The Lovely Bones se está haciendo de rogar, logrando ser una de esas tapadas que, pese a su reparto y director, llegan al final de la temporada sin hacer ruido para luego acaparar súbitamente toda la atención. La película a priori lo tiene todo para arrasar en los grandes premios, pero por lo que se empieza a escuchar, le sobrará competencia. Peter Jackson se pasa al drama (con toques sobrenaturales, y muchos efectos especiales, eso sí) con esta historia sobre una niña asesinada que se debate en el cielo entre ayudar a paliar el dolor de su familia o pararle los pies a su asesino. Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli y Saoirse Ronan forman el interesantísimo reparto principal de la cinta, que debuta el 11 de Diciembre.

Tomorrow, 25 November, is the feast of St Catherine the Great Martyr of Alexandria (ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς της Ἀλεξάνδρειας, hē Hagia Aikaterinē hē Megalomartys tēs Alexandreias). It is also the commemoration of Isaac Watts, famous hymnwriter, in the Church of England calendar (and surely those of other churches too).

13th-century icon of St Catherine from Mt Sinai

Popularly, Catherine is associated with her eponymous wheel that makes it gyratory appearance at fireworks displays, symbolising the first attempted means of her martyrdom. Her legend tells of a young virgin woman who contended in dialogue with the pagan Emperor Maximinus Daia (308–13), successfully converting to Christianity his wife and courtiers, countering their philosophical arguments. The frustrated emperor ordered her tortured to death on the breaking wheel, which broke when she touched it, and so she was beheaded. Angels carried her body to Mt Sinai, where her tomb now lies.

The Catherine legend is problematic for a number of reasons. Although that does not mean that there is no real woman behind the legend, almost none of legend seems to be substantial. Maximinus is a hate figure in Christian history, being ruler of Syria and Egypt and accused of restarting the persecutions against Christians after Galerius, his adoptive uncle, had put an end to Diocletian’s persecutions. Maximinus was also part of the post-Diocletianic struggle for power opposing the party of Constantine (considered the victor of Christendom). It makes sense to see the Catherine legend in this political atmosphere. Surely, there must have been martyrdoms in Alexandria in this period.

Poster for Alejandro Amenábar's 'Agora'

However, the legend seems to have accreted another similar, yet quite opposite, legend: the legend of Hypatia (Ὑπατία). Hypatia lived in Alexandria from the late fourth century, dying in 415. She was a brilliant philosopher of the Neoplatonic tradition, skilled in logic, maths and astronomy. She taught in Alexandria, numbering a future bishop as one of her students. Problematically for the Christian community of the city, she was a pagan. A power struggle for the city was taking place between its bishop Cyril and its prefect Orestes. A mob of monks from the Nitrian Desert had previously attacked Orestes, injuring him. Hypatia was believed to be using her influence as a highly respected professor in favour of Orestes. Believing this, the Nitrian monks, led by Peter the Reader, surrounded Hypatia’s carriage, pulled her out, stripped her and dragged her through the streets. Accounts of her death at the hands of the monks have been variously dramatised in disturbingly sadistic detail. Socrates Scholasticus, a Christian historian of the fifth century, has a sympathetic account of her brutal murder, clearly dismayed by the action of his coreligionists. The legend of Hypatia, however, became powerful anti-Christian propaganda in the hands of the dwindling old Graeco-Roman aristocracy and educated elite. She has remained an icon of reason against the assaults of intolerance and religious extremism. The end of the GW Bush regime in the United States was perhaps as good a time as any to revisit Hypatia, as done in film Ágora by Alejandro Amenábar, with Rachel Weisz as our 21st-century Hypatia.

I can understand the Catherine legend having much to do with guilt-fuelled counter-propaganda against the embarrassing Hypatia legend. It is certainly a disgusting blot on the church if we are guilty of rewriting history to turn our shame into a symbol of our suffering under persecution. Perhaps more sad is the daily severe discrimination met by today’s Christian community in Egypt, the Copts.

I don’t know if it counts for anything, but 25 November is also 29 Hathor in the Coptic calendar, and the height of the month named for the goddess Hathor.

