Music: Caetano Veloso in "Talk to Her"

If you listen to Caetano Veloso in "Talk to Her", chances are that you would never trace his style to British rock...

As a young musician during the 60s, Caetano was politically involved, and his activism had him arrested during the military dictatorship in Brazil. That made him move to London where he lived a few years in exile, and then returned to Brazil in 1972. Asked about his experience in London, Caetano said, "London felt dark, and I felt far away from myself." However, he improved his music there while working with British music producers. He's been labelled one of the greatest songwriters of the century even though he sings mostly in Portuguese.

Caetano appeared in "Talk to Her", one of Pedro Almodóvar's films, where he performed "Cucurrucucú Paloma", a Mexican folk song about longing for a lost love. This is arguably the most emotional rendition of the song ever, and a definite theme for the story of the film which revolves around the difficulties of communication between the sexes, loneliness and intimacy, secrets and infidelity, and the persistence of love beyond loss.

The actresses who work with Almodóvar are labelled "Almodóvar's women", which I find somewhat ironic because most of them are beautiful women like Victoria Abril, Penélope Cruz, and Almodóvar is a well advertised gay figure. Maybe that is why he's been so successful in his directing career; he always seems to find a space where love is immaculate no matter the circumstances, and that is a beautiful thing...

Dicen que por las noches
no más se le iba en puro llorar;
dicen que no comía,
no más se le iba en puro tomar.
Juran que el mismo cielo
se estremecía al oír su llanto,
cómo sufrió por ella,
y hasta en su muerte la fue llamando:

Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay cantaba,
ay, ay, ay, ay, ay gemía,
ay, ay, ay, ay, ay cantaba,
de pasión mortal moría.

Que una paloma triste
muy de mañana le va a cantar
a la casita sola
con sus puertitas de par en par;
juran que esa paloma
no es otra cosa más que su alma,
que todavía espera
a que regrese la desdichada.

Cucurrucucú paloma, cucurrucucú no llores.
Las piedras jamás, paloma,
qué van a saber de amores?

Cucurrucucú, cucurrucucú,
cucurrucucú, cucurrucucú,
cucurrucucú, paloma, ya no le llores.

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Movie: Amélie

Jean-Pierre Jeunet is probably better known as a sci-fi director with titles like "Alien Resurrection" under his belt. Nothing could be farther from that genre than this delicious movie...

Musical score "Le vals d'Amélie Poulin" in "Amélie" (2002)

Amélie tell us the placid, yet colourful life of Amélie Poulin on the streets of Paris. The true Paris may not be the same as the one shown in the movie, but this takes nothing from the magical life that Amélie has constructed for herself. I am no fan of romantic films, but this one is beautifully executed in cinematographic language that needs no words, if not, try to count the words Amélie and Nino, her love interest, exchange in the movie.

If possible, try to see the original French version under the name of "Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulin" to catch the musicality of the film, and just as a sample, here you have the score "Le vals d'Amélie" with some of the beautiful background scenes...

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Movie: A History of Violence

This is a quintaessential Canadian movie, crafted by a Canadian, David Cronenberg, shot in small town Canada, but about an American subject...

"A History of Violence" trailer (2005)

Canadians are always looking South, always reflecting about American life, but with a palpable skepticism on the accepted "truths" down the border. We're so used to watch violent American movies where the hero needs tons of amunition to prevail, usually with the tacit consent of the audience that applauds every single exploit. Here however, Cronenberg intellingently presents us with the subtleties and the ambiguity underlying the psyche of those violent heroes.

You can read the entire plot of "A History of Violence" and still not spoil the experience. It is full of nuances and layers. The dialogue is as tight as it can be, no words needed in many cases, and only the ones needed are said. There aren't torrents of blood running, but the violence is gruesome, and the consequences look at us in the eye and expose us with our own reactions. Make no mistake, this looks like the Hollywood hero on the surface, but here, we're facing the complexity of violent heroes as we know them. The film also reveals our underlying morbid curiosity, and we're fed with those feelings so that we become engaged in the story, we know this is happening, and of course, nothing is as simple as it seems.

Interestingly enough, the film has so many layers that even the female audience can feel the allure of violence. The film makes the point with the initial love scene where she's playing the school girl and a dominant one on top of that. He is as tame as a man can be after so many years of marriage, and just lets her do what she wants. The second love scene is the total opposite... the same two characters, but this time with the alpha male exposed. He takes and asks no questions, she resists, he subdues, she surrenders. However, you can see the emotion evolving from the initial disgust and repulsion to a subjugation state that she's actually enjoying.

I cannot speak from experience, but I know women who have been raped, and even though I believe the act is despicable, I have experienced a certain pleasure by playing it a little rough with a man I trust. I have also exchanged notes with other women who saw the film, and they also admitted to the lusty effects of the scene. I can only bow to Cronenberg for tapping on the intricate feelings women may have when they experience violence. He starts with the typical scene where the woman plays the "entertainer" so typical in porn movies; but he's added a great deal by exploring the deep and hidden desires that women may have towards violence.

I will only post the link that shows the rape scene, and I warn you that you may find this scene deeply disturbing, and that it's definitely not suitable for minors.

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Movie: Oedipo Mayor

Better known by its title in Spanish "Edipo Alcalde" (1996)

This is a rare movie by Colombian director Jorge Alí Triana, who doesn't have too many titles under his name, but knows how to bring the complexity of a Sophocles tragedy to the screen. I read the Greek tragedy when I was in school, but I found it somewhat heavy for my taste when I was a teenager. Of course, things change and there I was seating at a theatre in Montreal seeing this movie.

This time around, I was completely fascinated by the story, especially when it's transposed to a contemporary setting in the Colombian montainous Andes region amidst guerrilla factions, army colonels, drug lords, and local politicians; and who better to transform the story than the master of magical realism and Nobel prize laurate Gabriel García Márquez, who goes by the nickname of "Gabo" in Latin America.

The cinematography is strikingly beautiful in one of the earlier works of Rodrigo Prieto (Brokeback Mountain, Babel), and the cast is simply outstanding in their interpretation. As for the story, it seems everyone carries guns in that part of the world... even priests. Make no mistake, this is a violent movie, but the audience can feel the thrill in the pace moving to the love scene between Yocasta and Edipo, which leads to the inevitable tragedy.

Unfortunately, the film does not translate very well into English, where some of the scenes may feel too long. Still, it's a very interesting proposition that depicts nt events in the region so well that as to be seamlessly threaded in the Sophocles story.

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Movie: The Passenger

Also known by its original title in Italian "Professione: Reporter".

A friend and I are both fans of Ryszard Kapuściński, a Polish journalist, who in my opinion is like the Shakespeare of journalism. According to Salman Rushdie "One Kapuściński is worth more than a thousand whimpering and fantasizing scribblers. His exceptional combination of journalism and art allows us to feel so close to what Kapuściński calls the inexpressible true image of war". Interestingly enough, Kapuściński expressed that he wrote for "people everywhere still young enough to be curious about the world." So, no need to be some scholar to read him, you just need to enjoy the written word, but if for some reason you'd like to enjoy something in film, my friend proposed "The Passenger", a movie by Michelangelo Antonioni starring Jack Nicholson, who plays a character based on Kapuściński.

Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider in "the Passenger" (1974)

These are a few scenes from the movie... just be aware that there is one that shows an execution that may be disturbing for some.

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