EL CID, the Man who rises above the Legend

“There is only a man in Spain who could humble a king and would give a leper water to drink from his own pouch”, a Hero that having lived so long ago remains, still, a beacon of passion and honour. Director Anthony Mann drew, in El Cid, the character Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar as if time had suddenly, mysteriously, turned back to Medieval Age, in all its glory.

Charlton Heston, as main player, gave the character the divine breath and made him human again. The sceneries and wardrobe were carefully conceived. Dialogs sequences were artfully built. By the world Rodrigo is recognized as having been great. Many are the legends that keep his memory alive. But for Spain and Portugal, this film portrays a budding time for two countries that share the same blood and are siblings.

The story is set in the Twelve Century. The Iberian Peninsula was then divided by two cultures and religions, in Christian kingdoms and Moorish kingdoms. King Ferdinand of Castile Leon and Asturias is at war with the Moors and sends one of his bravest knights into battle – Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar. In his wedding day, Rodrigo on his way to his bride Ximene, fights the Moors but his heart is full of love and he decides to spear the prisoners. One of them, an Arab king, becomes deeply touched and blesses Rodrigo with this words “Among our people we have a name for a man with the vision to be just and the courage to be merciful. We call such a man El Cid. I Moutamin, Emir of Saragossa, swear loyal legion to King Ferdinand and to the Cid of Bivar”. But other knights, their hearts full of envy, find in this a splendid opportunity to harm Rodrigo and accuse him of treason. His father, Don Diego, defends him and, consequently, is humiliated by Ximene’s own father. Rodrigo must protect Don Diego’s honour but still tries to reason with the offender. There is a duel to the death and Rodrigo wins. Now, Ximene (one of Sophia Loren’s finest roles) is torn by the passion that links her to Rodrigo and the desire to avenge her father. So begins this story, so begins the path for El Cid’s glory, for this movie is more than the dwelling of a man and a woman. It is an example of the courage that rises above small things, of tolerance, respect and self sacrifice that come from great people.

The characters in the film bear a striking resemblance to the real ones which contributes to hold the viewer attention.
As a mean to share my national pride, I must add a small historic note. Not long after El Cid’s time, King Ferdinand’s son Alphonsus would present his illegitimate daughter Teresa with a county – Condado Portucalense. At the age of sixteen, Afonso Henriques her son, would claim the right to also be king on the ground of being grandson of another king and refused to be taxed. Portugal was born. The Hispanic kingdoms would slowly be united into forming Spain as a whole. Spain and Portugal were separated by history but both lands are warmed by El Cid’s deep red blood.

When beauty joins greatness the result is perfection in motion. Miklos Rozsa’s soundtrack and Anthony Mann’s direction… May the viewer decide which is which.
One of he most sublime work of art in Cinema, El Cid will change you as he has changed history.

Cast and crew and scene from the movie:

Last scene (link): in this scene the Cid had been mortally injured but made his wife swear that she would make it so that he would ride into battle alive or dead, the next day. And he was dead the next day, under his armour http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5e1L5ocXUw
Directed by Anthony Mann
Produced by Samuel Bronston
Music by Miklos Rozsa
Charlton Heston (as El Cid), Sophia Loren (as Ximene), Genevieve Page (as Urraca), Ray Valone, John Fraser, Gary Raymond, Hurd Hatfield, Massino Serato, Hubert Lom and Douglas Wilmer (as Moutamin)...

HATARI!, a wild comedy directed by Howard Hawks

Three baby elephants, a rocket to catch five hundred small monkeys and a “green horn” female photographer are the ingredients of Howard Hawks hilarious comedy “Hatari!” The word that means “danger” in Swahili works like a charm as the title for this movie, set in the National Wild Park of Tanganyka.
An ex-bull fighter, an ex-racing pilot, an Indian named Little Wolf, an ex-taxi driver who freaks out at the sight of anything wild, a bad tempered Irishman and a cheetah named Sonya are some of the members of the odd crew that captures animals for zoos. All they need to complete the team is a photographer whose job would be documenting the captures. Their prayers, however, are answered in an awkward way when the missing team member turns out to be a red Italian woman in a tight dress and high heels. But the “boom is about to be lowered” when she decides to adopt three orphan baby elephants against any sense or reasoning.
The out sanding sound track by Henry Mancini gives Hatari! a heart beat. The landscapes in which the movie is set will make you want to move to Africa and stay there for ever – and for this a reference should be made to director of photography Russel Harlan, whose amazing artistic work sets the tone.
More than a light, happy comedy, Hatari! has what any artistic intervention should have – that stardust magic that makes you want to be a better person, that makes you want to let go of anything small or ordinary. It’s the kind of movie that kicks you out of your shell and into the world.
John Wayne playing the bad tempered Irishman and Elsa Martinelli playing the surprising female photographer are a bold – yet successful – match for the romantic pair. Hatari indeed!

Cast and Crew

Directed by Howard Hawks

Music by Henri Mancini

Director of photography Russel Harlan

Cast: John Wayne, Elsa Martinelli, Red Buttons (as Pockets)...