Isaac Watts

The story of Isaac Watts is over a millennium away from the stories of Catherine and Hypatia. Born in another great port city, Southampton, in 1674, his father was twice imprisoned for holding to nonconformist religious practices: he was not a member of the state church, the Church of England. The Act of Uniformity of 1662 had put severe constraints on those who chose to worship in manner not in accordance with that of the state church. Although showing great academic promise, Watts was unable to study at Oxbridge due to his refusal to accept the rules of the state church. Instead he went to an academy in Stoke Newington, that was set up for the benefit of nonconformists. Many others would have submitted in name alone to the state religion in order to progress in life, but Isaac Watts was steadfast in the independence of his belief.

Watts became a dissenting minister in Stoke Newington. While there he wrote a hugely influential work on logic, which became the official text on the matter in the Oxbridge universities that had denied him on religious grounds. He opposed the imposition of trinitarian doctrine on dissenting ministers by the movement’s conservative wing, upholding their right of each to formulate their doctrine in accord with their reason. This has lead to thoughts that he was a unitarian, something that is not apparent from his writings. Shunned and opposed in life, Isaac Watts is the Father of English Hymnody. The hundreds of hymns he wrote are a unity of passionate faith commingled with doctrinal clarity, unsurprising for a great logician perhaps. However, few in the Church of England who gladly sing When I survey the wondrous Cross or Jesus shall reign where’er the sun realise the radical man behind those words and the intolerant hatred of him and those like him by our church.

So, tomorrow, let’s celebrate Catherine and Isaac, for there is plenty to celebrate. But let us also contemplate Hypatia and Watts the rejected dissenter, better to understand our place in the history of religious intolerance.

Rachel Weisz has confessed that having close girlfriends has helped her get through the trials and tribulations of motherhood.

‘The Mummy’ star, who is engaged to director Darren Aronofsky, became a first-time mum to son Henry in 2006 and has found it difficult juggling her Hollywood career with raising a kid.

And she has admitted that she would go mad if it weren”t for the support of a group of fellow mums.

“I think one of the things that mothers aren”t allowed to talk about enough to one another is the times when you”re pulling your hair out at home with the kids. Those moments when everything is crashing in and you feel like you”re going to scream. It doesn”t make us less good or less human, just real,” the Daily Star quoted her as telling Redbook magazine.

“I think there is sometimes too much pressure on us to be perfect parents, to be empathetic and loving all the time. Every woman needs a good girlfriend to be able to turn to and say, ”I just can”t deal with it all today.” Because even though children are the most precious things in the world, they are also sent to test us. I think women are already stretched and pressured to be perfect, and it kind of drives me crazy,” added Rachel.

What’s the best part of going out to the movies – besides watching the movie -with popcorn and candy in hand?

The Previews!

As I sat waiting to watch New Moon this past weekend – I got a glimpse of three new movies that I’m excited to see.  Two of which include my favorite: Amanda Seyfried (from Mamma Mia!).

The first movie, Letters to Juliet caught me off guard- emotionally.  The film centers around the city of Verona, Italy – Juliet’s statue/balcony – and the letters of love addressed to Juliet.  I have once visited the city and saw Juliet’s statue a couple years ago, and the preview  reminded me of Verona’s beauty. I only wish I could go visit again!

The movie is due on in May 2010 – a perfect time of year to make a trip to Italy. . .

The other Seyfried movie, Dear John, is with Channing Tatum and is based on a Nicholas Sparks novel- so automatically we all know it will be a sob-fest.  Naturally, this movie is due out in February 2010 – near Valentine’s Day  – how fitting.

Be prepared to bring tissues to the theater.

Lastly, the novel The Lovely Bones written by Alice Sebold, is coming to the big screen – and I’m excited yet terrified to watch it.  The cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Saoirse Ronan (Atonement). The Lovely Bones has been one of those books that has both haunted and intrigued me.  Aspects of the book have stayed with me – in the corner of my mind – and that to me is what makes the book.  Having the ability to shock and remain with the reader demonstrates how powerful a well-written book can be.

The preview gives me goosebumps . . . its due out January 2010.

2010 looks like a promising year for the box office!

-jo

Rachel Weisz, actriz protagonista de Ágora, quiere ser un icono lésbico.

Yo no voy a decir aquí nada que a estas alturas no se haya dicho ya sobre Ágora, pero es una de esas películas que te deja algo dentro y hay que sacarlo…

Para empezar, el director: Su versatilidad es increíble. Como me comentaba una amiga el otro día: “Cuando ves algo de Almodóvar sabes que es de Almodóvar, pero todavía no me creo que Amenábar haya sido capaz de hacer una de romanos.” Pues sí, sí ha sido capaz.

