SPECIAL FEATURE: DVD Review: Mammoth

Film: Mammoth
Release date: 14th March 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 125 mins
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Michelle Williams, Marife Necesito, Sophie Nyweide, Thomas McCarthy
Genre: Drama
Studio: Soda
Format: DVD
Country: Sweden/Denmark/Germany

This is a majority English-language release.

Lukas Moodysson’s Mammoth introduces the director’s first English speaking film and reverts back to the good old narrative style (thankfully some might say) somewhat abandoned in his last two disappointing projects. Babel-style comparative and interlinking stories pave the way for thought-provoking themes inspired by everyday people and life defining situations.

The story focuses on three different situations amongst one small family: dad, Leo, a computer game wizard who owns his own business; mum, Ellen, an ER surgeon; their young daughter, Jackie; and their Filipino nanny/housekeeper, Gloria.

When Leo travels to Thailand to sign a business contract, the deal unexpectedly takes longer than promised, and Leo is left to amuse himself. He travels to a remote, picturesque island where he takes up with some pot-smoking travellers one night and ends up in a brothel. At first he sympathises with the situation and pays a prostitute named Cookie to go home alone. However, when Cookie finds him the next morning, they spend the day together, and Leo, caught up in the romance, sleeps with her. The next day, he regrets what he’s done, pushes the deal through asap, and returns home to his family in New York.

Meanwhile, Ellen spends a few hard days at work trying to save a young neglected boy who arrives with multiple stab wounds to the abdomen which he received from his own mother. Ellen develops an attachment to the boy because of his situation, and wishes she could spend more time caring for her own daughter. Instead, she is torn between work and home while her daughter grows ever more attached to the housekeeper, and simultaneously estranged from herself.

The final strand of the tale is all about Gloria, the housekeeper, and her two young sons who live back home in the Philippines. As Gloria struggles emotionally to spend so much time away from them, her mother assures the grandsons she is doing it for their own financial good. Nevertheless, the older brother, Badong, one night seeks easy money from tourists in the city; innocently ignorant to what it entails, only eager to obtain money to allow his mother to return home. His beaten body is discovered the next day, and Gloria comes home for good to be with her family…


There has been controversy surrounding a perceived theme in the story – that of women living for their work and neglecting their children along the way, and this is an oversight of Moodysson, a self proclaimed supporter of feminist politics. Considering the film is about human relationships and families, an audience can’t help but make the link. All three working women in the film – Ellen, Gloria, and Cookie - have moments lamenting time not spent with their children, and only when something tragic happens to Gloria’s son does she return to him. Otherwise, by the end of the film, even after instances of self-realisation, nothing really happens to change Ellen’s or Cookie’s situations, and life will go on as before.

In fact, nothing hugely positive can be taken from the story at all. Be it issues of working women, tourism, child-rearing, third world society, even the modern day family – none are looked on too kindly. Instead, we are shown the dark side of tourism, prostitution, philandering husbands, negligent mothers, and people who have to make a living on rubbish dumps. If Moodysson’s aim was to pose questions and make us think, then he fails. And the reason why is because there’s not enough depth.

It’s all very well illustrating the problems in every aspect of global modern society, however, the film could have been displayed in mute and the audience would still understand what’s going on. This point would usually be taken as an appraisal of on-screen coherence and a nod to the production, but when a film like Mammoth tries to make a study of deep themes within society, it needs to give an audience more to chew on.

Better character development could have done the trick and given an extra dimension the film needs. The characters seem to be there to serve a purpose instead of the other way round.

However, saying all this, the film isn’t as bad as it sounds. It is cleanly produced and the $10 million budget makes sure of this. With a funky soundtrack, smooth filming and two big names attached in Williams and Garcia Bernal, all is not lost in the name of entertainment. The colour palette and scenery are nothing but pleasing to the eye, and there is one (although just the one) amusing episode in a conversation between three prostitutes discussing punters’ performances according to nationality.


Despite the film’s avoidance to build or flesh out its solid themes, Moodysson presents us with a just-about plausible feature; although what’s being presented is a bit slow and obvious. Mammoth should only be given a hard time by those seeking to do so. Otherwise, it’s a watchable film leaning on the side of ‘nothing’, because that’s what it leaves the viewer feeling – if a bit sad. MI

REVIEW: DVD Release: Amores Perros

Film: Amores Perros
Release date: 24th September 2001
Certificate: 18
Running time: 154 mins
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo, Álvaro Guerrero, Vanessa Bauche
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: Mexico

The tagline for Amores Perros (Innaritu, 2000) reads: “Love is betrayal. Love is anguish. Love is sin. Love is selfish. Love is hope. Love is pain. Love is death. What is love? Love’s a bitch”; Not exactly the most appealing piece of advertising to anyone reading it, deciding whether to actually watch the film or not, but what the tagline lacks in sensitivity, in gains in honesty. Amores Perros certainly packs punches in that regard.

The first tale is Octavio (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Susana (Vanessa Bauche). It is Octavio that causes a crash, although being chased by a speeding pick-up truck doesn’t help a person’s nerves. His life revolves around helping to care for his family. Octavio does this by entering himself and the family dog, Cofi, into the underground world of dog fighting. The incentive for this financial gain is Susana and the child, who he plans to run away with; away from the unpredictable and often violent nature of Ramiro. The world of crime rears its ugly head when gang leader Jarocho seeks retribution from Octavio, and the car crash is the climactic point to the story of two people whose lives are torn apart by their forbidden love.

The second story in the film involves the other driver of the car involved in the crash, a woman called Valeria (Goya Toledo) and her lover, Daniel (Alvaro Guerrero). The car crash leaves Valeria seriously injured in her right leg, and although their optimism attempts to prevail, the cracks begin to surface. Behind Valeria’s beauty, an ugly temperament is born from frustration, a failing career, and being held captive by her disability. The fault lines start to appear in Daniel, too; the beautiful woman he desired has shown a side of herself that he wasn’t prepared for, and a rising level of regret shows – calling his ex-wife, falling into the same patterns, and bursts of anger. From the moment of the car crash, Daniel and Valeria’s lives and their love for each other changes, and both have to come to the realisation that what they fell in love with is the rushed love itself.

