abigail-sawyer

This 2008 film from the newly formed film production company of Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna follows two brothers (played by García Bernal and Luna) who get caught up in fame and an extreme case of sibling rivalry. Starting out as banana farmers they are discovered by a talent agent and begin to play professional soccer. They are swept away by fame and it eventually takes over their lives.

I must confess that I was expecting something a little bit better, especially coming from such big names such as García Bernal and Luna. The plot line is interesting but the characters themselves were somewhat annoying. García Bernal's Cursi and Luna's Rudo are both overly immature – they fight with each other and whine when they don't get their way, even though they are grown men! It seems like there is no depth to the characters and it is hard to find any redeeming qualities.

The only deeper meaning to be found throughout the movie comes in the form of a voice- over commentary made by the talent scout at various points throughout the movie making comparison between life and the game of soccer. I get the connections, but the movie is still lacking some serious character development.

In this film by Juan José Campanella Esposito, a retired legal counsel, decides to write a novel about one of his past cases in hopes of finding closure. The case was an unresolved homicide of Liliana Morales, wife of Ricardo Morales. Decades later he returns to Buenos Aires to talk with some of the people involved in the case and he ends up discovering more than he expected to.

This film was funny at times and also had an interesting twist with all of the detective work and Esposito went back through the period of time when he was investigating the crime. The ending is far from what I was expecting and I'm not sure that I like it.

The movie brings into question the idea of justice and how it is served, while providing a slight criticism of the government and their dealings within the judicial system. It definitely gets the audience thinking about what sort of punishment is justified for a crime and whether or not it is the government's responsibility to carry out justice.

This film tells of a young girl Cristina growing up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. One day her life gets turned upside down when court officials escort her from her school and inform her that she is really Sofía Lombardi, daughter of activists who disappeared during the 70s. From there begins a journey of searching for information about her parents and discovering her true identity.

"Captive" complements the film "The Official Story" very well and emphasized the importance of historical memory, both for a country and for an individual. Cristina, like Alicia ("The Official Story"), is blissfully living in ignorance of the truth until someone else brings it to her attention. Both female characters are at first doubtful of the fact that so many people simply "disappeared". Their doubt then turns to belief and surprise that they didn't know earlier.