THE HISPANIC AND LUSO-BRAZILIAN WORLD
2005; American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese; Volume: 88; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2153-6414
Autores Tópico(s)Latin American Literature Analysis
ResumoRecent Argentine fiction film figured prominently in the festival. The most politically urgent of these works is the drama Iluminados por el fuego, which was directed and co-scripted by the veteran filmmaker Tristan Bauer. This major motion picture?which features strong production values?examines the controversial topic of the Malvinas/Falklands Islands War and its after math in Argentina. The Argentine super-star Gast?n Pauls stars as a former combatant who returns to the Falklands/Malvinas two decades later in order to come to terms with the conflict psychologically and emotionally. Remarkably, many scenes were actually filmed in the Islands. Brutal battle scenes are featured, but the film also examines the social-psychological cost of the conflict for the surviving Argentine soldiers who later made lives for themselves as civilians. Iluminados por el fuego powerfully highlights the routine incompetence and brutality of the Argentine military officers and suggests that the nation has done little of significance to aid veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome and other disorders. Several other major Argentine fiction features were showcased. The well-crafted family drama El viento, co-written and directed by Eduardo Mignogna, stars the great Argentine actor Federico Luppi as an aging Patagonian sheep farmer who must journey to Buenos Aires in order to seek his own personal redemption by clarifying for his granddaughter his previously hidden? and murderous?role in his family ' s history. The drama Nordeste features the famous French star Carole Bouquet in the role of a wealthy, childless European executive who journeys to remote Northeastern Argentina in order to legally or illegally obtain a child for adoption. In this, his debut feature, co-screenwriter and director Juan Solanas excels at creating a woman-centered drama which convincingly plays out in a rural, poverty-stricken social setting. SIFF's Emerging Masters program spotlights the work of new directors whose first features display competence, originality, and vision. One of this year's honored masters was the Brazilian Andrucha Waddington, whose most recent feature, Casa de Areia, was warmly received by festival audiences. This visually stunning family saga, set over a 60-year period in Maranh?o, continues Waddington's well-known penchant for women-centered narratives. Festival-goers honored the film with two prestigious distinctions in the competition for the coveted Golden Space Needle Audience Awards: First Runner-Up for Best Director went to Waddington; and Second Runner-Up for Best Actress was captured by Fernanda Montenegro, the famed star of the blockbuster Esta?ao Central.
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