The final story is of a figure that has been present since the start of the film. The omnipresent figure of El Chivo (Emilio Echevarría) lives in squalid conditions, living on the streets and assassinating people for high prices. El Chivo appears to be a man incapable of love or has forgotten what it feels like, but as one of the on-lookers at the car-crash, his compassion results in Cofi the dog’s survival. El Chivo takes Cofi and nurses him back to health, unaware of Cofi’s brutal disposition. El Chivo, unlike the main characters in the two previous stories, knows the heartache of a lost love; his daughter doesn’t recognise him and after reading that the wife he abandoned is dead, a man who lives on the rock bottom of society has found a new emotional low. It is Cofi the dog that teaches El Chivo an important lesson in salvation. El Chivo returns to his neglected hovel to find Cofi has killed all the other dogs. Cofi has, by acting in the way he was taught to, shown El Chivo the other side to his own dark profession; the heartache that the families of his targets must feel when he kills them. To further himself along the path of redemption, El Chivo teaches the contractor and the contracted to kill the errors within their feud; it takes a character whose lack of love teaches those that love is not a constant certainty in this world. Love is something that needs to be worked at and nurtured...


In the often harsh reality of life, love can be all those things because it is such a mixture of emotions; it’s never a typical rom-com affair, that isn’t how lives are lived, no matter how much cliché pop-rock a person listens to. However, in an almost antithesised situation to the idea of blossoming love, the five lead characters stories are joined together by a brutal car crash on the streets of Mexico City. But first, we have to back up...even though the car crash it is the first thing that we are shown. Yes, it is very confusing but Amores Perros belongs in a trilogy of films (Amores Perros, 21Grams, Babel) by director Innaritu and their writer Guillermo Arriaga that adopt a non-linear storytelling method. Although initially harder to follow, the interweaving stories of the five lead characters benefit from the episodic interaction time with the audience. It reflects the reality of human interaction. One doesn’t just constantly follow another person’s trials when they are dealing with love.

Amores Perros can, at times, be a distressing film to watch. Unlike 21Grams and Babel, it doesn’t have a problem with detailing the darker sides of its subject matter, exemplified by the car crash. If, however, you can get past the gruesome factors in Amores Perros, your rewards are numerable and inspiring.

A great proportion of the strength of Amores Perros comes from the acting. The lead actors are committing to a real soul-searching project; dealing with heartbreaking situations and being in emotional states that are incomprehensible to those looking from the outside in. Emilio Echevarría’s performance is inspirational, and stands out against the other four because it is he who is the easiest to connect to. After all, El Chivo, like the audience, is a person looking in on other people’s lives, and granted a window of observation because of his status. The pinnacle of Echevarría’s performance is his final solo scene. It is hauntingly beautiful, and his dialogue pulls at the heartstrings. It is all the more effective for being shot in one continuous take - the emotion being poured out feels so genuine, and produces a greater level of interaction. This is not to say the performances of the other four leads are diminished. Goya Toledo digs deep for this film, and delivers a heartbreaking performance for anyone watching; her life being torn apart by another’s actions is like watching an angel slowly lose her wings. The surprise role in this film is Gustavo Sánchez Parra, who plays Jarocho the gang leader. It is unusual to instil an antagonist into a realist film, as typically the characters are dealing with their own internal demons. Gustavo Sánchez Parra expertly crafts himself as a sadistic gang-leader; he is not supposed to be likable but the way he delivers the lines with the right inflictions culminates in a somewhat ‘Jack-the-lad’ character.

Of course, all of the performances are aided by the material they are provided with. Guillermo Arriaga is a very gifted writer in this genre, shown by the number of nominations and wins garnered from his partnership with Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu. The dialogue for each character has such intelligence and earthly experience behind it. Even Octavio, a character steeped in impudence, has lines and turn of phrases that hang in the air (“Being tough won’t make you smart”).

A lot of what drives the film and keeps a person watching lies in the edit and camerawork. Non-linear editing can either make or break a film; it can add such intrigue and mystery to a plot that it leaves the viewer craving to watch it again, or it can destroy the narrative past comprehension. In the case of Amores Perros, the edit adds another subliminal level of realism. As stated before, the intermittent interaction time the audience has with the lead cast reflects how we interact with each other. Returning to stories in different stages adds a gripping level of wonder to the plot - seeing El Chivo wandering the streets with his cart and dogs results in a craving to know why this character is featuring in the first place (what is his importance?). Seeing the never-made interactions, like Octavio being in his bedroom while Valeria is on television, and knowing that they are destined to be involved in each other’s lives, is tantalising. The raw camerawork supporting the edit is gripping. It brings the performances of the cast to such a surface level. It adds intensity to the car chase and it complements the different surroundings of Mexico City; from the underbelly where chaos is king, to the middle class suburbia where long takes capture the repression of anger and rage.

One criticism is the film’s soundtrack and use of music-video editing within a film. When the edit has been sacrificed to fit a piece of music into the soundtrack, the overall relationship between sound and image is temporarily lost. It works in some genres; action, comedy, etc. In a realist genre, it’s preferable to have a diegetic soundtrack -it is more engrossing and believable.



Amores Perros is not for the faint of heart, but it is a genre defining film. It adds to the culture and production of Mexican cinema. It is a marvel to watch on a technical level - the shot composition and edit throws your emotions about; from utter confusion, to quiet tears and contemplation. The reason that it is so easy to watch repeatedly is because it doesn’t age - it is a modern classic. TJB

NEWS: DVD Release: Mammoth

Multiple language film, including English.

Drama from Swedish writer-director Lukas Moodysson.

Successful couple Leo (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Ellen (Michelle Williams) lead busy lives and have little time to spend with their young daughter, Jackie (Sophie Nyweide), who is cared for by her Filipino nanny, Gloria (Marife Necesito).

When Leo goes to Thailand to do a business deal, Ellen becomes envious of Gloria because of her closeness to her Jackie. However, Gloria's own children miss her, and soon a tragedy sees her return to her home in Manila.