Luego, la protagonista: Según ella misma ha dicho, Rachel Weisz tenía otra idea de la construcción del personaje, pero respetó las órdenes de Amenábar y fue capaz de sintetizar en Hipatia la frialdad de una estatua griega y el ardor de los sentimientos más elevados del ser humano. Deslumbra su belleza clásica. La actriz no podía estar mejor elegida.

La cinta ha sido atacada desde dos frentes: unos lo han hecho por anticristiana y otros por antihistórica. Yo no creo que Ágora sea lo primero y sí creo que es lo segundo, pero entiendo que la falta contra la Historia es una licencia al servicio de la historia y del mensaje que ésta contiene.

Efectivamente, ya hacia el final de la película Hipatia llega a construir la hipótesis de que los planetas giran en órbitas elípticas alrededor del Sol, hipótesis que conlleva dar dos pasos de gigante respecto del estado de la ciencia en el s. V d.C:  1º) Que lo que está en el centro de nuestro sistema planetario es el Sol y no la tierra y 2º) Que las órbitas de los planetas son elípticas y no circulares. Es verdad que, aunque hay antecedentes históricos de heliocentrismo (Aristarco de Samo, al que cita la propia protagonista), que yo sepa no existe ninguna evidencia de que nadie antes de Kepler lograra proponer un modelo exacto del sistema solar. Sin embargo, sí que parece que Hipatia escribió un tratado sobre las curvas cónicas y Amenábar aprovecha ese hecho con gran inteligencia para engrandecer a su personaje y, sobre todo, para construir uno de los pilares fundamentales de su historia.

Las cónicas son una categoría de curvas que incluye la circunferencia y la elipse, entre otras. En tiempos de Hipatia la concepción filosófica imperante sostenía que la Tierra ocupaba el centro del Universo y que los demás astros giraban en torno a ella en órbitas que sólo podían ser circulares, porque más allá de nuestro mundo temporal y corruptible todo era perfección, y la figura geométrica que mejor encarnaba esa perfección era el círculo. Pero Hipatia, que por ciertas razones intuía las órbitas elípticas, logra superar esa objeción de tipo “filosófico-moral” cuando, buena conocedora de las cónicas, repara en que la circunferencia sólo es un caso particular de la elipse: la circunferencia no es más que una elipse cuyos dos focos se han confundio en un solo punto, el centro de aquélla.

Es decir, cuando de verdad entendemos lo que es una circunferencia nos damos cuenta de que no tiene sentido decir que es “mejor” (ni peor) que una elipse. Aquí tenemos un ejemplo magistral de cómo un prejuicio (contra cualquier curva que no fuera una circunferencia) se supera cuando somos capaces de elevarnos por encima de él e integrar (no aplastar) nuestro antiguo punto de vista  en una visión más amplia de la realidad (la circunferencia no es más que la elipse; es ”una clase de elipse”, ni más, ni menos). Pero ese camino sólo se puede recorrer utilizando el combustible de la comprensión, y lo primero que hace falta para comprender es estar dispuesto a hacerlo. Ésta es para mí la esencia de Ágora.

Y la esencia de la película nos lleva a las objeciones religiosas que se han levantado contra la misma. Desde el punto de vista que acabo de explicar, yo no siento que haya nada anticristiano en Ágora. Pienso que el conflicto religioso que sirve de marco a la cinta (eso sí que es histórico, por cierto) tiene como objetivo establecer un contrapunto entre la actitud de Hipatia que, a base de cuestionar sus creencias previas, logra superar sus prejuicios y adquirir una visión más amplia de la realidad, y la del fanático religioso, que se ciega hasta el punto de no darse cuenta de que ha renegado de toda la bondad que pudiera haber en las doctrinas aprendidas – ¿recordáis la escena en que decenas de cadáveres de judíos arden en una pira? -. Por eso estoy convencido de que los dardos de la película van dirigidos contra las actitudes, no contra las creencias de la gente; ¿cómo es posible que haya problemas para estrenarla en Italia?

