The III Dominican Republic Global Film Festival will take place between November 18 and 22, 2009. Its theme this year is “Global Issues, Personal Stories.” The festival will officially open in four different Dominican cities at the same time. Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata, Santiago, and Nagua will each be holding their own inauguration ceremony and premiering a different film in each of the four venues. 30 films from around the world— Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, England, France, Germany, Holland, Israel, Mexico, Peru, Spain, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela— will be screened. This III Edition of the DR Global Film Festival will offer a tribute to the distinguished international actor Omar Sharif (born Michel Demitri Shalhoub in 1932 in Alexandria, Egypt). The tribute will take place November 18 at 7:00pm at the National Theater in Santo Domingo.

The Dominican Republic Global Film Festival presents a selection of the best international, dramatic, and documentary films to enrich the country’s film culture and to bring the seventh art into all sectors of Dominican society. The Festival contributes to raising awareness and understanding of global issues through stories about events and people that have left a mark on our lives. It uses film as a way to promote and encourage discussion about social issues, politics and economics. It also aims to bring to the Dominican public a wide variety of films that are generally not available to them and to bring together people from various sectors and social classes to view and discuss the films.

For more information and festival program, see http://www.drglobalfilmfestival.org/drgff2009/peliculas_en.asp

This will be my sixth year covering the Cairo International Film Festival and I have to admit, I still feel excited about it. Fully aware of its shortcomings, I’ve had my share of its good moments and blunders.

Even though many critics would say (and I agree) that the selection of films are not the best, it’s still an opportunity to watch a lot of non-commercial non-Hollywood films and meet people passionate about filmmaking — artists not just stars.

But who am I kidding; it’s also an opportunity to rub shoulders with the stars.

Name dropping

It’s there that I interviewed Morgan Freeman, which became the highlight of my life for a year. I had the pleasure to have lunch with him along with Pakinam Amer, Tamara Yousry, Yasmine Shehata and Mariam Abu Ouf. He struck us all as a man with the spirit and passion of a 20-something, not the veteran actor in his late 60s.

It’s there that I met Mustafa Al-Akkad (director/producer of The Message and Omar El Mokhtar), one year before he died in Jordan’s 2005 bombings.

It’s there that I saw Omar Sharif for the first time in real life. I interviewed him later on.

And I briefly met Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise Now), during the premiere of Leilat Sequot Baghdad (a personal favorite).

I’ve also attended press conferences for Susan Sarandon and Charlize Theron.

Susan Sarandon in Cairo. By Sarah El Sirgany

A female reporter gave Thero a gift at this press conference and went out and hugged her. -By Sarah El Sirgany

During this year, a young Egyptian actor was relentlessly hitting on the stars (there’s no other way to describe his comments and questions to them at press conferences). I think he also told Theron at the press conference that she’s cute or something along these lines. And Alicia Silverstone eventually told him “I’m married.”

This actor and others like him aside, I’ve met a host of filmmakers from all around the world, passionate about what they do. Some swore never to come back — director Juanma Bajo Ulloa of the brilliant film Fragil is one of them — and others like French director Safy Nebbou, who I met in 2004, came back last year to win another prize.

Criticism from participating filmmakers range from lack of organization to allegations that the winning films are known way before the closing ceremony. Concerning that one of those winning filmmakers told me, award in hand, that he had received a call a couple of days before the closing telling him to travel to Egypt and he’ll find a pleasant surprise, this proposition isn’t that far fetched.

There’s a consensus in criticism that the local press are only interested in covering Egyptian and Arab films, leaving the screenings of beautiful foreign films relatively empty. (Foreign press is largely absent). One Indian producer/director approached me a couple of years ago, asking if I could help him invite more journalists to his morning screening. I did, but still, my film contacts at the time couldn’t fill the hall.

Live Scandals

I’ve also watched a lot scandals unfold. An Egyptian producer and a critic took the ‘discussion’  to a whole new level, and if it weren’t for the stage separating the two, the fight would have definitely got physical.