Meanwhile, Leo becomes involved with a working mother while in Thailand, and his actions have a dramatic effect on all those involved.

Film: Mammoth
Release date: 14th March 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 125 mins
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Michelle Williams, Marife Necesito, Sophie Nyweide, Thomas McCarthy
Genre: Drama
Studio: Soda
Format: DVD
Country: Sweden/Denmark/Germany

REVIEW: DVD Release: Amores Perros

Film: Amores Perros
Release date: 24th September 2001
Certificate: 18
Running time: 154 mins
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo, Álvaro Guerrero, Vanessa Bauche
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: Mexico

In 2001, Amores Perros established a concrete foundation for the allegiance of Alejandro González Iñárritu amd Gael García Bernal to build their recent stream of candid revelations about their culture. By name as well as nature, this early affiliation has no doubt influenced subsequent releases. Tragedy and money dictate the lives of three independent, but unknowingly connected individuals. A maze of stories explores the impact of a single momentous event that alters the very core of those involved. A reflection of identity and human nature, Iñárritu and Arriaga’s eloquent collaboration makes for a revealing case.

Everything kicks off with a literal bang when brothers Octavia (Gael García Bernal) and Ramiro (Marco Pérez) are introduced. Hurtled into a car chase, viewers immediately know the kind of characters they are dealing with - and they’re definitely not on the right side of the law. With unusual concern for the wounded dog lying across their back seat, the siblings dodge oncoming traffic and give the stunt team a satisfying, but moderate stretch of their skills. The aforementioned dog that clings onto life is in fact a gateway to wealth. Far from the family pet, Cofi is a working dog who earns his keep in the illegal world of dog fighting. Whilst Ramiro puts his share of winnings into his hedonistic habits, Octavia funds his secret family. Secret, because it is in fact his brother’s: he has fallen for Ramiro’s schoolgirl partner - and their child. As the abusive Ramiro busies himself with other women, drugs and money, the ‘good’ brother steps up to the role of father to his nephew.

The second set of lives Iñárritu touches upon is Daniel and Valeria (Álvaro Guerrero and Goya Toledo). The family guy and media mogul leaves his wife for his celebrity girlfriend, but the woman he fell for doesn’t hang around for long. She may have remained in body, but her tormented spirit has gone AWOL. Valeria is the true heroine of the tale, exposing Daniel‘s role as little more than a vehicle through which to express the gross avarice of modern society.

Chivito is played by Echevarrí, who is fast becoming a Bernal for the older generation - or maybe that should be Bernal is an Echevarri for teenagers. Often appearing alongside his counterpart, Echevarrí makes his apprentice accessible to his peers. Chivito completes the Amores Perros trio and proves crime isn’t just for the young. Not quite homeless, he has a roof over his head and food in his stomach courtesy of his criminal contacts; few standards or taboos are too low to line his wallet. When viewers relive the accident one final time, they see that he is one of the first on the scene, rummaging shamelessly through blood soaked pockets. A reputable crook, he charges fractional fees to carry out the desires of villains, and his latest job makes him responsible for solving a sibling tension once and for all…


Amores Perros is a film driven equally by story and character. Iñárritu undoubtedly proves his craftsmanship by harnessing Arriaga’s intricate script, taming it and presenting it to punters in a truly accessible way. Like a circus master of cinema, he boldly thrusts his head into the lion’s mouth of plot. Yawning wide, it is poised, threatening to clamp down and sink those jagged fangs of mishap and mistake into the director’s neck. Yet Iñárritu effortlessly escapes the peril he flirts with, albeit with tried and tested themes. So smoothly does he execute the script, it may only be when viewers step back to recall the entirety of what they have watched that they realise its enormity.

Such an extensive collection of plots requires a similarly extensive cast, and a gifted one at that. Iñárritu strikes gold once again, as his actors deliver wonderfully. With no light-hearted task ahead of them, they have a duty to represent persuasive and forcible transformations. Of course, to claim that each undergoes a personality transplant would be crude, but undeniably they all grow in their own appropriate and achievable ways. Octavia’s may be a little predictable and a little twee, but provides a firm foundation.

Valeria’s development is deserving of closer inspection: it is gradual, rewarding and endearing. Toledo puts on a noteworthy performance - utterly compelling and inspiring. The costume department also demonstrates its skill, manifesting Valeria’s strife in her appearance. Established as a typical supermodel type, she is capitalism personified. Her body and life is shattered, however, and this triggers her own personal discovery; rather beautifully, she descends into modesty and reticence. A little too perfect and a little too satisfying, her situation is nevertheless a powerful one. Viewers, whether they know it or not, will have already endured streams of Marxism in film, but this shouldn’t detract from their import. Teaming politics with trauma and personal crises, Iñárritu avoids exhausting the argument - thankfully, he makes his point and swiftly moves on.

Chivito goes on proving the talents of Iñárritu’s costumiers - he is physically unrecognisable by the film’s end. His story and character overhaul is spectacular in terms of outward transformation, but also by its alteration to the entire film. The latter is so subtle, and perhaps slightly subjective, that the additional layer of suggestion brought to Ameros Perros may remain undetected by many. For those who do uncover it, the entire film will take on an entirely new meaning. Ultimately, it seems to question assumptions made of each character’s identity - a poignant challenge, strikingly applicable to judgements made in real life.


Iñárritu truly masters Arriaga’s script, and irrefutably knew what he was doing when he made Amores Perros. By the end, it becomes clear that every detail is fully intended and contributes to a sum greater than its parts. With remarkable skill, he accessibly works socio-political commentary and personal tribulations into a complicated yet coherent film. RS

REVIEW: DVD Release: Amores Perros

Film: Amores Perros
Release date: 24th September 2001
Certificate: 18
Running time: 154 mins
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo, Álvaro Guerrero, Vanessa Bauche
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: Mexico

Three un-connected stories collide when a car crash in Mexico City changes the lives of everyone involved. The debut of young director Alejandro González Iñárritu, the film won the BAFTA award for Best Film Not In The English Language, despite originally being labeled “un-releasable” in the UK. In an exploration of human suffering in three different walks of life, Iñárritu uses the protagonists’ relationships with their dogs to symbolize their common struggles and fall from grace.

