El Norte/ The North Dir. Gregory Nava. Powerful American Playhouse production about a brother and sister's flight from their ravaged Guatemalan village to the elusive dreams of North America - "El Norte". The Official Story Dir.Luis Puenzo, 1985. Frightening tale of the military junta in Argentina. Open Your Eyes/ Abre los ojos Dir. Alejandro Amenabar. A dazzling thriller which toys with our perceptions to great effect. Lugubriously remade as “Vanilla Sky” with Tom Cruise. O’Quatrilho Dir. Fabio Barreto. Scandalous passions erupt in small rural village in Southern Brazil in 1910. Portuguese. (VHS) The Orphanage Dir. Jaun Antonio Bayona, 2007. Produced by Guillermo del Torro (Pan’s Labyrinth) this is another dark parable of modern Spain. The Other Side of the Bed Dir. Emilio Martinez-Lazaro, 2002. Raucous and sexy romantic comedy was one of Spain’s top-grossing films for the year and winner of 6 Goya Awards. Our Lady of the Assassins Dir. Barbet Schroeder. A gay novelist returns to his homeland to die. Pan’s Labyrinth Dir. Guillermo del Toro, 2006. Powerful allegorical fantasy set during the Spanish Civil War. Princesses Dir. Fernando Leon de Aransa A story of friendship and love in the world of prostitution. The Quince Tree Sun Dir. Victor Erice, an extraordinary kind of "documentary" following the creation of a painting. (VHS) Santa Sangre Dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky. A molotov cocktail of sex, death and horror. Made in English. Rated R. (VHS) The Sea Inside Dir. Alejandro Amenabar, 2005. The real life story of a Spanish man who fought a 30 year campaign in favour of euthanasia and his own right to die. Sex and Lucia Dir. Julio Medem. Erotically charged this enigmatice and sensuous film explores themes of love, loss, sex and the peculiarities of fate. Silent Light Dir.Carlos Reygadas, Mexico 2007. A moving tale of love and betrayal played out against the pastoral backdrop of the North Mexican Mennonite community. In low German and Spanish. Sin Nombre/ Without Name Dir. Cary Fukunaga, Mexico 2009. A powerful thriller about the quest of two "nameless ones" to leave the unforgiving and gang-controlled world of central America behind them. Sur/ South Dir. Fernando Solanas, Argentina. Charts the agony of an exile's return and the ghosts of the past. (VHS) La Tarea Dir. Jaime Humberto Hermosillo. Dazzling and original use of video. Rated R. (VHS) Vengo Dir. Tony Gatliff . Another of his chronicles of gypsy life this time set in Andalusia’s flamenco culture. Woman on Top Dir. Fina Torres. Romatic Brazilian comedy, made in English, stars Penelope Cruz as a very hot cook. (VHS) Y tu Mama Tambien Dir. Alfonso Cuaron. Raucous Mexican road movie about adolescent male sexuality. Rated R.
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