Aside from how they described each other when interviewed later (‘Ostaz eh, da combarss,’ the producer told us), it turned out that the reason for the fight wasn’t the film as we thought. A knowledgeable source from the industry claimed that this specific critic was criticizing the performance of one new actress, who was secretly married to this producer, who didn’t want anyone badmouthing his trophy wife. But that was unconfirmed.

In the screening of Dunia (officially translated as “Don’t Kiss Me in the Eye”), Lebanese director Jocelyne Saab and Egyptian film critic Khaireya El Beshlawy were also inches away from physically attacking each others after yet another scandalous press conference, with each calling the other crazy in later interviews.

Hala Khalil’s Cut and Paste’s screening wasn’t scandalous but it was full of theatricals.

The screening of Inas El-Degheidy’s El Bahethat An El Horreya (Freedom Seekers) should be credited for uniting the feminists female critics with the all-mucho male critics, as both camps struggled to hold their laughs during and after the screening. Some laughed out loud though. And they all joked about its absurdity and bad filmmaking in harmonious unison. Bless You Inas.

Lost in Translation?

The problem, which can be blamed for the scandals and the unintelligent comments that plague the post-film discussions, is the labeling: In English-language schedules, it’s referred to as a press conference, but in Arabic-language schedules, it’s referred to as nadwa or a panel discussion.

It leaves room for people, some supposedly established film critics, to take the microphone and share with the rest of us their experience watching film. Aside from the fact that many of them have a lot of space in their newspapers and magazines to do just that, often enough time runs out before more important and relevant questions about the film, its script and production are asked or answered.

Sometimes, the nadwa/press conference moderators feel obliged to either tell off the person with the mic or take the opportunity to share their own experience with the class. Some of those moderators/critics even offer more elaborate and opinionated translations (usually from English to Arabic) of the filmmakers’ answers.

My reaction ranges from bored to embarrassed. My dear friend and colleague Joseph Fahim (Daily News Egypt’s culture editor and film critic and the person to follow in this or any festival) once wrote that my way of coping with these nadwa/conferences is to draw people hanging or shooting themselves. Unfortunately, it’s true.

TV, grrr

But my problems aren’t limited to the questions. Every year I get really close to punching a TV reporter in the face, with ART’s Bousy Shalaby on top of the list. All have a sense of self entitlement to cut off any conversation to grab any director/actor/scriptwriter by the hand and lead them outside the hall. There’s absolutely no regard to the journalist or critic talking to this filmmaker or the others who have been waiting for their turn in the conversation/interview.

They brush off anyone loud criticism with “It’s TV” with a how-can’t-you-understand-you-insignificant-creature look. I have no idea if I should blame the video cameras for fueling this sense of entitlement. But if you ever hear about a journalist beating a TV station’s crew with their own camera, there’s a 90 percent chance it’ll be me.

I’ve met few filmmakers who didn’t allow this to happen, politely telling off people who cut into conversations. Dutch filmmaker Albert ter Heerdt is one of those people.

I’ll still go to this year’s festival, but I like every year I’ll be cautious about blunders. This is however not a professional analysis of the festival or the unconfirmed allegations of financial corruption. Many of the world’s top film critics and publications have wrote detailed studies of its shortcomings and how it can be fixed. But every year, festival organizers choose to ignore that. They don’t even invite those top critics and others like them. And that’s only one of the reason why the festival doesn’t get adequate coverage in international media, that if it get any at all.

Disclaimer: I’ve put too many links here, more than I usually do. This post is readable without those links. But if you a drama addict, some of the stories I linked to document in more detail some of weirdest incidents I’ve witnessed. Unfortunately, some stories are not available online anymore or have been included in online archives that require payment for access. Some of those unavailable stories though were aggregated by other websites and blogs and this is why, some links don’t direct to newspapers/magazine websites.

A round up of last year’s festival:

1967: The Night of the Generals di Anatole Litvak

Tratto dall’omonimo romanzo di Hans Helmut Kirst (pubblicato in Italia da Garzanti), un grande spettacolo che però non soddisfa del tutto (ma che all’epoca ebbe un notevole successo ai botteghini di tutto il mondo).