The first of the three interwoven stories follows young working-class Octavo, played by Gael García Bernal, as he watches his older brother, Ramiro, mistreat his young wife and neglect their baby. All living together in the same house, Octavo’s sense of chivalry takes over and he decides to rescue Susana (Vanessa Bauche) and her child. To do so, he needs money, and gets himself involved with underground dog fighting, whilst secretly pursuing a relationship with Susana behind his brother’s back. Things do not go as planned, however, and a spiraling set of events land him in a car chase which causes the plot-central accident, triggering the other two narratives. This film was Bernal’s big break that led to projects such as Y Tu Mamá También, making him a popular Mexican poster boy. He has now acted in six Oscar-nominated films.

The second story follows Daniel (Alvaro Guerrero) and Valeria (Goya Toledo). Daniel is a successful man who leaves his wife and children to live with Valeria, a supermodel, in a new apartment he’s bought for them. The apartment faces a billboard with Valeria on it, and though at first their love seems genuine, their life is soon broken down and shown as superficial. Valeria is injured in the car accident, putting her in a wheelchair, whilst her dog Richie gets lost down a hole in the apartment floor. Their harmonious life begins to fray apart as these struggles put their relationship to the test.

The final story follows El Chivo (Emilio Echevarría), an ex-guerilla who now works as a hitman. Surrounded by his dogs, El Chivo is bitter and disenchanted with life, having lost his family when he chose to fight for his cause. Now, without the cause, he has nothing. We see him long for redemption in the form of reconciliation with his daughter, whilst meanwhile handling a hit on a powerful businessman. This storyline is very different to the other two, and as El Chivo watches the affects of a violent life upon his dogs, it leads him to search his soul about which life he will chose to lead…


Amores Perros has been dubbed by some as the Mexican Pulp Fiction, both because of its interweaving narratives that take us back and forth in time, and also because of its dark tones and controversial scenes. The dogfight scenes, in particular, raised concerns with censors, and extensive investigations had to be made due to their disturbing realism. However, this concern only raised the film’s notoriety, and after the scenes were deemed lawful, it helped contribute to the film’s success.

This comparison with Pulp Fiction is misleading. Do not expect any of Tarrantino’s sarcasm or tongue-in-cheek violence; Amores Perros is a gritty, challenging film that tests audiences both with its length, as well as it’s bare, up-close portrayal of suffering. The colours are as muted as the story is bleak, with close-up shots drawing the audience in to the claustrophobia of the character’s situations, particularly noticeable in settings such as Octavo’s crowded, tension-filled home. It rarely lets up, but in a film as well-written and well-executed as this, the journey is gripping and well worth the ride.

The film’s strongest points are its authenticity and its symbolism. It manages to be an emotive piece of socio-realism cinema, whilst at the same time delivering a moral to each story, neatly reflected by the fate of that story’s dog. This is a premise that could sound too kitsch to work in such a grim film, but is in fact similar to a classic storytelling technique in Mexican cinema – that of magic realism, where the real world is seen side by side with the fantastical and fairytale like. The use of dogs as a mirror to the corruption of their humans plays off of their innocence, similar to del Torro’s frequent use of a silent, observant child (Pan’s Labyrinth or Cronos). Their innocence is a foil to the protagonists’ flawed behaviour, and as this corruption affects the blank canvas of the dogs, it shocks both their owners and the audience.

The quality of the acting and scripting allow this technique to be used without softening the tone of the movie, by giving such a believable, life-like delivery. The entire cast deliver strong performances, working alongside the grungy mise-en-scène and often hand-held camerawork to give the audience an awkward sense of voyeurism. This makes the violence and suffering all the more harrowing, and twists such as the interesting turns in El Chivo’s story all the more thrilling. Echevarría’s performance is one of the strongest in the film, communicating with very few words, and often holding the screen alone. Subtle, skilled acting was required to evoke sympathy for an easily condemnable character, and being the third segment of the film, it is vital that the audience care for him and are taken in by his conflicts and changes. Vanessa Bauche also tackled an important role, portraying another morally grey character that the audience needs to care for, so that we’re with Octavo in his efforts to save Susana.

Academy Award winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla’s (Babel, Brokeback Mountain) score is beautifully delicate, and often moving, being both edgy yet understated, skillfully picking up on the mournful emotions of the characters. These few, brilliant tracks are intercut with various international artists, many of whom contribute eclectic rap or club music, picked out by former-DJ Iñárritu. This creates a soundtrack of contrasts, communicating the characters’ struggle to succeed in a dangerous world, as well as the quiet hurt secretly felt by all in it, which marries it to the tone of Amores Perros perfectly.

Some criticize the disjointed nature of Amores Perros’ narrative, following three minor plotlines instead of one fully fleshed narrative, but it is in the comparison of these three narratives that we get the sociological statement. Three very different groups of people are shown to be equally vulnerable as well as equally flawed, and essentially equally human – something which connects us all despite how far apart we can seem. This challenging of the class system is a common feature in Mexican cinema. However, touching though this sentiment is, it can feel disjointed to watch - each story is told too much in isolation, in long, separate sections instead of frequently cutting back and forth. Though this does make them easier to follow, the audience gets too settled into one story and can then feel culture shocked each time it changes. This can also make the length of the movie hard for some to digest. Yet, this film shows Iñárritu’s talent through consistent production quality and some creative and innovative direction. For example, the opening car scene instantly draws us into the chaos with its confusing, hectic nature, fading volume and image in and out to disorient us as much as the characters. Though the film could arguably benefit from some editing, no scenes are excess or weak links in the chain (with the possible exception of the slightly too comedic cries of “Richie” when the wheelchair-bound model loses her dog). Overall, this is an experience of consistent quality.


