Rowan Sullivan

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The Crime of Father Amaro (Mexico) – Controversy in the Catholic Church

Crime of Father Amaro Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

If you love controversy with plenty of drama, check out The Crime of Father Amaro. It’s a full frontal attack on the Catholic Church in Mexico which many tried to ban. Whilst it’s not as damaging as Spotlight, it will remind you that all of us are human no matter what position we’re in.

Here’s a dramatic trailer for a dramatic film.

Why Watch Crime of Father Amaro?
  • It’s controversial – religious groups lobbied to ban it in Mexico but their attempts backfired as the publicity rocketed this film to success at the box office
  • To see Gabriel Garcia Bernal (famous for Y Tu Mama Tambien, No, Motorcycle Diaries and many more)
  • If you love a bit of melodrama
  • It was Oscar nominated for best foreign language picture
The Breakdown

The opening of the film deliberately leads us to sympathize with the young Father Amaro (Garcia Bernal). Firstly, he’s charitable. When the elderly man he sits next to on the bus is robbed, he reimburses him with his own money. Secondly, he appears friendly. The local kids run around him after he playfully grabs their football and he chills with the fellow pastors to watch football on TV. He has all the makings of a great guy. However, the melodrama slowly kicks to life as he begins to take advantage of one of the parish girls who is clearly infatuated with him.

There are plenty of omens that something is going to go wrong. Firstly,  you’ll notice that wherever Father Amaro is, the statues of the Saints and Jesus are always watching him. There’s a statue of Jesus that watches over him at home, from his bedside table. Furthermore, the director makes sure you notice each of the saints looking down at him whenever he is in the church by cutting to static shots of each one as he walks down the aisle. Nothing he does escapes from their view.

Secondly, the saints have a helper in a crazy old woman aptly named Dionisia after the Greek God Dionysus, the God of Wine, as well as ritual madness and religious ecstasy. It’s clear that Dionisia is both mad and madly religious. In addition, she also comparable to the witches from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. She predicts the love affair between Father Amaro and Amelia.

The two omens (the Saints and Dionisia) are both critiques of Catholicism. Firstly, of all the sins that are committed in plain sight of the saints and then confessed the next day. And secondly, of how it is interpreted by the population (Dionisia has malformed dolls posing as Saints, and tries to exorcise her disabled neighbor).

Image result for crime of father amaro

Conclusion

The Crime of Father Amaro is another great controversial melodrama from Mexico. It attacks the Catholic Church it’s hypocrisies, so it’s not surprising that Catholic groups tried to ban it. Unfortunately for them, the controversy propelled it to become the biggest film in Mexico.

If you want even more religious controversy, check out Oscar winner Spotlight. However, if you want blatant provocation, check out the Mexican film Battle in Heaven. If you want to see some more great Mexican film, check out our Top Ten Mexican Films here.

 

337

Umberto D (Italy) – An Introduction to Italian Neorealist Film

Umberto D Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Here’s your chance to introduce yourself to Italian neorealist film. Umberto D. is one of the standout films of the neorealist genre. You’ll meet the elderly Umberto, a man who has been forced into poverty by his government and landlady. It’s a must watch for all film fans.

You can watch the film here on YouTube if your Italian is up to scratch. Otherwise you can rent it here for the price of a coffee.

Why Watch Umberto D?
  • For the perfect introduction to Italian Neorealism
  • To see how bad poverty was in post-war Italy
  • It’s emotional – it’ll get you angry, sentimental, hopeless, and hopeful
  • It’s actually De Sica’s favourite film (above Bicycle Thieves)
The Breakdown

Umberto D starts with a protest in one of Rome’s city squares. An organized group of elderly men are all demanding a raise in their pensions. One of these men is Umberto D. Ferrari, a retired government worker.

Unfortunately for Umberto, life isn’t going too well. Even though he worked all of his life for the government, he can’t afford to live on the pension they’ve given him. As a result, his unsympathetic landlady is kicking him out.

Despite this, Umberto is always well-dressed in a suit, tie, and hat. He manages to keep his smart dress throughout the film. It’s almost a symbol of his dignity. The only time he thinks about begging is when he removes his hat and gives it to his pet dog Flike to beg on behalf of him. It’s the only short moment in which he relinquishes his dignity and asks for help.

Umberto is not the only one that needs help. You’ll notice some beggars asking for money. But there’s also the landlady’s maid, one of the only friends of Umberto. There’s one iconic scene which focuses on her, pretty much the only scene that isn’t focused on Umberto. In the scene she walks from one end of the landlady’s kitchen to the window to watch a cat wandering over the neighbours roofs. Whilst it may not sound that significant, the scene emphasises the maid’s lack of freedom. Whilst the cat can freely roam the roofs of Rome, she is confined to the landlady’s kitchen. She cannot afford to live by herself or go to school and ultimately she will share the same fate as Umberto later in life. It shows that, unless there’s change, poverty will continue to exist.

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Conclusion

De Sica claimed that Umberto D. was his favourite film that he made. In addition, it’s probably one of the best examples of Italian Neo-realism. It’s full of emotion, and quickly gets you to sympathise with Umberto. It’s a must watch if you’re into foreign film.