Realizzato con grande dovizia di mezzi, La notte dei generali intende mescolare il genere bellico con il thriller, nonché offrire un quadro d’epoca e di mentalità, delineare un  affresco storico, fornire il ritratto di una psiche disturbata (intrecciando il tutto con “una spietata satira del militarismo tedesco, durante e dopo il nazismo”, Hoepli.it).

Progetto ambizioso che Anatole Litvak (regista poco amato dai critici ma autore di grandi successi internazionali come La fossa dei serpenti e Il terrore corre sul filo del 1948, Anastasia del 56, Il viaggio del 59, Le piace Brahms? del 61) non riesce completamente a padroneggiare: il risultato è un insieme di argomenti diversi che non si amalgamano e finiscono con il disturbarsi l’un l’altro. Eccessivamente lungo, disorienta lo spettatore: si approfondisce un aspetto, lo si sembra poi dimenticare per alla fine riprenderlo (e questo per tutti i temi affrontati).

A volte lento e con inutili digressioni, il film si fa ammirare più per la spettacolarità della messa in scena che per i contenuti specifici. Indubbia è la bravura di un gigante della recitazione: Peter O’Toole (“O’Toole si conferma fra i migliori attori del momento” scriveva giustamente Tullio Kezich nel 1967) offre una performance veramente straordinaria che da sola vale il film, performance che gli valse meritoriamente il David di Donatello.

Completano il cast nomi prestigiosi: Tom Courtenay (lanciatissimo negli anni 60 si dedicò poi prevalentemente al teatro; ebbe la Coppa Volpi al festival di Venezia nel 1964 come migliore attore per il film di Joseph Losey Per il re e la patria, vinse il Golden Globe nel 1984 per Il servo di scena di Peter Yates), Omar Sharif (allora all’apice della fama, ma qui il meno convincente), Christopher Plummer, Donald Pleasance, Philippe Noiret, Juliette Grèco.

p.s.

Bloopers si è divertito ad enumerare i diversi errori del film.

scheda

Ada Harris (Angela Lansbury), a London charwoman in the 1950’s, sees a Dior dress and decides that she’s going to own one. First, she scrimps and saves her money, but when she has enough, and takes a trip to Paris, she learns that buying an original couture creation is a little harder than simply plunking down cash. Along the way to her goal, she manages to befriend a count, unite young lovers, and dodge customs.

Now this film has a really special place for me, as it was a movie that I had watched when I was little with my Nanna telling me it was really good. It wasnt until last year that I eventually found out it was this movie and none other than Angela Lansbury was in it. You can imagine my excitement when I found out what it was and was able to purchase the DVD. Last night I watched it again, and still love it as much as I always have. It is such a sweet and nice story about determination to actually get something that you really really want.

Angela Lansbury was very sweet and funny in the role of Ada Harris or ‘Arris. With her cockney charm and just cute sayings. She ends up being a total problem solver in the week that she spends in Paris, after thinking she could go in a day to buy a Dior dress which it took her 3 years to save up 450 pounds to buy it. Baring in mind this was set in the 1950’s that was a lot of money then, especially for someone like Mrs Harris.

Mrs Harris changes the lives of those she befriends in Paris, by reuniting one with his daughter and granddaughter, setting up two young people who end up engaged, helping a woman to get recognition for what her husband done it the way. Some of these moments are quite sad, but lovely at the same time. As is when Mrs Harris talks about her husband who died because of what he done in the war. Her determination and spirit is really fantastic and inspiring as she will not let anyone stop her dream of owning a Dior dress, no matter which obstacles are put in her way.

It is really good to be able to watch a movie like this and just get lost in it as it does help you to forget about anything else going on. It’s sweet, nice and has a great performance from Lansbury in it. She really is fantastic. Omar Sharif, was very charming as well and eventually helps out Mrs Harris when it comes to getting her dress finished.

I would totally recommend this movie if you really want to watch something that does not require a lot of attention, but something that you can get lost in and a sweet tale involving an old lady who has a dream.

You know, Dave, I was just about to ask you if you had seen the last episode of Mad Men, yet — which I think is the — gulp — penultimate of the season? If you have, then we have a heck of a lot to discuss good golly!

In the interim, there’s always Glee.