Trapping us from the get-go, Iñárritu takes us on an uncomfortable, but also touching journey. Whether you want characters to care for or getting pumped on action, something you can analyze or just a score to jam to, Amores Perros delivers a strong hand. It’s a stunning debut for a director, and a must-see for students and film enthusiasts. Not something to stick on if you want a nice easy evening in, but definitely a film that will stay with you. If you enjoy the bittersweet over the saccharin, watch it – you won’t be asking for the time back again. AIB

REVIEW: DVD Release: Babel

Film: Babel
Release date: 21st May 2007
Certificate: 15
Running time: 138 mins
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring: Gael García Bernal, Rinko Kikuchi, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett
Genre: Drama
Studio: Paramount
Format: DVD
Country: France/USA/Mexico

Multiple-language release, including English.

Talented director Alejandro González Iñarritú and writer Guillermo Arriaga score a hat trick with Babel, the much anticipated follow-up to their blockbusters Amores Perros and 21 Grams. The Mexican duo continue with their now defining approach of using multiple characters, storylines and now multiple timeframes to make a point about humanity on a grand scale, partly reminiscent of 2005’s Oscar-winning, love-it-or-hate-it, Crash.

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are on form, playing a distant couple who have come to Morocco for a make-or-break holiday when Blanchett’s character Susan, ironically oozing mistrust and contempt for the Moroccan people, ends up the casualty of the rifle shot fired by two young brothers (expertly played by Boubker Ait El Caid and Said Tarchini) leaving her little else to do but lie there, bleeding and crying.

The plot then deals with the rippling effects of that single rifle-shot across four countries (USA, Mexico, Japan and Morocco), linking all the characters...


The title - Babel - alludes to the story of the Tower of Babel in the Biblical book of Genesis, which was created by humankind so that they could reach the heavens. Angered at His creations’ pride and arrogance, God confused their languages so that they were no longer able to communicate, and scattered them across the face of the earth, grouped together according to their new mother tongues. This is how the world’s various races, cultures and languages were created.

Babel illustrates the supposed consequences of this event, which certainly aren’t sugar-coated. But, lo-and-behold, at a few select moments interspersed throughout, it also shows the hope and warmth that humankind can offer to others who are different to them. According to the film in general, however, language and culture seem to act as a barrier that serves to divide us rather than aid our understanding of one another. The despair created by these differences is cleverly depicted by Iñarritú.

Babel not only serves great testament to fantastic directing, but to superb, very touching acting. Pitt delivers a good performance as the grief-stricken, caring husband, who tends to his wife’s every need. Look out for a heart-warming moment, reminiscent of the calm after the storm, between Pitt and the Moroccan Tour Guide who helps him.

Iñarritú favourite Adriana Barraza delivers a fine performance as the warm, loving nanny of Pitt and Blanchett’s children back in the US, who, caught between her obligations to the children and those to her son on his wedding day, illegally takes the kids across the border to Mexico in a moment of madness. A smokin’ hot, bad-ass Gael García Bernal plays her crazy nephew, Santiago, who causes havoc on the journey back from Mexico and, perhaps most memorably, teaches the children how to best kill a chicken!

Elsewhere, Best Supporting Actress Rinko Kikuchi gives a stunning, emotionally intense performance as Chieko, a stroppy, deaf-mute Japanese teenager, struggling to come to terms with her mother’s death, not to mention her uncontrollable hormones. At one point, straight out of the blue, the affection-starved schoolgirl seductively licks her dentist’s face.

Chieko doesn’t hide her strained relationship with her constantly worried business-man father, who provides the link between this narrative and the others. An old hunting aficionado, he gave his now-infamous hunting rifle to his Moroccan tour guide as a present when he was leaving the country, and ends up being implicated in the shooting incident.

One scene that particularly stands out is when Chieko and her friends are in a nightclub after an alcohol and drug-fuelled day. The pounding beats of Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough suddenly come to a halt, allowing us to see and hear the world through her eyes – a very emotive scene, perfectly conveying Chieko’s sense of dislocation and loneliness in the big bad world.

The cinematography is breathtaking, mesmerising at times. The contrast of sweeping shots of the barren Moroccan desert with jolly Mariachis at a typically vivacious Mexican wedding and long shots of a bustling Tokyo by day is tremendous. BAFTA winner Gustavo Santaolalla also hits the nail on the head with the superb soundtrack, which perfectly reflects and makes you feel as if you are really part of each scene.

However, the interlocking narratives and time shifts between scenes may prove too much for some. Also, it does feel frustrating that there is no real conclusion to any of the narratives, but it seems that is as the director intended. It is an open-ended story that wants you to ponder life’s injustices.


Babel deals with so many different themes; some action-packed, some smile-worthy and some that can’t help but tug on your heart strings. The director deserves credit for the way he portrays the contrasting emotions and constantly keeps the viewer on their toes as to how the stories will develop. It is compulsive viewing, and is sure not to disappoint the procrastinators among us. JMN
 

SPECIAL FEATURE: Online Film Review: The Invisibles

Film: The Invisibles
Release date: 20th November 2010
Certificate: E
Running time: 22 mins
Director: Gael Garcia Bernal & Marc Silver
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal
Genre: Documentary
Format: DVD
Country: Mexico

This feature is available to watch online at: youtube.com/invisiblesfilms

Gael Garcia Bernal is probably better known for his Academy Awards than his political activism, and his co-director Mark Silver is not exactly a household name, but together they have created The Invisibles, a story of South American migrants. A documentary. These people, and these stories, are real. You can watch all of these films at youtube.com now.

Part 1 – Seaworld
In this first film, we are introduced to a group of migrants from South America who are stopping during their journey at a centre run by volunteers in Mexico.