GHOST LIFE

Roman Polansky latest film THE GHOST WRITER is far more than a subtle reference to Tony Blair´s policy. It is about more than little things like dirty secrets or the structural line it shows. In fact, it is about the truth in all its forms. Something our old cozy society long ago forgot… or perhaps the quest for the truth was never Man´s attitude towards life. Each character pretends to be something they are not, specially the ghost writer himself who never signs his works and shapes his style according to the public figure portrayed. Curiously, such strong message is not Polansky´s best work, his personal problems may have affected the final polish that makes a film great or close to a disaster. Not a disaster, in this case nor a success. However Polansky can’t help filming well, and the message that lies beneath came through. THE PATH FOR HAPPINESS IS THE COURAGE TO BE ONESELF. Life is too damn important to be wasted in undignified actions. Polansky sets the challenge for us to build a proper society, but deep inside doesn’t consider it possible. The movie ends badly because Fate herself kills the Ghost Writer as he is trying to bring out the truth from the shadows. Should we be pessimist as well? I say NO!

Cast and crew:

Hired by a big shot publisher, a young striving writer (played by Ewan McGregor) finds his dreams of glory put to the ground when asked to be a ghost behind UK's PM autobiography. It means good money, so he accepts despite his disappointment. But the real challenge is about to begin when McGregor's character becomes haunted by the former ghost writer misteriously... killed.

Directed by Roman Polansky

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan (as PM), Kim Cattrall...

WHITE NIGHTS

Very eighty’s, very direct, yet refined.
The fight for freedom is the quest of Man since always. Films are mostly about that: the wrongly condemned man who tries a spectacular escape, the national hero who frees an occupied country, the women escaping from the violence of an abusive husband…

In White Nights, however Mikhail Baryshnikov’s quest playing a Russian ballet dancer is the most important one – the quest for free thinking. In the first scene, Nikolai Rodchenko (Baryshnikov’s character) is performing with a female dancer. She plays death, he plays a struggling boy. She seduces him and takes him with her, which means that the boy dies. That is the metaphor that starts it all. What is Man but thoughts and actions that come from thoughts? What is Man but feverish imagination and notorious evolution, what is Man but he who produces Art in all its forms? Man is free to think, to be aware of himself, and of that freedom. Take that away from Man and nothing human will remain in a body used merely for surviving, reduced to its primary biological functions. Doctors shut down machines for reasons such as these. Death.

Rodchenko doesn’t die. The ballet is like a warning of what might be, not what will be. So he runs, escapes from communist Russia into the United States of America. And here we see how close character and player are, ‘cause Baryshnikov ran away from his beloved Russia too and in order to shoot the film the director had to simulate the sceneries around the main actor – back them his return to his birth country could be fatal.

Baryshnikov succeeded, Rodchenko succeeded. But others didn’t. It hurts in the film to see that those who didn’t are the ones that gave up and gave in. They didn’t perish during the battle, they simply believed that fighting served no other purpose than to endanger the quietness and security of their lives. They gave in to the real danger and closed their eyes. They played the role that was intended for them, they performed up to the moment they believed their performance. Oblivion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1H6iP60wh8


Cast and Crew:
Mikhail Baryshnikov, whose skills we can definitely see in both areas, plays the leading role as a Russian ballet dancer. An outstanding performance.
Gregory Hines and Isabella Rossellini (her first role in the cinema) play his friend couple who share his escape.
Helen Mirren plays Baryshnikov former partner in dancing, a woman too afraid to leave Russia, yet too honest not to help the main hero although play along with the communist regime.
Jerzy Skolimowsky gets full marks playing chief of Russian secret police.
Roland Petit genially choreographs the initial ballet “Death and the young boy”.
DIRECTOR: Taylor Hackford

EMBARGO, directed by António Ferreira

I went to the Pictures yesterday, to watch a low budget movie based on a twelve page short story by José Saramago, a movie with no distributing company, by a director who spent the rest of the money in an optimistic attempt to publicize the film. And that was all I knew of it. I bought the tickets, we entered on schedule. There were two of us, but back there, in the projecting room, they probably thought we were none, such was improbable the idea that someone might be interested in watching it. We realized it, because the lights remained on, to prevent perhaps darkness from haunting an empty space. There came the adds to dazzle chairs that were supposed to be empty. The credits were showed in the most original way I’ve seen so far, or one of the most. And so began one of the finest moments in the history of my love affair with Cinema. I won’t tell the story, because the amazing crew and cast who built this film deserve to have the next viewers overwhelmed, as we were – cured from the slight scepticism in which we started this adventure. Naturally, twelve pages are hardly sufficient to support an eighty minute film, so dialogs had to be invented specially for it, as well as a number of alterations that sidetracked the purpose and the way of the original story. One is an artist when one creates from scratch, but one is also an artist when one adapts and alters. And Tiago Sousa and António Ferreira are artists indeed. Artists that dominate aesthetics, artists that think, complete artists that understand the need of coherence, who dare to loose that coherence when art demands it or life impersonated looses it. A film in the style of magic realism, a work of art in sepia that only gave back my gift of speech when I answered the apologetic usher who came and peeped twice amazed to find people watching. The room finally became dark, but our souls were on fire.

Crew:
Directed by António Ferreira
Script by Tiago Sousa
Based on a short story by José Saramago
Cast:
Filipe Costa (Nuno)Cláudia Carvalho (Margarida)Pedro Diogo (Sérgio)Fernando Taborda (Sr. Alves)José Raposo (Patrão)Miguel Lança (Jovem Empresário)Eloy Monteiro (Dr. Vitor)