If you want to get to know more classic Italian films, I’d recommend checking out Divorce: Italian Style for a comedy that inspired Martin Scorsese, and La Dolce Vita from maestro Federico Fellini. For more Neorealist film check out the following:

  • La Terra Trema  (Visconti)
  • Germany Year Zero (Rossellini)
  • Bicycle Thieves (De Sica)
338

The Harder They Come (Jamaica) – Tune in For Reggae and Guns

The Harder They Come Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

If you like reggae you need to watch The Harder They Come. The reggae soundtrack is the star of this film which brought reggae to the world. You’ll also meet Ivan (played by Jimmy Cliff) a poor man from rural Jamaica trying to make it in the city.

Why Watch The Harder They Come?
  • The soundtrack – it brought reggae to the world
  • It’s the first film made in Jamaica by Jamaicans speaking Jamaican Patois
  • If you like shoot-outs and general chaos (just like the good old Westerns)
  • Experience a bit of Jamaica by watching it here on YouTube
The Breakdown

Ivan is traveling from rural Jamaica to the city in search of work after his grandmother dies. On the way to his mother’s house in Kingston, his bus almost crashes as it tears round downhill bends and a porter almost runs away with all his belongings after he arrives. This opening is all set to a energetic reggae soundtrack, giving you a chaotic introduction to the life and sound of Jamaica.

Ivan comes to the city in search of work, however work is scarce. Everywhere he goes he meets unskilled people like him also looking for work. He eventually manages to get a job after he fixes a broken bicycle, but gets thrown into prison after he slashes the bikes original owner when he tries to take it back. It’s at this stage of the film that Ivan’s hate for authority starts building.

So, why does Ivan grow to hate authority?
  1. He’s whipped by the police for slashing the man who tries to take his old bike back
  2. A rich record producer forces Ivan to sell his hit song for a pitiful $20
  3. The preacher he works for at the church bullies him

You’re led to believe that it’s a combination of these reasons that makes Ivan kill a cop. However, it’s the film he watches (Django) which causes him to continue killing cops. The film romanticizes the outsider fighting against authority. In the clip we see, Django takes on a whole regiment of KKK members by himself while the whole crowd cheers on.

And it’s these shots of the crowd cheering on Django that director Perry Henzell chooses to show us interrupting Ivan’s cop-killing spree. Ivan’s popularity and fame grows rapidly when he’s on the run, much quicker than after he sold his hit song to that rich record producer. Like Django, he becomes an anti-hero in Jamaica because he’s a poor, downtrodden man who stands up to authority. Even though cop-killing isn’t really justified, the public cheer him on.

Image result for the harder they come

Conclusion

Whilst Henzell gives Ivan enough reason to hate authority, he doesn’t really justify Ivan’s complete u-turn mid-film from a guy trying to find work into a full on criminal. As a result, a lot of the sympathy you feel for Ivan which is built up in the first half of the movie is forgotten.

Therefore, my advice is not to watch this film for it’s plot. For example, you wouldn’t watch Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Predator for it’s great storyline. Instead, watch this film because it’s entertaining, it has a great soundtrack, and it finally brought Jamaica to the big screen.

 

339

Sepet – A Rom Com that Exposes Class and Race Dynamics in Malaysia

Sepet Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

If you like rom-coms you’ll love Sepet. But even if you don’t there is much more to this film then a cheesy romance. Sepet exposes the class and race dynamics of Malaysia of a society that evidently still hasn’t recovered from the effects of colonialism.

Why Watch Sepet?
  • It’s a chick flick with substance
  • You’ll learn a bit about the legacy of colonialism on Malaysia
  • Watch it here on YouTube
  • Learn about social and racial discrimination in Malaysia
The Breakdown

The romance between Jason and Orked starts after a chance encounter at Jason’s VHS stall on a busy Malay street. However, they are both from opposite ends of Malay society, Jason (or Ah-loong) is ethnically Chinese whilst Orked is ethnically Malay. As you’ll learn, this is a problem. Chinese-Malays are seen as inferior to ethnic Malays and therefore relationships between Malays and Chinese is taboo.

In case that isn’t enough to emulate Romeo and Juliet, Jason also has a much lower social standing than Orked. You might notice this from seeing each of their respective houses. Orked walks around in a big bedroom with big closets, walks up and down stairs to show that her house has two floors, and has a maid. In contrast, Jason’s house appears open to the elements with concrete floors. His family all crowd around a small table for dinner.

However, what does Jason do to help his chances of getting with Orked? He tells her his name is Jason, a ‘nice name from London.’By associating himself with Britain, he associates himself with the old rulers: British colonists. Orked doesn’t fall for this trick. She later brings up the issue of colonialism with her friend and references French colonists in Algeria. They instituted a belief that whites were superior and that the darker you were, the more inferior you were. It’s obvious that Malaysia has shared this colonial legacy the way the lighter skinned Malays treat the ‘slit-eyed’ Chinese.

Image result for sepet film

Conclusion

Sepet is a great example of a chick flick that has layers. Behind the cheesy romance is a country still dealing with the legacy of colonialism. Jason and Orked are two sweet teens trying to navigate the race and social boundaries of Malaysia.

Will they stay together? Watch it here on YouTube (although some sound is missing).

 

 

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Free World Films: Films You Can Watch On YouTube

Free World Films

You have no excuses now. Here are a list of free world films  that you can watch on YouTube right now. Enjoy!

 

We’ve split these free world films by continent so you can target the countries that are missing from your personal film map or if you want to visit a country on film 🙂 We will keep updating this as we go along, please let me know if you’ve found more great world films on YouTube, or if any of the links below aren’t working by commenting in the comment box below or emailing me here.

Europe
Africa
North America
South America