Anyway, I was reading Flaubert’s correspondence recently — bits and pieces, natch — and it really humbled and almost shamed me.  You remember those wild times when e-mail was just starting out and we had that kind of clubby student interface at the old school?  And then I started getting four to six e-mails a day from my mother?  And we all kind of thought that was really weird.  I mean, not as weird as some people thought I was, but still…

Well, reading the letters Flaubert wrote to his mother from Egypt, it appears that I should have been both more appreciative and more assiduous in my replies all this time… I mean, not only did she write him constantly, constantly complaining that he did not write back often enough, but he actually seemed to take pleasure in reading her letters!  Sentimentally setting aside all other task to open himself to the wellspring of emotions brought about by the words of his chère vieille (seriously, I cannot imagine addressing my mama with some variation of “you old bag”). Moreover, he took to writing to his comrades requesting that they check in on her.  Times change… Anyhoo, it really brought me back to those moments when I would have to lie about where I was traveling, just to avoid any excess of fretting: Flaubert’s mother apparently imagined that he was eaten by crocodiles or, perhaps, besieged by Bedouins as every week went by without word from him.  Of course, in other respects, I have never been expected to give the kind of detailed report on my daily health that Flaubert felt necessary — Dude, TMI!

Otherwise, I was wondering why I always have a rough time leaving the house in the morning.  Then I realized that there is an inverse relationship between distance between sleeping cats and hours it takes to get out the door in the morning:

let sleeping cats lie

Really… could you bring yourself to abandon such a thing?

I must tell you how important it is to have enough space. As many you are apartment dwellers, you’ll be able to identify with this. Eventually you run out of storage space. You may out-grow some of your clothes, or you just tire of them, so you buy new clothes.

Meanwhile, your books, CD’s, and DVD collections continue to grow. Your collection is too big for your present set of bookcases and storage racks for your media. So the overage gets moved into your closets, competing for space with your coats and shoes, etc.

But someday, you will have to let them go.

Why did I toss them?

Here’s why. The need for space is paramount for a city dweller. And when one’s girlfriend complains about not being able to walk into the walk-in closet and hang up her coat, something had to be done, and something had to go. Would you believe four boxes of videos?

Yup, they’ve been carefully carted away by the New York Sanitation Department. No doubt a good many of you have similar issues with your magazine, VHS, and DVD collections. You too may have to deal with this question of space someday.

Speaking of spaces — and most of us need more — I’m reminded of two major films, both of which were epics, and both directed by David Lean, and both won Oscars. The titles are Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and Doctor Zhivago (1965).

In these films, Lean positions his cameras in places where the magnitude of the open spaces and the majestic scope of the land dwarf individual men as well as mankind. You can see it in these images.

Scenes of shimmering deserts, soaring mountains, frozen tundra, and majestic forests all serve as backdrops to the stories of T E Lawrence and Dr. Zhivago and his love, Lara.

These films carted off many Oscars, and unlike my recently discarded videos, have withstood the test of time by retaining spaces in our hearts and minds for about 48 years for Lawrence, and only a few less than that for Zhivago.

I still need more space, but the situation is no longer critical. Our usual array of topics may or may not take up more page space than we thought going in.

Other topics may also may have distinct spatial problems — specifically asking me to find them after they been stored for so long in some dark and hard to reach recesses or synapses of my brain .

However don’t be dismayed. To have a look at some fine examples of subjects in and about the arts, you won’t need to trek across frozen Siberian wastelands, nor the Arabian deserts – just read this column on occasion.

Ouch! Omar whacks Ian

Le Caprice, 1985: ‘All the films you’ve made since Lawrence of Arabia are rubbish,’ Ian told the actor Omar Sharif, following a refreshing dinner at an exclusive London eatery. Diners looked up in disbelief as Sharif jumped from the table, throwing the first (and last) punch. There were no photographers around, but can you name the artist behind this picture? And the publication it appeared in? It’s in the style of Guy Peelaert (of ‘Rock Dreams’ fame) and was kindly sent to me by Mick Gallagher of the Blockheads (thanks Mick), but its origin remains a mystery.

He’s back in the saddle again. Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy) saddles up a new horse as he rides into the adventure epic, “Hidalgo”.