There are single men and women and there are entire families, all searching for a better life over the border. Most poignantly, we are introduced to a little girl from El Salvador who desperately wants to see ‘beautiful’ America. Her youngest brother is only one year and eight months old. Their parents have risked everything to get their family this far, and the journey is far from over…

Marc Silver is an accomplished director and the precision of his opening shots is startling and stark. At first, there is no speech, just rolling music that washes over the men, women and boys who lie or sit against the concrete walls, listless in their anticipation of what the future may bring them. When the dialogue does begin, it is often in the form of a voiceover, leaving the individuals in shot to their own quiet dignity, while the tales of torture and death, destinies that could befall anyone of these people, are told in a calm and matter of fact manner. If people cannot provide the details of rich American family members, the tips of their tongues will be removed. If they have no money or information, they will be cut up and placed in 200 litres of boiling oil, sometimes while they are still alive, until the only thing left of them is old photos on posters of the missing.

By the time the film reaches the small El Salvadorian girl, the outlook is bleak, yet she is happy, and smiles at the thought of Sea World in America, a capitalist dream that she does not realise she is not entitled to. Captured in the name of this first instalment is the innocence of childhood.

Throughout the film emotions are kept at bay. These people no longer have the energy to express grief. The butchering of humanity becomes as regular as the chopping of the dark red beetroot in the centres’ kitchen. All that remains is a quiet sense of disbelief, which is transmitted to the viewer, that all this can happen to normal people, in the modern world, at the US border.


Part 2 – Six Out Of Ten
Garcia Bernal interviews three single mothers from Honduras. They have left their country to better provide for their children, but to do this they have had to leave behind the very people they love the most. Often the fathers of their children are dead. They see themselves as having no other choice than to travel to the US for work. Yet, on the way to America, six out of ten women will be sexually abused…

Silver uses a low camera angle to create intimacy in the first scene. Garcia Bernal sits with the women on the train tracks. For this moment, he has thrown in his lot with the people who have landed in his country of birth.

Through the hazy light of sunrise or sunset – the boundaries are blurred here for the migrant population who do not officially exist – the viewer finds themselves in a rubbish tip where people work, picking through the debris. A sun-bleached doll, discarded on the dry earth, is a reminder of the bodies found in the desert that borders Arizona. Sliver grinds this home with repeated cutaways to a barren tree in which carrion birds await their feast.

The human cost of this journey is made abundantly clear as a woman who works at the centre flicks through a book of names and tells some of their stories – a 14-year-old girl who asked for a contraceptive injection to prevent pregnancy if she was raped, and a 17-year-old girl raped while two months pregnant. The cinematography is sparse; there is no escaping from these truths.

The film closes with the very real tears of one of the mothers - she wants to provide for her child, but is aware of all that she has risked to do so.


Part 3 – What Remains
In the penultimate film, Silver and Garcia Bernal take a step back from the migrants at the centre and turn instead to the relatives of those who have left, and the stories of those who have been lost along the way…

Roses open the scene; perfect, pink and natural. The voiceover begins before we are shown the face of the woman who is speaking, giving, once again, a sense of absence. She has lost her son who, after having said that he would contact her twelve days after his departure, has never been heard of again. “I like plants,” she says, “they help me forget my worries.”

What remains is a collection of broken families who may never know the fate of their loved ones. Garcia Bernal is shown photos of the murdered migrants and then taken by a 16-year-old boy to a collection of unmarked graves. In this country, it is now the children who are the keepers of the dead. There is no official record of their deaths.


Part 4 – ‘Goal!’
The final film encompasses the political problems behind the continued migration, and the very real risks caused primarily by the imposed illegality of the journey. It tells the story of those who will keep trying no matter what the cost, and the Mexican people determined to help them, even though in doing so they place themselves at risk…

The film opens with a montage of shots - a man in a hospital bed, bandaged, heavily tattooed, and incapacitated by his ordeal, the ‘death trains’ on which crowds of migrants sit, exposed to the weather, and the gangs who make their livings extorting money from these people. It was on one of these trains that the young man sustained his injuries; he was pushed off by a gang member, and has had to have two fingers amputated as a result. There are men in wheelchairs, men being treated for the physical symptoms of sexual abuse; it is only here that the film suggests a sense of defeat.

Olga, a woman who treats the wounded migrants, lifts the mood with her deep respect for their efforts to better their lives, and the priest who ministers to them tells us they say, “God is with us.” Whatever might happen to them on the journey, they believe that this is their right.

The film’s title comes from a scene in which men and boys are watching football. They stand and shout at the goal, it could be any scene from any place, but here it is a cry of hope that life will one day be as normal and safe as the situation suggests.

Finally, Garcia Bernal uses a voiceover, while a train roles on into the dust, the migrants wave, and he tries to explain that this is not a problem that will go away - and that these people cannot continue to be invisible.


The Invisibles is an important collection of films because the voices it gives have so long been repressed and ignored. The heart of their message is that the migrants are real people who have expectations of life very similar to your own. The only difference is the country into which they were born. Silver and Garcia Bernal are due to make a feature length film on the same theme, and I can only imagine that it will be a stunning piece of art, yet a horrific tale of the state’s lack of care for the people who need it most. EM

NEWS: Cinema Release: Mammoth

Drama from Swedish writer-director Lukas Moodysson.

Successful couple Leo (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Ellen (Michelle Williams) lead busy lives and have little time to spend with their young daughter, Jackie (Sophie Nyweide), who is cared for by her Filipino nanny, Gloria (Marife Necesito).

When Leo goes to Thailand to do a business deal, Ellen becomes envious of Gloria because of her closeness to her Jackie. However, Gloria's own children miss her, and soon a tragedy sees her return to her home in Manila.

Meanwhile, Leo becomes involved with a working mother while in Thailand, and his actions have a dramatic effect on all those involved.

Film: Mammoth
Release date: 5th November 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 125 mins
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Michelle Williams, Marife Necesito, Sophie Nyweide, Thomas McCarthy
Genre: Drama
Studio: Soda
Format: Cinema
Country: Sweden/Denmark/Germany

REVIEW: DVD Release: Y Tu Mama Tambien

Film: Y Tu Mama Tambien
Release date: 22nd October 2007
Certificate: 18
Running time: 101 mins
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Maribel Verdú, Marta Aura, Diana Bracho
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Studio: Icon
Format: DVD
Country: Mexico

Director Alfonso Cuarón made a welcome return to the cinema of his native tongue with his first Mexican film in a decade. Having tried his hand at big budget American productions, Cuarón went back to his roots with Y Tu Mama Tambien, a lucrative decision with the film grossing seven times its original budget worldwide.

