DIRECTOR - VICTOR GAVIRIA: La Vendedora de Rosas / Rodrigo D.

La Vendedora de Rosas: llll
Rodrigo D: llll.5

Victor Gaviria is one of the most significant directors from Latin America. Given his style of film it is not surprising that he still remains largely unknown outside of the Latin American independent film culture. But since the release of his first major movie, Rodrigo D. - No Futuro, he has been busy archiving awards from film festivals across Latin America, Europe, and North America. He has masterfully used the style of Cinema Verite to grant his audiences an exclusive and intimate look into the lives of Colombian youth, while making two of the very best films in the country's history. Granted, the country has a relatively limited film history, but Gaviria's films reflect the legacy of other Latin American filmmakers such as the Brazilian Hector Babenco with "Pixote" and Mexican Luis Bunuel with "Los Olvidados", and deserve greater international attention not just for their critical social themes but also for their cinematic style. Gaviria has structured his films so that every single character, dialogue and scene feels absolutely real. To capture the reality of street life in Medellin he gathers actual teenagers who talk, feel and live virtually the same experiences of the characters they are performing. In hindsight, the correlation of the "actors" with their roles proved prophetic. A few years after each of the movies was released many of the actors were killed by street violence, in prison, or in a life of reckless crime and drug abuse. While their lives changed little with the production of the movies (with the exception of additional cash and some limited press), the movies remain as one of the most honest and captivating portraits of street life in Latin America.
Rodrigo D. explores the life of low-income teenage boys as they struggle to find their place in the world while surrounded by ever-present violence and presented no viable options. Punk Rock provides the main source of self-expression. The distant dream of being a musician also serves as a string of hope. But ultimately they live without regard for tomorrow, too many of their friends and brothers have died to worry about growing old. But the utter realism of the film manages to not only capture the challenges of their lives but also the glimpses of hope between the creaks.
La Vendedora de Rosas (the Rose Seller) focuses instead on the life of teenage girls and a whole new set of problems arise. These films stand in contrast to the Brazilian film "Cidade de Deus" (City of God), in the virtually invisible hand of the director and the exceptional sincerity of the performances.
His most recent film takes a different subject, as it explores the life of an engineer who becomes involved in Colombia's drug industry to make money fast and becomes shaken by it beyond what he could have imagined. Tyler

HALF NELSON

Tyler: llll

I have not been moved or had a chance to write a new film review since the wave of higher quality winter movies passed. With months of hindsight, Half Nelson has been not only the most remarkable film I have watched during this time, but is also a new pearl in the select coffer of independent classics.
Several things stand out. Ryan Gosling's performance as inner-city teacher Dan Dunne is truly excellent and well deserving of the academy award nomination and respect it has received. The fractured warmth and sincere idealism of Ryan's character is what first captivated me. But despite the challenge of these initial qualities by his interior turmoil and drug addiction, I remained connected. I find it difficult not to see a part of us reflected in his personal struggle (whether or not the drugs are involved in the inner battle). The biggest danger of the performance is the possible alienation of some viewers by his downward spiral. While I have great respect for movies such as Traffic and Requiem for a Dream, I am weary of stories depicting endless and inescapable suffering. What truly engaged me about Half Nelson was its humanity, similar to how "The Pianist" keeps us hoping for light at the end of the tunnel, despite the exhausted theme. Dan Dunne's efforts to save his impressionable teenage students by showing them a different way of seeing civil rights and the system that they have been born into, strikingly contrast with him drowning inside. It is one of his students, performed by Shareeka Epps, who's able to see deeper into him and stands by him as she struggles with her own battles.
The movie stands as a small but well polished pearl. The imagery is raw and intimate. The soundtrack, with an eclectic yet thoughtful blend of folk, indie rock and positive hip-hop, accompanies the story like a hot cup of well roasted coffee. You can hear the entire album by just clicking on the picture above. I especially recommend the songs by the Broken Social Scene and "The Corner" by Saigon. So make yourself that cup of coffee, sit back and let this film show you the battle of this lonely teacher as he tries to make the change in the world he was born to make, and be save himself in the process. Half Nelson will remain somewhere in your consciousness for an undetermined time. Tyler