Mortensen plays real-life legend Frank Hopkins, a long distance horse racer and dispatcher who ends up washed up and in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Hopkins gets the challenge of a lifetime when a Sheik (Omar Sharif) sends for him to enter the epic 3,000 mile race across the Arabian Desert. The Sheik urges Frank to prove his claim that he is the best long distance racer in the world. Can Frank and his beloved horse Hidalgo survive such a challenge in a far off land? Can they endure the infamous Ocean of Fire and live to tell the tale? This stubborn cowboy sure hopes so.

“Hidalgo” is great escapist entertainment as Frank’s adventures in Arabia are plenty and fun to behold.

Mortensen is stern and steadfast as the cowboy hero and there is a lot in common here to his beloved portrayal of Aragorn. Mortensen maybe a laid back actor but his simpler portrayal of Frank does show he can be an audience favorite.

It is nice to Omar Sharif return to the silver screen and it was kind of funny seeing the cameo from C. Thomas Howell. The female leads in the film match Mortensen word for word but I never found captivating or enthralling. That is kind of a shame since it would have been nice to see what Mortensen was like next to a strong female lead character.

Easy now, boy!

Hidalgo’s director Joe Johnston has always been a favorite of mine. The man has directed such projects as “Honey I Shrunk the Kids“, “The Rocketeer“, “Jumanji” and “October Sky“. Johnston has also taken up the reigns of the “Jurassic Park” franchise from Steven Spielberg where he directed “Jurassic Park 3” and is slated to directed “Jurassic 4″.

Johnston has always had a certain style for his films. His unique use of music and grand adventure scenes have always been a staple. “Hidalgo” has a lot of elements that are staples of a Joe Johnston film and it is amazing how they bring a lot more to the film. He has always been a great audience pleaser and Hidalgo is no different.

I liked a lot of Johnston’s panoramic and silhouette shots of Viggo and horse. I liked how he was able to bring life to the most lifeless of places. There are so many of those kinds of scenes in this film.

The film also reminded me some of those old Sheik love stories starring Rudolph Valentino and the film adaptations of the Arabian Knights. It was almost like one of those films with a Gary Cooper or mellower Charles Brosnan styled cowboy trapped inside. It was a lot of fun seeing the genres mix it up.

My only problem with the film is that it feels quite long. The film’s story is a simple one spread across a 3,000 mile race. There really is no depth to sustain the film’s exotic adventure.

This adventure film won’t win any awards or challenge us in anyway but like the film’s central character it is steadfast, true to itself and a joy to watch.

4 out of 5

So Says the Soothsayer.

Se é que isso interessa a alguém.

Mais um texto descaradamente subjetivo, senhoras e senhores, membros do júri (essa eu aprendi com o H. Humbert de Lolita). Continuo firme na certeza de que não farei um Twitter, não de livre e espontânea vontade. Se algum dia aparecer uma página minha, se não for fake fui eu que fiz por questões unicamente profissionais.

 Então, outra vez estou sofrendo de falta de inspiração. É um vácuo que atinge grande parte dos escritores, amadores ou não, vez ou outra na vida. Mentira, constantemente.  Começou com meu último manuscrito que foi deixado de lado simplesmente porque perdi o interesse por ele. Fica lá perdido entre meus arquivos do computador, aguardando pacientemente minha boa vontade de retomá-lo.

 Aí, o que eu fiz: comecei a escrever uma história que eu inventei aos 12 ou 13 anos, já nem lembro exatamente. Foi o seguinte, naquela época, nos momentos entre o sono e a vigília, eu começava a contar essa história pra mim mesma. Entendam uma coisa: às vezes eu gosto de trabalhar meu amor próprio. Compro livros e faço dedicatórias a mim mesma, e quando penso, a voz da consciência fala comigo na segunda pessoa. Não é surto não, pelo menos eu acho. Sendo assim, é fácil entender que eu contava histórias para eu dormir. Ah, é complicado mesmo! Pois é, a coisa foi tomando forma, os personagens foram aumentando e nada de eu escrever. Há uns anos atrás cheguei a fazer alguns rascunhos e perdi todos eles. E foram rascunhos bastante desesperados, me dava uma coisa e eu escrevia em qualquer pedaço de papel, sabe? Deve ser por isso que eles sumiram, vai saber?