Opening with a very personal goodbye, the audience is offered a voyeuristic view of Julio (Gael García Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna) going at it with their girlfriends more aggressively than a Duracell bunny on speed before taking the girls to the airport, promising to be faithful whilst they are in Italy.

Realising how much they depend on their girlfriends to keep them entertained, their boredom is temporarily remedied by games of who can make themselves come the fastest. Little do they know that a boring family wedding will provide them with a chance meeting which will keep them amused for the rest of the summer.

Cheekily flirting with a beautiful older lady, Luisa (Maribel Verdú), the boys think they are on to a good think until they discover that the mystery Spanish lady is in fact the wife of Tenoch’s cousin Jano. At this point, the double act seem even more determined to impress Luisa, and begin creating an imaginary beach, la Boca del Cielo (Heaven’s Mouth), in an attempt to seduce her into taking a road trip with them. An apprehensive Luisa politely declines until she receives a drunken phone call from Jano while he is away on business, tearfully admitting to having cheated on her.

The three of them set off through rural Mexico, Luisa blissfully unaware that these boys have no idea where they are going. As if Tenoch and Julio need anything more than the presence of Luisa to keep their spirits high as they aimlessly drive around, the boys boast about their sexual experiences and conquests, pausing to high five each other. Bemused by their comparatively modest exploits, Luisa begins her subtle seduction telling them about her relationship with Jano and her first love. The reality of bedding Luisa is more sexual humiliation than fantasy, shattering the grand delusions they hold about their sexual abilities, and ultimately turning them against each other.

They continue their road trip in absolute silence only talking to throw an underhanded remark at the other until they stumble upon a beach - both surprised, they can’t believe their luck. When they meet a group of locals, they discover that Heaven’s Mouth really does exist, and Luisa remains none the wiser about the lies they told to get her there. When it’s time to leave the beach behind, Luisa announces that she wants to stay, leaving the boys to travel back alone with a now awkward and frosty friendship…


Interestingly, the film is set two years in the past, in 1999, showcasing the realities of living in Mexico both economically and politically. Most notably this era is recognised as being the time when Mexico’s longest political reign was brought to an end when the Institutional Revolutionary Party lost the election to the National Action Party after 71 years. Throughout the film, issues of economy and politics are subtly raised, but always presented as background information rather than having a direct impact on the plot. Tenoch’s father is a political official, important enough to have the president of Mexico as a guest at his daughter’s wedding, and although Julio gets on well with Tenoch’s family, they are political polar opposites. It is revealed at the end of the film that some of the things which the audience have seen during the film have been affected as a result of the change in political power, coincidently it is also noted that Tenoch and Julio are no longer friends. Cuarón has created a powerful backdrop for his film and the imagery of poor, rural Mexico serves to enforce the reality of the boys’ lives.

At the heart of it, Y Tu Mama Tambien is essentially a coming of age story, detailing the, literally, emotional journey of best friends Julio and Tenoch. The film opens with a shot which illustrates both the grounding and the destruction of the boys’ friendship - sex. Cuarón is fearless in his choice of opening shot, which places the audience voyeuristically sneaking into Tenoch’s bedroom as he is having sex with his girlfriend, with a sweaty recklessness which sets the tone for the entire movie. Cuarón certainly took a risk when he made the decision to show such unabashed scenes of sex, although his choice was no doubt influenced by the fact that he had such an attractive cast to work with. All immaturities to one side, Cuarón has pin pointed the attitude most young people have towards sex, the disposability of it, and the way that emotions are ignored until it is you who becomes hurt. Tenoch and Julio are the ultimate horny teenage boys, bragging about their sexual exploits and trying to outdo one another, but their friendship is put to the test as a result. Neither one shows any signs of growing up or taking responsibility, and they are doubly put to shame when Luisa tells them that their manifesto is as meaningless as the sex they have.


Genuinely moving and humorous, but, at times, cringe worthy, Y Tu Mama Tambien reaches beyond its expected audience of young hipsters with a relevance which spans a multitude of ages. Cuarón has managed to present pressing issues in a way which retains a light hearted and enjoyable viewing experience whilst making you think. JHA

NEWS: Blu-ray Only Release: Amores Perros

Centred around three different stories, this film is set in the heart of the troubled and ever-changing Mexico City.

Octavio is unlucky in love and has a major crush on Susana, who is married to his abusive brother Ramiro; Daniel is a successful editor who has left his wife and kids to live with Valeria, a supermodel, in her penthouse apartment; whilst El Chivo is an ex-con turned hitman who is being paid to kill a rich businessman, against the wishes of his scared young girlfriend.

Film: Amores Perros
Release date: 18th October 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 155 mins
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo, Álvaro Guerrero, Vanessa Bauche
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: Blu-ray
Country: Mexico

REVIEW: DVD Release: The Motorcycle Diaries

Film: The Motorcycle Diaries
Release date: 17th September 2007
Certificate: 15
Running time: 120 mins
Director: Walter Salles
Starring: Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna, Mercedes Morán, Jean Pierre Noher, Lucas Oro
Genre: Adventure/Biography/Drama
Studio: Film Four
Format: DVD
Country: Argentina/USA/Chile/Peru/Brazil/UK/Germany/France

Director Walter Salles brings Marxist revolutionary Ernesto ‘Che’ (slang Argentinean word for ‘mate’) Guevara to the mainstream Western audience in this coming of age meets road movie, exploring the events that shaped the thinking of one of Latin America’s best loved icons.

The Motorcyle Diaries is based upon the memoirs of the aforementioned Ernesto Guevara (played by Gael García Bernal), a 23-year old medical student one semester short of graduation, along with best friend and biochemist Alberto Granado (charmingly portrayed by Rodrigo de la Serna), six years Guevara’s senior. Despite the age difference, they are united by their free spirits, and a predilection to the female of the species.

