Movie Night
The pre-trip film festival has begun! Last week I compiled a short list of films, mostly foreign, that I’d like to see before I leave for Europe. I won’t get to all of them, and that’s just fine, but viewing a few of these flicks will provide a quick and helpful refresher on the history, culture and landscape of some of the places I’ll visit.
Tonight we (me, Mom and Dad) watched two foreign language films back-to-back. We read subtitles while listening to French, Portuguese, Czech and German, which is another great benefit of seeing these films — I can brush up on European history and practice understanding foreign phrases and expressions at the same time.
First we watched Voyage to the Beginning of the World (1997), a Portuguese film that Mom found. Viagem ao Princípio do Mundo seems to capture the essence of the uniquely Portuguese saudade, and although slow going, I enjoyed the simple story, poetic language and scenic shots of the Portuguese countryside. It’s based on the true story of French actor Yves Alfonso, who traveled to Portugal for the first time as an adult to visit the village where his deceased father was born. It was cool to see the last film that Marcello Mastroianni ever appeared in — now I can work backwards and attempt to see some of his other films.
Next we watched a superb Czech film called Divided We Fall (2000), which lost the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2001. Musíme si pomáhat is fantastic, a moving story about a young Czech couple who hide a Jew in their home during WWII. The characters are wonderful — I particularly enjoyed the subtle humor and uplifting spirit that whispers through the film, despite the horrible circumstances surrounding the time period it portrays.
Tags: Czech Republic, Europe Trip Prep, Portugal, Tag Index
Kel