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Reviews
Sea of Dreams (2006)
Huge let down
After seeing all the reviews from other users, I was excited when the film was released in Tucson, Arizona. I was also interested in seeing Pepe Bojorquez's first film. I always support young Mexican filmmakers. The cast, it seemed, was phenomenal. You can tell it was a pretty big production for the quality of actors, but some, especially Sonia Braga, let me down. Her witchy character made me feel like I was watching a melodramatic soap opera and not a film. Her acting made no sense to me.
But let me first focus on the positive aspects: the cinematography. You can tell that a lot of care was taken to achieve beautiful shots and that is greatly appreciated.
The elements of the film I thought were hokey include the storyline. Being Mexican and knowing the Latin American cultures, I am fond of the magical realism. Believe me, I have enjoyed films such as Like Water for Chocolate, Santitos, even Woman on Top with Penelope Cruz. All these films, I felt, provided me with a good interpretation of magical realism... but Sea of Dreams was an IN YOUR FACE forced magical realism that became predictable, cliché. It went down the way of the magical realism that we all laughed at when watching films such as Zapata. The story, in itself, could have been more interesting, less predictable ans simplistic.
Also, the dialogs became pathetic. It was all way to spelled out. It seemed as if the screenwriter does not believe the audience has ever seen any other film so they have to tell us EXACTLY what is going on without letting us interpret anything. Again, seemed more like a soap opera.
Finally, what time period is this in? I saw a VW bug, then I saw a Rolliflex camera, and then I saw 1980 print dresses and 1940 type costuming. I was thoroughly confused. This just added to the eye-rolling I experienced when watching the film.
I love Mexican Cinema. I love contemporary Mexican Cinema, but in this case, I was really let down. I have seen that Mexican Cinema has some good films, not dealing with social turmoil and violence, coming out of Mexico, but this is not one of them. I feel this film contributes to Mexico for Export/ Mexican Curios films which is overplayed at this point. I hope Pepe Bojorquez's next film proves to be more engaging and less cliché. Maybe start with a better script?
Al otro lado (2004)
Simply Magnificent
I have not seen such a great film in a long time. I don't know where to begin. It's a great narrative, wisely thought out. The cinematography, well, that's breathtaking. The actors are all great. I really like that they actually did a little research in terms of the reality of these locations. This story deals with immigration to the North (whatever that may be), whether it is Morroccans crossing into Spain, Mexicans or Cubans crossing over to the US. It does not deal with the hardship of the millions of people who cross over, but rather with the families of these, their children, who want to search for their fathers. HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!