Por otro lado, la cinta envuelve su mensaje utilizando el telón de un momento histórico de crisis: la caída del Imperio Romano de Occidente. Se ha sostenido que la caída de una civilización siempre es muy fecunda desde el punto de vista espiritual – cuando todo se derrumba, todo se pone en cuestión y nuevas perspectivas pueden sustituir a las que ya no sirven -. Tal vez en esa línea señaló Rachel Weisz en una entrevista que Ágora nos enfrenta con una situación histórica que permitió aflorar, a la vez, lo mejor y lo peor del ser humano. Quizás por eso la película me ha dejado algo dentro.

Caminho sem Volta (The Yards, de 2000).

Eu nunca havia ouvido falar de James Gray até assistir o sensacional “Os Donos da Noite” (We Own the Night, de 2008), pelo menos era o que eu pensava, pois o trailer de “Caminho sem Volta”, de alguma maneira misteriosa, ficou gravado na minha memória, lá no ano 2000, e somente ontem eu assisti ao filme – e que filme! Leo Handler (Mark Wahlberg, de “Boggie Nights”), volta para casa após 16 meses de prisão e vai trabalhar com Willie Gutierrez (Joaquin Phoenix, de “Johnny e June”), um empresário corrupto que namora sua prima, Erica Soltz (Charlize Theron e seus olhos, de “O Advogado do Diabo”).

Com um roteiro conciso, Gray procura extrair o máximo das situações elaboradas por ele mesmo (sim, ele é o roteirista) e mostra conhecer muito bem a força da simplicidade narrativa, seja nas sequências de suspense, ou aplicando simbolismos sutis no decorrer da trama, como o “blackout” (repare os momentos nos quais ele ocorre), e o plano que fecha a história (algo recorrente em suas obras); e há ainda a importância da luz, fundamental, por exemplo, para o clima tenso no encontro entre Frank (James Caan, de “Dogville”) e Leo em um depósito.

O filme peca apenas em não explorar melhor seus coadjuvantes, como a mãe de Leo, Val Handler (a maravilhosa Ellen Burstyn, de “Réquiem para um Sonho”), que desfila pela tela apenas como um mero artifício dramático. Mas mesmo assim, James Gray é um diretor cujo trabalho é impermeável aos malabarismos cinematográficos tão recorrentes hoje em dia, o que por si só já vale uma conferida.

Vigaristas (The Brothers Bloom, de 2008).

Depois de atacar de detetive com uma releitura do cinema noir em “A Ponta de um Crime” (Brick, de 2005 – sim, o texto que está logo abaixo), o diretor Rian Johnson repete a proposta em seu segundo longa, mas agora com os “caper films”: filmes onde um grupo, ou uma dupla, aplica um golpe (o clássico “Golpe de Mestre”, de 1973, ou a nova versão de “Onze Homens e um Segredo”, de 2003, e as suas crias). Na trama, focada nos irmãos golpistas do título original, Stephen (Mark Ruffallo, de “Zodíaco”) é apaixonado por sua “profissão” e tenta se superar a cada golpe, enquanto Bloom (Adrien Brody, de “Viagem a Darjeeling”) apenas segue o irmão e está fadado a uma vida irreal; isso até conhecer sua próxima vítima: a milionária ingênua Penelope Stamp (a belíssima Rachel Weisz, de “Um Beijo Roubado”).

É preciso, primeiramente, destacar a direção de Rian Johnson, que está impecável, como é possível percebermos logo no prólogo, por exemplo, que exala Martin Scorsese em suas movimentações de câmera, aplicação da trilha sonora e construção narrativa; entretanto, Johnson não o faz por exibicionismo, e a sua gesticulação com o audiovisual é calculada de acordo com a necessidade de contar uma boa história. Essa, aliás, além de se mostrar intrigante, com constantes reviravoltas (a mais importante delas no final do 2º ato), é pontuada por momentos humorísticos que beiram o surreal e, consequentemente, o caricato, como a “coleção de hobbys” de Penelope, ou mesmo as façanhas mirabolantes criadas pelos irmãos.

O filme não chega a ser uma obra-prima como seu antecessor, mas tampouco passa perto de ser um filme mediano; o único escorrego está no 3º ato que, apesar de coerente, se revela arrastado. E Rian Johnson pode ser comparado com Quentin Tarantino no quesito “paixão por cinema” – algo que é perceptível na composição de cada quadro, que enche os olhos de qualquer cinéfilo.

Dragonball Evolution (Idem, de 2009).

