Film Review by Kam Williams
Coming-of-Age Drama Revolves around Lesbian-Curious Latinas
Besides being 15 year-old Chicanas, Yolanda "Mosquita" Olveros (Fenessa Pineda) and Mari Rodriguez (Venecia Troncoso) are about as different as night and day. The former is a straight-A student and the only child of overprotective parents (Joaquin Garrido and Laura Patalano) with high expectations for their dutiful daughter. The latter, by contrast, is a relatively-troubled rebel being raised by an overwhelmed widow (Dulce Maria Solis) who's been struggling just to keep a roof over their heads since entering the U.S. illegally after the death of her husband.
The Rodriguez's plight as undocumented immigrants means that Mari has to work part-time to help out her mom financially, a burden that has taken a toll on the kid academically. Consequently, the grieving, underachieving street urchin has learned to mask her pain with a tough "I could care less" veneer.
Mari and Mosquita's paths do cross when the Rodriguez family moves next-door to the Olveros in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood located in the Huntington Park area of L.A. The two sophomores initially forge a grudging friendship at school, trading off tutoring in geometry for protection from a clique of mean girls.
But soon, they're happily spending so much time together in the afternoons and evenings that Mari loses her job while Mosquita's grades start to suffer. The plot thickens as it becomes clear that these polar opposites are not only lesbian-curious but experiencing barely-contained pangs of puppy love for each other.
Tension builds as the schoolgirl crush blossoms into a passion simmering close to the surface as each waits for the other to make the first a move. But the best these awkward neophytes can do is snuggle under a blanket while studying and scribble their names in a dirty automobile's dust.
Finally, the moment of truth arrives after a handsome boy asks attractive Mosquita for a date around the same time that a seedy man offers cash-strapped Mari money for sexual favors. At that point, obviously, something's gotta give.
The question is whether or not they're ready to take a big leap.
Marking the marvelous writing and directorial debut of Aurora Guerrero, Mosquita y Mari is a subtle exploration of coming out from the perspective of introspective adolescents at an awkward age. However, the movie has much more to offer, as it is equally sensitive in its examination of a variety of issues of urgent concern to the Latino community.
To think that in just one generation we've gone from Chico and the Man to Chica and the Girl!
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
In Spanish and English with subtitles
Running time: 85 minutes
Distributor: The Film Collaborative
Directed by Véréna Paravel and J. P. Sniadecki documentary "Foreign Parts" about the Willets Point section of Queens recieves NY Times Critics' Pick.
It’s a safe bet that the Willets Point section of Queens, setting and subject of the new documentary “Foreign Parts,” does not figure in many New York tourist itineraries, though it has starred in a movie before, Ramin Bahrani’s “Chop Shop.” This battered stretch of junkyards and auto repair shops may thrive (or fester, depending on your point of view) in the shadow of Citi Field, but it seems a universe away from that gleaming corporate food court where the Mets occasionally win a baseball game.
Read the review on The New York Times
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5 BROKEN CAMERAS is a very powerful and emotional piece of filmmaking. Now, it was never your original intention to set out to make a documentary, is that correct?
EB: Actually, when I started filming my village in 2005 I was filming and documenting for many purposes. But after a few months, the idea of making a film came to me. I saw other films had been made about the subject so I decided not to do it at that time. Instead, I started to focus on my friends, my family, and my son growing up. It was like constructing the story.
GD: When Emad asked me to work with him, it was in 2009, a few months after the killing of Bassem Abu-Rahme - El Phil. The name of the project was "Elephant in Bil'in". I actually was skeptical, since the Bil'in moevement had been portrayed in the media a lot, (think of the 2006 film "Bil'in My Love"). I didn't think it would be logical to make another film on the characters of the village and the movement. Plus, I grew up with so many films that commemorate the deaths of soldiers (Israelis of course) that I didn't like the idea of making another film that commemorates death.
Read full interview on Alive Mind Cinema
Something’s rotten in the state of Jiabo, where the king is dead, the queen has married her brother-in-law, the prince is acting crazy and his girlfriend is even crazier. Nothing ends well in “Prince of the Himalayas,” a high-altitude “Hamlet” that takes several liberties with Shakespeare’s plot but reps a muscular, boldly dramatic trip into a fanciful ancient Tibet. Considering the breathtaking landscapes, the reckless but effective camerawork and the star turn by young Tibetan comer Purba Rgyal, a festival run seems assured. Theatrical success may seem as remote as Lhasa, but it’s a heck of a calling-card movie.
Read full film review at Variety
Download to Own (US and Canada)
Something’s rotten in the state of Jiabo, where the king is dead, the queen has married her brother-in-law, the prince is acting crazy and his girlfriend is even crazier. Nothing ends well in “Prince of the Himalayas,” a high-altitude “Hamlet” that takes several liberties with Shakespeare’s plot but reps a muscular, boldly dramatic trip into a fanciful ancient Tibet. Considering the breathtaking landscapes, the reckless but effective camerawork and the star turn by young Tibetan comer Purba Rgyal, a festival run seems assured. Theatrical success may seem as remote as Lhasa, but it’s a heck of a calling-card movie.
Read full film review at Variety
Download to Own (US and Canada)