The mavericks’ attitudes are matched only by their ambitious itinerary, which will encompass five countries on a mammoth 8,000 kilometre journey in just four and a half months - a deadline set by Alberto, who intends to celebrate his thirtieth birthday (April 2nd) at their final destination, Venezuela. Their transport is a 1939 Norton 500 Motorcycle, lovingly named ‘La Poderosa’ (‘The Mighty One’) by Alberto, a name which gives personality to the inanimate - we weep with Alberto when she meets her inevitable demise…


Glazing over epic farewells (not one relative is present to say goodbye to Alberto), the film marauds on via the kamikaze driving of the already deteriorating ‘The Mighty One’, toward the dramatic landscapes of the Andes and beyond, shot to perfection by cinematographer Eric Gautier, who delivers stunning imagery throughout.

Initially harmless, and at times comedic encounters help acquaint the audience with its protagonists. Ernesto’s romantic nature is apparent as they visit his girlfriend to say goodbye, meanwhile Alberto’s unflattering appearance rarely deters him from pursuing the attentions of prospective young ladies. Whereas Alberto is happy to manipulate the truth if it helps acquire a bed for a night, Ernesto is quick to rein this in, preferring instead to negotiate food and shelter in exchange for their medical knowledge.

These moments soon give way to episodes that shock Ernesto’s previously idealistic image of the peoples of South America. In one such scene, a couple exiled for their communist beliefs are separated as they search for work with a mining company, run so unethically it riles Ernesto into an argument with the manager. It is in these instants that the unrelenting sorrow and social injustice of the poor help the film achieve exactly what it aspires to.

While Alberto remains a constant comic relief throughout (an exquisitely carried off set piece on a cruise ship is particularly memorable), Ernesto’s thoughts are shaped by the troubles of the impoverished and their daily plights. His character arcs from asthmatic, happy-go-lucky father’s son to egalitarian - the weight of the world on his shoulders acting as a stimulant rather than a hindrance. By the time Ernesto and Alberto reach Peru, where they embark on a three-week work placement at a leper colony, Ernesto’s compassion is flourishing, manifesting itself in the form of a very poignant birthday speech, further accentuated in a reckless yet endearing final act.

Furthering the audience’s identification with our hero, we are made to recall the torment of the people encountered over the course of the film through a series of black-and-white images, bringing an almost historical slant to the final reel.


A well executed and thought provoking adventure, which sheds light not just on the tribulations of Latin America during this time, but the effects on ‘Che’ and the formation of a legend. MC

REVIEW: DVD Release: Bad Education

Film: Bad Education
Release date: 27th December 2004

Certificate: 15

Running time: 106 mins

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Starring: Gael García Bernal, Fele Martínez, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Lluís Homar, Francisco Maestre

Genre: Drama

Studio: Pathe

Format: DVD

Country: Spain

For those who don’t know much about the work of Almodóvar, Bad Education may come as a bit of a shock. Although rated 15, it is a daringly blatant criticism of the Catholic faith, with child abuse, homosexual lust, drugs and sex galore. It is also a compelling mystery with an astounding plot.

It would be wrong, and probably impossible, to try to summarise the plot, as the delight of viewing this film lies principally in its intrigue. Instead you need to take into account the bold characters and daring approach which make it so unique. The film is quite demanding on the audience - emotionally and intellectually - as we try to unravel the threads that link the characters and their secrets. As the story develops it flits between three time settings: childhood in a Catholic boarding school, 1970s Valencia and 1980s Madrid, which provides the present day setting and starting point of the film.

Here we meet Ignacio, who prefers to be known as Angel, and Enrique, two former school friends, now in their thirties, who have not seen each other since boyhood. Angel has written a script – ‘The Visit’ - detailing the secrets of the former friends’ Catholic schooling, and so we are transported to this period. We learn, with few details spared, about the restraints and suffering imposed during an upbringing under these circumstances in Franco’s Spain. We also understand just why the boys were so close, what united them, and what threw them apart. This is an attack on strict religion, showing that not only did it lead to suffering, but was hypocritical coming from the priests. Besides, it did not have the desired impact on the boys, as Enrique claims at a young age ‘I’m a hedonist’…


Theirs is a complex relationship, made even more so by the ending of ‘The Visit’, in which the young Ignacio has become ‘Zahara’, a quick-witted, stylish, confident and drug dependent transsexual who seeks revenge on the church, and in particular on Father Manolo, for the repression and abuse caused in Ignacio’s childhood. It becomes difficult to distinguish fact from fiction, as the sinister and sad Father Manolo is all real, but if Ignacio became Angel, then where did Zahara come from? Back to 1980s Madrid and Angel is an aspiring actor, and Enrique a director. In Angel’s desire to play the part of Zahara, it seems he is willing to go to extreme lengths, leading to suspicion on Enrique’s part about what really happened in the intervening years. He finds the answers to some of his questions by visiting Ignacio’s mother and uncovering another key character, Ignacio’s brother Juan.

However, it becomes clear that it is Father Manolo who is in control, as he held the keys not only to the boys’ freedom and futures, but now also to each of the intricately woven plots from each time setting. When he appears on the set of ‘The Visit’, Enrique and the audience will find the answers to all the questions raised throughout the film. Who is Ignacio? Why did he become Angel? What happened to Zahara? And where does Juan come into this?

Bad Education is at once intricate and extravagant, bold and beautiful, shocking and touching. It is a story of unparalleled loyalty and downright deceit. It is a sad, brave and honest portrayal of misplaced love and eroticism, and confused identities.

Everything about this film, from the truly phenomenal performance by Garcia Bernal, to the intriguing storyline complete with obligatory transvestites, screams Almodóvar. The audience is treated to his trademark stylish madrileño setting and some stunningly beautifully composed scenes, and costume design by Jean Paul Gaultier. Its triumph, however, is the plot, which successfully combines a myriad of characters, time settings, and the relationships between each. Whoever said there are only seven possible plot-lines had not contemplated this!


Bad Education is not for you if you are easily shocked, or if you like a predictable ending - and it does take some concentration if you are to follow it properly. Persevere, and you will be amazed. Bad Education is a masterpiece.