Eu nunca me interessei pelo animê “Dragonball”, mas cheguei a assistir diversos episódios durante minha adolescência, pois meus amigos eram fissurados pela obra de Akira Toriyama. No entanto, apesar do meu desinteresse, tem uma coisa que sempre achei instigante nesse universo, mesmo com o pouco que assisti: os seres humanos conviviam com animais em forma de gente – algo que surgia naturalmente e criava uma espécie de universo paralelo. Bem, eu falo isso por que, primeiramente, queria avisá-los que analisei o filme “Dragonball Evolution” enquanto cinema, e não enquanto adaptação (não acompanhei cronologicamente, por isso não seria adequado), e, segundo, é triste constatar que a obra analisada nem chega perto de ser tão instigante quanto um pequeno vislumbre de episódios da animação durante a puberdade.

Goku, interpretado por Justin Chatwin (o filho panaca do Tom Cruise em “Guerra dos Mundos”), é um garoto com problemas na escola que, após a morte de seu avô (aparentemente seu único familiar – apesar de nunca sabermos ao certo – que, mesmo a quilômetros de distância, consegue prender o fôlego até seu neto chegar e lhe passar uma lição de vida), simplesmente resolve ir atrás das “esferas do dragão”: outras seis iguaiszinhas com a que ele ganhou de “níver” – ah sim, um pequeno detalhe: elas juntas concedem um desejo. No caminho ele vai cruzar com Lorde Picolo (reparem na maquiagem quando ele aparece pela primeira vez, que mais parece um catarro esverdeado de uma criança gripada), cuja missão é destruir o mundo – e quem pode culpá-lo? O planeta Terra anda tão chatinho ultimamente, não?

Em meio a tudo isso ainda tem a personagem Bulma, interpretada por Emmy Rossum (“Poseidon”, de 2006), cuja entonação de atendente de tele-sexo “teenager” em cada diálogo irrita desde o início, a boboca apaixonada pelo “loser”, Chi Chi (Jamie Chung, de “Eu os Declaro Marido e Larry”), e o que dizer de Chow Yun-Fat (“Tigre e o Dragão” – pois é) e suas palhaçadas na pele de Máster Roshi – provavelmente só pra pagar as contas no final do mês? De resto os efeitos especiais são terríveis, a direção de arte e fotografia, amadoras, e ao final do filme a vontade é a de ter os pequenos vislumbres satisfatórios de volta.

Photographed for Esquire magazine April 2004 by [searching for credit]

“I think mystery is kind of great. I don’t know anything about Bette Davis or Katharine Hepburn or Ava Gardner — not really — and I like that. I love watching their movies because they’re my personal movie stars. I don’t know what they eat and who their trainer is.”

No clue where this came from; sometimes I just right-click and save things and make no effort to credit them. Super-sorry!

“Most of the time we do nothing, myself included, … I think the lesson I learned from [playing humanitarian Tessa in The Constant Gardner] is that a lot of drops make up an ocean. If people would stand up and say what they believe in maybe we can make a difference. Helping one person is better than nothing. Just do something.”

Still from The Shape of Things

“There’s not much room for eccentricity in Hollywood, and eccentricity is what’s sexy in people.”

I have heard rumors she is one of the actresses who has been approached to play Catwoman in the next Batman movie, but I’ve also heard Chris Nolan quoted saying that Catwoman isn’t going to be in it. It doesn’t matter, because that would be lame anyways. She should not be Catwoman, regardless of whether Selina Kyle pops up in the next movie (a direction which would actually disappoint me).

What Rachel Weisz should do in the new Batman movies is play Talia, the daughter of Rā’s al Ghūl and love of Bruce Wayne’s life. Helloooo, she would be perfect! Talia seriously needs to once and for all get in the mainstream big screen storylines, especially considering how great the new movies Chris Nolan’s been making are: in the comics she even has Batman’s kid, for god’s sake (Damian Wayne, who is the current Robin). It’s already been set up, when, in the novelized Batman Begins, Rā’s al Ghūl refers to having a wife and daughter while he is talking to Bruce.

So, come on. Let’s finally get her in a movie, and let’s have Rachel Weisz play her. The woman is a stranger to neither action pictures (The Mummy franchise) nor comic book movies (the wildly underrated Constantine). That’s my awesome suggestion: obey!

