Intrigue found in International Film Fest
By Kelly Vormelker, Staff Writer
February 6, 2008 | 11 a.m.
The Athena and its mainstream counterpart, the Athena Grand, offer many movie choices for the local enthusiast. However, Baker Center’s International Film Fest boasts movies from every corner of the world to enlighten the culturally curious student.
The International Film Fest is already underway. A different movie is featured every Wednesday night in the Baker Center theater at 7:30 p.m. The following four films will be featured over the next two months.
"Motorcycle Dairies" – Feb. 6 - South American
"Motorcycle Diaries" is a memoir of Che Guevara’s travel journals from his coming-of-age journey throughout Latin America. The events that unfold throughout detail the people and scenes Guevara saw on his journey and the later, greater significance that they held.
Guevara eventually became one of Time Magazine’s “Icons of the Century.” However, "Motorcycle Diaries" focuses on his journey, before his life was touched and complicated by politics.
"Motorcycle Diaries" was originally a book in which the reader has “the impression that you can actually change things in the world, by understanding them and taking part. I wanted the film to convey that same sense of hope and exploration,” director Walter Salles said in an interview on MotorcycleDiariesMovie.com.
"Invisible Children" – Feb. 13 - Northern Uganda
"Invisible Children" follows three young Americans on their adventure throughout Africa. What Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole thought to be a journey of self-discovery turned into something else entirely. They became stranded in Northern Uganda and discovered what would become the horrible topic of their documentary.
“The Lord’s Resistance Army” in Uganda abducts children as young as 8 from their homes and seduces them into a life of violence and brutality. Most of these children serve out their entire lives in captivity and guerrilla warfare.
"Invisible Children" follows four boys (Jacob, Thomas, Tony and Boni) through this life. The filmmakers make connections with these children, and their vulnerabilities are universal.
"The Harder They Come" – Feb. 20 - Jamaican
"The Harder They Come" is a based-on-fact story of passion, conformance and oppression. Ivanhoe Martin is a small-town man with a lust for reggae. He goes to a big city in Jamaica trying to make a name for himself.
Things prove to be difficult, and Martin falls under the deafening grip of a record dealer and a marijuana boss. Martin’s record will only get airtime if he agrees to sign away his rights. Events build to Martin murdering a police officer and consequently becoming an iconic figure and a political hero to all oppressed Jamaicans.
Adding to the film’s deep-seeded Jamaican roots, the film has a strong reggae soundtrack throughout. One line from the soundtrack that personifies the film’s mindset: "I'd rather die than live and be a slave. Yeah, I'd rather be right in my grave." according to IMDb.com.
"Innocent Voices" – Feb. 27 - El Salvador
"Innocent Voices" is the heart-wrenching story of Chava, a boy whose family is torn apart by civil war in El Salvador. Chava’s father is taken from his family to fight in the war. Chava takes on the role of father in his family knowing that he most likely only has one more year with them.
Recruiting begins at 12 years old, hence Chava must choose whether to join the army or the rebels. The government of El Salvador is raging a fight against the rebel party of the FMLN.
"Innocent Voices" depicts a story of one boy’s life tragically clouded by violence, held together only by the love of his family. "Epic, innocent Voices sprawls across its landscape with a wide embrace of issues and character,” said John Anderson of Newsday.
Each of these films is resonant of the place in which it was made. Catch one and absorb a bit of culture on the way.
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