 Semana passada, ou uns 15 dias atrás (os números fogem à minha mente. Tenho horror a números. Na minha cabeça eles são por extenso…) voltei a escrever, pra valer mesmo. Mentira (de novo), eu parei várias vezes. A grande questão é que ainda não sei se vou escrever na primeira ou na terceira pessoa. Originalmente ela foi concebida na terceira, acho mais dinâmico porque mostra o ponto de vista de todos os personagens, simultaneamente, até. Só que a primeira pessoa se aproxima muito mais do personagem, mostra o psicológico dele e eu acho isso incrível. Os livros na primeira pessoa andam vendendo bastante.

 Essa dúvida anda me consumindo! Não sei que rumo tomar quanto a isso. Boa parte do meu manuscrito se encontra na primeira pessoa. Há um pequeno trecho na terceira, só que está no meu caderno (mais rascunho do que nunca, né?).

 Deixando a literatura de lado, ando vendo filmes do Omar Sharif. Acho ele ótimo! Falando assim parece que eu vi uns trocentos filmes do Sharif, vi só dois até agora. Aliás, três se eu contar Mar de Fogo, que eu vi faz tempo e não cheguei até o final. Na verdade começou mesmo com Lawrence da Arábia. Não simpatizei com ele na primeira cena não. Ele mata o amigo do Law, que o acompanhava no deserto. Depois que eu fui com a cara dele. Ele é sensacional! Se eu ainda tivesse Orkut faria a comunidade “Eu IRIA no Omar Sharif de 50 anos atrás”. É, minha gente, esse é o problema. Atualmente meu egípcio favorito já passa dos 70 anos. Ficou a cara do Tarcísio Meira. Pegando o embalo eu comprei Doutor Jivago, que é do mesmo produtor de Lawrence da Arábia. Gente, como o Yuri (Sharif) sofre!!! Pagou toda a chatice do Ali (em LdA).

Omar Sharif em "Lawrence da Arábia" (1962)

 Também vi O Fantasma da Ópera, a versão do Joel Schumacher. Mas esse, crianças, é assunto para outro post…

Made a trip up to Ho Chunk in Baraboo, being a delightful day to travel. They are reconstructing Hwy 12 from Exit 92 south to the casino. As part of the rebuilding, they have a roundabout and the travelers are much confused, stopping at the “Yield” sign. Now people who have lived in Massachusetts may be super geniuses smart enough to navigate these things, but people in Wisconsin need more training. Since there appears to be no end to them in sight, how about some public service commercials during “Survivor:Samoa”, so we can teach Cheeseheads how to approach these things? I won, by the way. The Indians bought me a steak dinner.

• Rep. Bill Kramer and State Sen. Ted Kanavas want to know if the State of Wisconsin is doing business with ACORN.
• Three Waukesha youths will be charged with a hate crime. What high school do they attend? Wouldn’t that have been a nice question to ask? What effect might the charges have on their school? Do they participate in any sports? One of their last names is “Eggum”. We used to have a county coroner by that name. Any relation?
• Instead, we get what life might be like if the county sheriff took over all police duties. What if Omar Sharif was Waukesha’s mayor?
• The first mention of next year’s election for Waukesha mayor is in Up and Down Broadway.
• What if we turned Up and Down Broadway over to the crazy guy in Milwaukee who drives up and down Wisconsin Avenue:
• 
• I took Hwy 12 through Madison on the way home and it’s changed since the last time I went that way. It used to go through downtown Baraboo, now it goes way south and is mostly four lane. I need to get out more.
• Waukesha State Bank  won a major award:
• 
• In the Orbitz commercial, the guy from Orbitz lands on the putting green to deliver checks to all but one of the golfers because they booked on Orbitz. His air-cushioned vehicle blows the ball across the green. A question for you golfers: Does the putter need to play the ball from where it blew or can he place the ball back where it was without penalty?
• 
• Michelle Malkin is coming to Milwaukee to speak at a tax protest. I was invited but I have other plans.
• God forbid we should miss the Wisconsin-Wofford game. Play Whitewater next year.
• A Sound Off caller believes that Mayor Larry in his Crocs looks a little too much like Ronald McDonald, which was my point exactly.