Today’s hottest hair goes to the ever chic and talented actress Rachel Weisz. Personally, I love the roles she has chosen in the movies she’s done, they tends to be strong female roles. I like her a lot and her hair too!

photos: fadedyouth

Which Isn't To Say It'll Make It Any Better.

That’s Brad Pitt, because of Interview with a Vampire; Benicio del Toro, because of the upcoming The Wolfman; and Rachel Weisz, because I freaking said so, that’s why.

Directed by Wong Kar Wai (2007).
Stars Jude Law as Jeremy, Norah Jones as Elizabeth, David Strathairn as Officer Arnie Copeland, Rachel Weisz as Sue Lynne Copeland, Natalie Portman as Leslie the hardcore poker player.

I sometimes forget why I chose a movie. I mean, I am not much for romantic movies in general so I sat through the first couple of minutes of this with my head tilted and my face scrunched up ever so slightly. I thought I could see it all … the tragically predictable way it would play out. I was wrong.

Elizabeth’s boyfriend cheats on her and she takes refuge at a café run by Jeremy. I thought to myself “oh, no”. You know why. Girl meets boy. I won’t even bother running through the rest of the cliché that goes with that.

Thing is just when you think you know what you’re in for this movie does a sharp turn and goes off in another direction. Elizabeth leaves town. She heads out and finds work at a bar at night and a diner during the day. She meets Officer Arnie, a troubled soul who is in the middle of a bad divorce. His wife Sue Lynn has left him.

Again the story in itself is such a cliché that I think I’ve heard that particular country and western song a few too many times.

The reason why all this works has to do with pacing and distance and cinematography. Wong Kar Wai’s style puts you in mind of soft, improvisational jazz. It drifts around certain themes, comes back to them, goes at them from a couple of different angles, but always with the same basic emotional chords as a foundation.

The story with Arnie and Sue Lynn ends badly. There really is no other way for it to end.

Elizabeth moves on and winds up in Nevada where she works as a waitress in a casino. She runs in to Leslie, a professional poker player, who tricks Elisabeth into taking a road trip with her. Leslie has a strange relationship with her father, and this particular segment of the story is mostly about that.

The way the story is dealt with is mostly Elisabeth as a spectator getting involved in peoples lives by somehow landing smack in the middle of them. She grows up in the process, changing and acquiring the distance she needs to be able to go back to New York and meet up with Jeremy again.

It’s all a terrible cliché. It is. But the way it’s handled is beautiful and so well shot, so well acted, that you see beyond that. Sometimes things are a cliché because they are universal, because they do happen and because they are somehow part of the great narratives.

That’s what you get out of this if you go along for the ride. That, and a really great soundtrack.

Mule

Rachel Hannah Weisz (Londres, Inglaterra, 7 de marzo de 1970) es una actriz y modelo británica. Ganó reconocimiento público después de su interpretación de Evelyn “Evy” Carnahan-O’Connell en la saga de La momia. En 2001, protagonizó junto a Hugh Grant la película About a Boy y siguió cosechando papeles principales en producciones de Hollywood. Su actuación en El jardinero fiel (2005) ganó el Óscar a la mejor actriz de reparto, junto con otros premios cinematrográficos.

Este otoño estrenaba película el director español más ambicioso del cine patrio: Alejandro Amenábar. Cada nuevo proyecto en el que se involucra conforma más novedades que necesidades de continuar con una carrera vigilada, analizada y disfrutada por muchos.

Su nuevo film, Agora, lo ha llevado esta vez a la Alejandría del siglo IV, donde las escuelas de ciencia y filosofía, heredadas de los griegos, se las verán con los cambios políticos y, sobre todo, religiosos, acontecidos en esa época, ya tardía, del Imperio Romano.

Podríamos decir que la película tiene dos centros argumentales: uno humano, representado en la figura de Hipatia, filósofa y maestra, natural de Egipto, que destacó en las matemáticas y la astronomía; otro racional y cultural, basado en cómo la política y el poder religioso puede anular el avance científico y filosófico, a pesar de la importancia de las ideas del momento.

Las críticas publicadas a razón de esta película tienen un denominador común, más o menos general: técnicamente, la película es un espectáculo cinematográfico; pero el argumento, por momentos, cansa y flojea.

He de confesar que, de unos años para acá, la expectación que siento ante estrenos como éste provoca en mí un ansia de información actualizada que, seguramente, empeora o distorsiona en parte mi visión final del film en cuestión. Casualmente, en el caso de Agora, a pesar de la fuerza que ha tenido la línea crítica acontecida, mi disfrute personal y cinéfilo se han visto recompensados.

