Strands Best Films- Page 30 of 41

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Tony Manero (Chile) – Meet One Of the Craziest Characters on Film

Tony Manero Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Want to meet one of the craziest characters on film? Watch Tony Manero! It features an unpredictable madman that reminds me of both Begbie from Trainspotting and Anton Chigurgh from No Country for Old Men. He’s unpredictable and unnerving just like the brutal regime of Pinochet that he lives in.

Why Watch Tony Manero?

Meet an absolute nutjob that reminded me of Begbie from Trainspotting
Experience how strange and surreal life was under the Pinochet dictatorship
If you like your comedies very dark
To get to know director Pablo Larrain’s roots (he’s the guy that directed Jackie and Neruda)

The Breakdown

Image result for saturday night fever Tony Manero opens with our anonymous middle aged male lead trying to get on a game show. He introduces himself as ‘Tony Manero’ and gets told by the producer to come back next week.

You may be thinking – who is Tony Manero? Well, he’s the guy in the poster on the left, the character that John Travolta plays in Saturday Night Fever. In this Chilean film, the main character idolises Tony Manero. He wants to be him. And I don’t mean that lightly… he really wants to be him.

This anonymous Tony Manero imposter makes this film. He’s a complete nutcase that will do anything to try and become Tony Manero. He goes mad when his local cinema stops playing Saturday Night fever and he gets even madder later on in the film.

Larrain (the director) doesn’t present us with a reason why his lead character is so crazy, but he does leave some clues. The clues are snippets of Pinochet’s interference in daily Chilean life, such as police shooting a guy walking with revolutionary posters. We can only assume that the brutal dictatorship has created this crazy Tony Manero wannabe.

Image result for tony manero film

Conclusion

Check out Tony Manero if you want to meet one of the craziest characters you will see on screen. The main character is pretty anonymous, unpredictable, and unnerving. He’s not a guy that you want to meet. Watch this film to get to know him from a distance.

147

La Yuma – Just a Girl Trying to Make it Out the Hood

La Yuma Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

You’ve probably seen Boyz in the Hood and 8 Mile, and you might have seen Kidulthood and Menace II Society. They’re all ‘hood’ films. Each of them features young men growing up in ‘the hood’, trying to make it despite all the bad influences around them. La Yuma is another ‘hood’ film, but what makes it different is that instead of starring a young man dealing with machismo, gangsters, and bad parents, it stars a young woman dealing with the same things. Introducing our star (and aspiring boxer): La Yuma.

From: Nicaragua, North America
Watch: Trailer, Kanopy, JustWatch
Next: Amor y Frijoles, A Fantastic Woman, Do the Right Thing

148

Liyana – Mythical Animation from eSwatini

Liyana Film Difficulty Ranking: 1

If you’re looking for a great children powered docu-animation from eSwatini (Swaziland) you’ve come to the right place. Liyana is both a universal children’s story that everyone can relate to or sympathise with and a film which uses a unique way of storytelling. It’s familiar and unique.

From: eSwatini, Africa
Watch: Trailer, Request a Screening
Next: Africa United, Song of the Sea, The Missing Picture

149

It’s All Good – Crisis in Modern Venezuela

It’s All Good Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

If you think the healthcare system in the U.S. is bad, watch this film to learn about the health crisis in Venezuela. In It’s All Good you’ll meet two patients, an activist medicine smuggler, a doctor in training, and a pharmacist trying to stay afloat. They’re all trying to survive in a country where there is no medicine.

From: Venezuela, South America
Watch: Trailer, Rent on Amazon
Next: La Soledad, Theatre of War, Little Dieter Needs to Fly

150

Daughter in Law – Alone in the Desert Waiting for A Soldier to Return

Daughter in Law Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Why Watch Daughter in Law?

Feel the isolation of living alone in the Turkmen desert with your father in law.
Grasp onto the last threads of hope with a young woman dreaming of her husband returning from war.
For a ritualistic transcendental film from Soviet Turkmenistan.

From: Turkmenistan, Asia
Watch: YouTube, IMDb
Next: When the Tenth Month Comes, Uski Roti, Beatriz's War