Pais: US
Año: 1965
Género: Drama romántico. Histórica
Duración: 176 min.
Dirección: David Lean
Guion: Robert Bolt (Novela: Boris Pasternak)
Música: Maurice Jarre
Producción:  MGM presenta una producción Carlo Ponti

Reparto:
Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Ralph Richardson, Geraldine Chaplin, Alec Guinness, Tom Courtenay, Siobhan McKenna, Rod Steiger.

Descripción:
Rusia, revolución de 1917, la guerra produce una convulsión general en un país dividido, y en medio del conflicto asistimos al drama íntimo de un hombre lucha por sobrevivir. Este hombre es Zhivago, poeta y cirujano, marido y amante; cuya vida trastornada por la guerra afecta a las vidas de otros muchos incluida Tonya, la mujer con la que se casa y Lara, la mujer a la que no podrá olvidar.

Críticas:
1965: 5 Oscar: guión adaptado, dirección artística, fotografía, banda sonora original, vestuario

Amor y revolución en Cinemascope
Doctor Zhivago es un drama épico en el que todo es espectacular y desmesurado, con una grandiosidad en la puesta en escena y desborde de producción, aunque con un exceso de fidelidad a la estructura y aire de la novela.
El amor y la muerte, dos acontecimientos de la vida que no podemos evitar. El horror y la guerra, dos sucesos que nadie querría presenciar. La inseguridad, la pasión, el desarraigo, la comodidad, la soledad, los ideales. Todo un mundo de sentimientos y vivencias que el protagonista encerra en sí mismo. Una película que contiene la esencia de la humanidad, resumida en una revolución.
Un argumento trepidante, giros inesperados, unos personajes que evolucionan con nosotros a lo largo de la película y el amor como eje y fundamento del film, sirven de origen a ese hermoso manantial de ternura, pasión y sinsabores que desemboca en la tragedia de un país descompuesto, tenaz y al mismo tiempo helado como su propio clima. Fotografía, ambientación, música, reparto, dirección… Buscad todos los adjetivos posibles, que nos quedaremos cortos. Tal grandiosidad queda fuera de los límites imaginables.
—
Inolvidable el hermosísimo “Tema de Lara” de Maurice Jarre
Boris L. Pasternak fue un escritor ruso que vivió siempre amenazado y vigilado por el régimen comunista de su país, ya que su monumental novela “Doctor Zhivago” supuso un contundente testimonio y una honesta crítica a dicho régimen. Cuando le fue concedido el premio Nobel en 1958, las autoridades rusas le obligaron a rechazarlo. Treinta y un años después, en 1989, el hijo del escritor recogió el galardón.
La película basada en el libro se rodó sólo ocho años después de su publicación y captó la esencia del descarnado drama y el lirismo que impregna la novela.

En este mundo nada es perpetuo ni duradero, todo se diluye en las brumas del tiempo y del olvido. Sobre todo aquello que guardamos celosamente en nuestro corazón y que muere con nosotros. O tal vez sean esos sentimientos profundos los que nos hacen tocar la eternidad.

Todo eso es “Doctor Zhivago” y más. Es vivir el momento, dejar atrás la seguridad para perderse en los laberintos del corazón y apurar la vida hasta donde uno llegue. Tal vez no vuelvan a verse nunca, tal vez nadie los recuerde después, ni siquiera ellos mismos, pero Zhivago y Lara habrán vivido su instante de eternidad.

Datos técnicos:
1ª parte
Tamaño: 1,35 Gb
Duracion: 01:49:36
Vídeo codec: Xvid (doble pasada)
Resolución: 704 x 304
Bitrate: 1496 Kbps.Qf: 0.280
Códec Audio: 0×2000(AC3, Dolby Laboratories, Inc) AC3
Bitrate Castellano/Inglés: 48000Hz  128 kb/s total (2 chnls)
Subtítulos completos [Castellano-Inglés]
Compatible con reproductores de sobremesa.