Agora es una película redonda, tanto técnica como argumentalmente. No debe ser fácil llevar a cabo un proyecto tan ambicioso, ya que hay que tener un par de narices para crear un espectáculo ambicioso y caro en base a un discurso profundo y necesario. Y eso es Agora; una película sobre el pensamiento científico, sobre la vida dedicada al saber y al conocimiento… y sobre cómo todo eso se llega a destruir gracias al fanatismo del poder en nombre de iconos y doctrinas religiosas imperantes.

Es probable que, al dedicarme a la ciencia, haya podido disfrutar y sentir la forma argumental y el ritmo narrativo de una manera más personal. Las escenas en las que Hipatia se preguntaba y ahondaba en las teorías y razonamientos, ajenos y propios, se me tornaron de una belleza mágica y cautivadora. Puede que, en nuestros tiempos, nos cueste entender la importancia crucial que tuvieron los trabajos y estudios de estos pensadores para el desarrollo científico posterior; el hecho de disponer de imágenes, aunque sean ficticias, suponen una mano amiga hacia una imagen más cercana y entendible.

En resumidas cuentas: Agora es una película fantástica, con una temática absolutamente contemporánea, con un guión profundo, vibrante e interesante; con una factura técnica prácticamente perfecta, como nos tiene acostumbrados el señor Amenábar… No hay muchas pegas que poner, la verdad…

Evidentemente, no es una película perfecta: hay actores que se ven sobrepasados por sus roles, pero son compensados por actuaciones brillantes, emotivas y de gran credibilidad. Ejemplos de esto último: Rachel Weisz y Max Minguella. Los planos “a lo google earth” (como muchos los han bautizado) pueden llegar a cansar un poco, aunque yo los considero muy certeros para incentivar la idea de que los avances astronómicos narrados son mucho más cruciales en la historia de la humanidad que los acontecimientos puntuales de los seres humanos que habitaban Alejandría, o el mundo en general, en ese momento.

Leyendo una crítica de un usuario de filmaffinity he podido conocer datos muy interesantes sobre el contexto histórico de la película. Por ejemplo, el lugar asaltado por los parabolistas cristianos no corresponde a la Biblioteca de Alejandría, sino al Serapeum (de hecho, ahora creo recordar que se utiliza esa palabra en los diálogos, aunque me pasó desapercibida al primer momento), que era el templo dedicado a Serapis, el dios ese egipcio que tenía el jarrón en la cabeza. Allí, se guardaban los restos de la anterior biblioteca de Alejandría, desaparecida o destruida con anterioridad a ese momento.

Leyendo la crítica de otro usuario de filmaffinity, he podido saber que Amenábar leyó varios libros de Carl Sagan, sirviéndoles de gran ayuda. En uno de ellos, Cosmos, el escritor idealizaba a Hipatia como “un atisbo de razón antes de que la sinrazón humana nos trajera siglos y siglos de Edad Media y oscurantismo”. Este mismo usuario comienza su crítica con una cita de otra obra de Sagan que me parece simplemente maravillosa:

Mira ese punto. Eso es aquí. Eso es nosotros. En él se encuentra todo aquel que conoces, o del que has oído hablar, cada persona que existió y vivió su vida. La suma de nuestra alegría y sufrimiento, miles de religiones, ideologías y doctrinas, cada héroe y cobarde, creador y destructor, rey y campesino, cada pareja enamorada, madre y padre, niño, inventor y explorador, cada maestro de moral, cada político corrupto, ’superestrella’, ‘líder supremo’, cada santo y pecador en la historia de nuestra especie vivió ahí, en una mota de polvo suspendida en un rayo de luz del sol.

Carl Sagan. Un punto azul pálido.

