Io Sono Li

I perceived Io Sono Li, a film by documentary maker Andrea Segre, like a piece of conceptual art. That type of conceptual art that twists an ordinary object into something different, showing you a new angle, maybe a more poetic side, or a deeper meaning. Italy in the last two decades has been a point of arrival for many low skilled foreign workers, including Chinese. Shun Li is one of them, sent first to Rome, and then moved to Chioggia (La Petite Venise), by an undefined Chinese organisation. She starts working in an "osteria" in the dock area where local fishermen and pensioners meet for a drink, a game of cards, a celebration for the end of one's working life. One of them, himself an immigrant from Yugoslavia who arrived 30 years earlier, feels a connection with the new barista who speaks few words of Italian, let alone the local dialect. Bepi, who calls his real home a shack on the water of the laguna, is locally known as "the poet" and is the type of man that sees things with eyes wide open, a cut above the rest of the group, a simple wise man that is curious and understanding. The two characters break walls and boundaries that are normally very high in the everyday experiences of Europeans rubbing shoulders with Chinese. And this is what is most interesting about this film for me, learning that no matter what differences and hardships people experience they can learn to connect. This is what makes popular culture alive (and in fact Chinese and Italian cultural references feature in the background, becoming universal). We can be affected by macro economic theories, social policies, geopolitics, criminal organisations activities and all of that, but in the end it's up to us to find ways to learn about each other and see things from a perspective which is closer to us than we think.

This film is a true gem that can hardly be seen in the mainstream. Hopefully, having won the European Parliament Lux Prize, it will be distributed at a cinema near you. Do not miss its bittersweet taste.

Life in the streets of Rio de Janeiro

Choosing what to watch online requires commitment. You can't just sit there and zap with your remote. You have to actually choose what to watch and you have so much to choose from. But I am slowly making more rational choices and finding out where the good content is. I've always loved documentaries and the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam is certainly a place I recommend. I was there once to watch Falluja by Nick Broomfield.

Anyway I've come across IDFA TV and you can actually watch documetaries online. It's a Vimeo channel embedded in the page

Here is the link

I watched On the Street by Sérgio Bloch (57 min) and it was time well spent. It's about how different characters managed to make a living out of their performances on the street of Rio de Janeiro. There are visual portraits of the performances, including a disabled man and a prostitute but what makes it even more interesting is that it shows the richness of street life in Brasil. The creativity of the people and the economic interaction that is taking place is something that hints at the vibrant development of the country and present the urban setting in a completely different fashion than the fictional film Tropa de Elite, a successful film that has become a sequel with Tropa de Elite 2 now showing in Europe.

Melancholia by Lars von Trier

I'm making a bold statement here but Melancholia could be the film of the decade.

Stunning photography to such a level that it almost resembles a Dali painting, for its composition and surreality. You are really drawn into the story and the trailer was pretty clever in not giving away too many details, and I don't want to do that either.

A depressed woman is getting married and an extremely expensive party is thrown at this breathtaking mansion immersed in nature. Family ties come to the fore and your attention span moves from depressed Justine, interpreted by Kirsten Dunst, to scared Claire, interpreted by Charlotte Gainsbourg as the film is divided into two parts, introduced by a bizarre prologue. Claire's husband, a scientist epitomising rationality, is busy calculating the advancement of planet Melancholia towards the earth. Characters are well portrayed by good acting, and that's quite important when you have an existentialist epic drama like this one.

Kirsten won best actress in Cannes for her role and let me mention two taglines from her dialogues: "I know things" and "the earth is evil". Certainly Lars speaks his mind, but we already know this from his awful Cannes gaffe. Or did he just do that to draw attention to his film?

C'eravamo tanto amati

"We think about the future but the future is already past." This film is about post-war generation of Italians, struggling to find their way into the world. It could so much be about the present, the only difference today is being brainwashed by Berlusconi and Berlusconi style messages. At least that generation had the courage to have children, whilst today we are either leaving the country or becoming parents after 30s. There must be something wrong in our character, the only consolation being that chaos makes great art. Ettore Scola played homage to De Sica and Fellini who portrayed different aspects of Italian society. Today's Italian cinema is more intimate, there no such thing as a reflection upon our generation. Paolo Sorrentino is a good example of that, although the themes seems to be confined to political drama and organised crime. I like to think that in C'eravamo tanto amati the winner is Antonio, although the Gianni's seem to be on the rise nowadays.

Moskwood Media

Films to be released on DVD from Moskwood Media

Les Choristes

It's a French movie about music, teaching and human nature. Learning in life is part of the development of one's self. When you come across people like Clement Mathieu, the supervisor at a boarding school for the rehabilitation of minors, what comes across is the deep nature of a feeling of gratitude towards certain great teachers. Often low paid, sometimes considered failures in society, the world would be a worst place to live without them.

Tropa de Elite

Check out this film about the violent favelas in Rio de Janeiro where a group of armed police (Bope) fights a war with the drug dealers. Discipline and Punish by French philosopher Michel Foucault is also mentioned. It's a film that shouldn't be celebrated for its violence but for what it triggers on your ideas on chaos and order.

The Pursuit of Happyness

Films are open to personal interpretations. Although the Pursuit of Happyness (2006) might seem yet another take on the American dream I like to see that its contradictions are also shown. Remember the scene when a car with a bunch of rich and happy people drives past the long queue that everyday forms outside a San Francisco dormitory for the homeless? Or some other harsh aspects which are perfectly plausible such as the treatments Chris Gardner experiences everyday in his situation of a working poor in a big city where the word welfare doesn't even exist? It's an autobiography and offers a personal account of the way one can face the difficulties of life.

I am not afraid

This Italian film was presented in many International Film Festivals, it has a striking image and you wonder what it's about but the best thing to do is watch the film unprepared. Suffice it to know that the story is taken from a book by Nicolo Ammaniti, suspence comes in right at the beginning and director Gabriele Salvatores turns that into a deeper reflection.

Babel by Alejandro González Iñárritu

Back from over a month of Europe trotting Babel was the right film to end my holidays with. My final and simple conclusion is that no matter where you go you will find people dealing with pain and tragedy. Certainly lack of communication, as the title suggests, is the film's culprit. I'd take Richard's (Brad Pitt) advice for a start when, speaking to his wife Susan (Cate Blanchett) he tells her to relax although this isn't the approach that we normally have when dealing with human tragedy, from the private sphere to international politics. Beautiful shoots and scenery of Morocco, the Mexican border and Tokyo does give the film a road movie aesthetic and a thoughful cultural insight.

Elizabethtown

Elizabethtown as well as being an American flick by Almost Famous' director Cameron Crowe starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst, represents your home town, the one you left for the city in search of an interesting future. The film opens with the career fiasco of a young man facing other low points in life such as the loss of his dad that makes him return to his Kentucky roots and bumps into a person that really changes his perspective on the world. Although death, suicide, love are subject matters of the film the inherent comedy of certain situations really leaves you with a good spirit by the end of your evening in.

Barcelona

I was in Barcelona for the Easter Break and I had a wicked time there visiting the usual touristy stuff.

I had an excellent guide there and got a chance to see things from a different perspective.
For instance, there is great speculation when you need to rent a room, the house market is really pricey and unless you know your way round you might end up living in pretty crappy places. The Spanish Apartment, as they call it. They also made a film about being an Erasmus student, meeting loads of people from different places and having a good time. Check it out here L'Auberge Espagnole if you like, but reality is much harscher than the film. If you are hunting for a place to live in Barcelona, you won't get anything like the house in the picture.