2ª parte
Tamaño: 885 Gb
Duracion: 01:14:41
Vídeo codec: Xvid (doble pasada)
Resolución: 704 x 304
Bitrate: 1386 Kbps. Qf: 0.259
Códec Audio: 0×0055(MP3, ISO) MPEG-1 Layer 3
Bitrate Castellano/Inglés: 48000Hz  128 kb/s total (2 chnls)
Subtítulos [Castellano-Inglés]

Capturas:

Película 1ª parte

Película 2ª parte

Subs.es-en

Carátula Dvd

Cd naszych veni vidi vici… Na Leicester Square w Londynie, gdzie znajduje się Odeon – kino, znane z wielkich premier filmowych, codziennie spotkać można znanych aktorów. W sumie może nie ich samych, ale na pewno można się przywitać przykładając rekę do wmurowanego w ziemię odlewu znanych twarzy filmu! Jest Connery, Law, Helena Bonham Carter czy Michael Cain. Kino u twoich stóp – przewrotnie to brzmi, right?

A tak to wygląda w ‘praktyce’:

Este é o outro filme renegado pelo artista e pela maioria de seus fãs. Mal terminou Santa Sangre, Jodorowsky aceitou o convite de Alexander Salkind para dirigir um roteiro escrito pela esposa do produtor, admiradora da obra do cineasta. O problema é que Jodorowsky estava proibido de mudar uma linha sequer do script, e qualquer violência que fosse seria também vetada. Haviam até homens de Salkind diariamente no set de filmagens controlando os passos do diretor, que confessou ter feito o filme apenas pra sentir o gosto de ter tanto dinheiro para gastar, além de poder trabalhar com nomes como Christopher Lee, Omar Shariff e Peter O’ Toole – que desde o início não foi com a cara de Jodorowsky. E vice-versa. Ainda que O Ladrão do Arco-Íris seja só um trabalho de encomenda e sem muitos excessos – o maior deles é ter Christopher Lee confraternizando com uma trupe de mulheres semi-nuas – é uma obra simpática e agradável de assistir, muito graças ao talento de Omar Shariff. Ele é o ladrão do título, que oferece abrigo e comida ao excêntrico O’Toole na esperança que o comatoso tio deste (Lee), bata as botas e lhe deixe a sua fortuna como herança. Novamente artistas mambembes e de circo se fazem presentes num filme de Jodorowski. Pode não ser o que se espera de alguém que fez El Topo, mas afinal, o mesmo cara de Eraserhead também não fez Uma História Real ? Assista sem preconceitos.

Leandro Caraça

La Dtsar présentait il y a quelques mois le parfum Love Pink de son créateur Jean-Luc Battini. Aujourd’hui, nous le félicitons pour son association Anges & Démons qui découvre et soutient les nouveaux talents de l’écriture cinématographique. Jean-Luc Battini a donc créé le Prix Anges & Démons, doté de 5 000€ pour récompenser un lauréat sélectionné par un jury de professionnels du cinéma et du spectacle.

Cette année, le deuxième opus de la cérémonie de remise du Prix Anges & Démons s’est tenu dans le cadre glamour du salon Raimu du Fouquet’s Barrière. De nombreux professionnels du monde du 7ème art ont assisté à l’événement : Dani, marraine de la soirée, Omar Sharif, Robert Hossein, Francis Lalanne, Ginette Garcin, Sylvie Bourgeois Harrel…

Dans une ambiance fort chaleureuse et bien oxygénée (open bar d’oxygenez-vous.com), le Prix Anges & Démons a été remis avec humour et talent par son créateur au scénario « Les retrouvailles » de René Carton et Roger Lemus.

Pour Frédéric Mitterrand nouveau ministre de la Culture et de la Communication, le Prix Anges & Démons est « une remarquable initiative en faveur de la création et de l’innovation cinématographiques, tournée vers l’épanouissement des jeunes artistes du secteur ».

Ce deuxième Prix Anges & Démons a été soutenu par Meetic VIP, site de rencontre haut de gamme, et immortalisé par plusieurs chaînes de TV (TF1, M6, Canal+, Paris première) et radios (NRJ , RTL).