Carlos A Torres – Designer & Photographer

Here’s a list of films you should definitely catch in case you haven’t. These aren’t your mainstream sort of fare but more of the independent variety. Great films, great endings and overall films not to be missed although they’ve been way overlooked. Some of these go back a few years but they need to be seen anyway.

Elephant – 2003
The Jacket – 2005
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – 2004
Donnie Darko – 2001
Sling Blade – 1996
Lost In Translation – 2003
City of God – 2002
Memento – 2000
Pi – 1998
Let The Right One In – 2008

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I’m an expert in foreign films but I do pay attention to them. It’s been a quiet stretch for Mexican films lately compared to the late 90s, early 2000s when a string of hits came out of the Mexican film industry and out of talented Mexican directors and producers. Those years brought us Amores Perros, Y Tu Mama Tambien, El Crimen Del Padre Amaro, El Espinazo Del Diablo, and it’s from Y Tu Mama Tambien’s Carlos Cuaron that we get the latest revelation from Mexico, Rudo Y Cursi.

Rudo Y Cursi tells the tale of two brothers who hail from very strapped conditions but who are given the keys to fame and fortune through the world of professional soccer. Cuaron blends a simple tale of soccer and life into a tale that spans life’s possibilities, intrigue, elation, downfall and redemption and is able to weave all this while providing humor and superb acting from his cast of characters. Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna are again paired up and once again display the on-screen chemistry that they have always possessed when they have acted together and that have made them international stars. As simple as the story is it still resonates as true-to-life in all its aspects. Just like in soccer, life sometimes grants us glory but it sometimes grants us defeat, it all depends on how we deal with the defeat and how quickly we get up and shake it off. Rudo Y Cursi is now playing in limited release in L.A. and N.Y. and should be expanding to more theaters soon. Check it out if you can.

Rudo Y Cursi Official Website