Change Your Image
spanishfli
Reviews
Short Eyes (1977)
Under-Rated Under-Appreciated Drama.
The performances in film version of Short Eyes are perhaps some of the best I've seen. Short Eyes, in prison slang, means child molester. The whole play revolves on a white pedophile Clark Davis interacting in a prison whose majority are Puerto Ricans and Blacks, and Davis' interaction with Juan who attempts to come to terms with Davis' need for sex with children.
There are several memorable characters such as the very young and tender Julio, known as Cupcakes by the prisoners, who is the target of unwanted homosexual attention by several, if not all, prisoners. El Raheem is a strong black man, perhaps a Black Panther, who studies the Koran all day long and acts on his feelings of anger towards white people. Longshoe Murphy is a tough young Irish. And of course Clark Davis and Juan, who are the main characters of the play.
Pinero, who plays GoGo in his the film version of his play, wrote this play while in Sing Sing prison at around 1974 for armed robbery, and first was performed by a cast of prisoners. Short Eyes had a very short success on Broadway.
The only problem of the movie is the cinematography-it is rather boring, especially in this time where special FX of Lord of the Rings is rather common. But there are two or three rather beautiful scenes, one with a prisoner posing in front of a poster. Despite the very dated lackluster cinematography, I wouldn't hesitate to buy this film.
El crimen del padre Amaro (2002)
A very poignant film.
El Crimen del Padre Amaro is one of the most beautiful and poignant movies you will ever see. Despite the controversy it has made in Mexico, this movie is not an anti-Catholic movie although it illustrates the hypocrisy of the Roman Catholic Church and politics in Mexico. This is a tragedy and one of the best love stories every filmed.
This tragedy is about a young priest who falls in love with the beautiful Amelia. Faced with conflict, he gradually loses his innocence and the girl who he loves. And despite Padre Amaro's bad decisions the audience never hates Padre Amaro because he was a good man with a good heart, but at the same time he is a hypocrite and a sinful man. We love him as we did with Humbert in Lolita, and we feel bad when they face tragedy.
This movie should be seen everyone. The story is beautiful but sad, with many complex characters, although if you cannot handle seeing Christian hypocrisy, you should avoid this and watch something else.