Como han podido ver muchos espectadores de la película, estamos ante una obra cinematográfica de interés cultural e histórico. Un film moderno sobre cómo han actuado los seres humanos, y donde podemos ver el resultado actual, o la repetición de lo mismo en nuestros días. Según hacia donde llegue nuestra vista, supongo…

Finalmente, me gustaría hacer una mención especial a la banda sonora de Agora, que en este caso la firma el compositor italiano Dario Marianelli, ganador del Oscar por Atonement. Marianelli escribe una partitura honesta, nada melodramática ni tramposa, con un tema principal, de apoyo a la protagonista, que lucha por salir e imponerse a otros temas intensos y contundentes, basados en el empleo de instrumentos étnicos (como el duduk, instrumento de viento muy utilizado en países como Armenia), voces de lamento, coros y música sinfónica. Es la primera vez que el director de Tesis no crea su propio soundtrack, pero la envergadura de la película parecía requerir a un artista musical más redondo y ambicioso. Creo que la decisión ha sido muy certera, ya que el apoyo musical funciona a la perfección con el metraje.

No creo que haya dudas al respecto de que recomiendo fervientemente esta película a todos y cada uno. Simplemente, avisar de que Agora no es Gladiator, ni Ben-Hur (afortunadamente…), ni nada por el estilo. Aunque tenga factura de peplum, es una película divulgativa y personal… de cosecha propia, le coloco el adjetivo de espectacular.

Source: Comingsoon.net

Here’s the French Trailer for Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones”, book by Alice Sebold. The French trailer has a few more scenes than the domestic trailer. Click here to watch the domestic trailer as well as read my mini book review. Also check out the movie’s behind the scenes featurette.

This movie looks amazing and if the film adaptation is as good as the book; I really think “The Lovely Bones” can be a real Oscar contender!

What is in my mind the finest month for the movies is almost here!  Let Marshall guide you through the best and steer you away from the worst, but most of all enjoy!  The studios have been holding back their best movies all year to dump them all here, where they can get serious awards consideration.

December 4

A major Oscars wild-card is “Brothers.”  No one really knows what to make of it.  If the movie hits big, it could completely change the game.  But it could just fly under the radar like most expect it to now.  However, the trailer makes it look as if it the movie could be absolutely mind-blowing.  Directed by Jim Sheridan, who has received six Academy Award nominations, “Brothers” follows Grace Cahill (Natalie Portman) as she and her daughters deal with the loss of her husband, Sam (Tobey Maguire), in war.  Sam’s brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) comes to live with Grace to lend a helping hand.  But romantic sparks fly between the two at precisely the wrong time: the discovery that Sam is alive and coming home.  With the two brothers both tugging Grace’s heart for their share, a different type of sparks fly.

You have heard me say plenty about “Up in the Air.”  If you haven’t read my Oscar Moment on the movie or heard my bliss at the release of the trailer, let me give you one more chance to hope on the bandwagon.

But the movies don’t stop there.  ”Armored,” an action-drama that is tooting its own moral horn, starring Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne.  ”Everybody’s Fine” appears to be a holiday movie, so that might be worth checking out if your in the spirit.  The movie, a remake of a 1990 Italian film by the same name, stars Robert DeNiro as a widower who reconnects with his estrange children.  And “Transylmania” looks to cash in on the vampire craze sweeping the nation by satirizing it, but I doubt it will be financially viable because it is being released by a no-name studio and without any big names.

December 11

The highlight of the weekend for many will be “The Princess and the Frog,” Disney’s return to the traditional animation by hand musical.  The movie looks to capitalize on what we know and love Disney musicals for, adding some catchy tunes to a fairy tale we have known since childhood.  Anika Noni Rose, best known for her role as Lorrell in the film adaptation of “Dreamgirls,” lends her talented voice to the princess Tiana.  As a huge fan of “Dreamgirls” during the winter of 2006, I couldn’t think of someone better equipped to handle the sweet, soft Disney music (which isn’t designed for belters like Beyoncé or Jennifer Hudson).  That being said, the music won’t sound like anything you’ve ever heard from a Disney fairy tale.  It is being scored by Randy Newman, not Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” etc.), and will have a jazzy feel much like its setting, New Orleans.

This week also boasts the opening of three major Oscar players. Two have been featured in Oscar Moments, “Invictus” and “A Single Man.” The former opens nationwide this Friday, the latter only in limited release. I’ll repost the trailers below because they are worth watching. But read the Oscar Moment if you want to know more about the movies.

According to the people that matter, “The Lovely Bones” has all the pieces to make a great movie. But for summer reading two years ago, I read the source material, Alice Sebold’s acclaimed novel. I found it dreadfully melodramatic and very depressing without any sort of emotional payoff to reward the reader for making it through. But maybe Hollywood will mess up the novel in a good way. If any movie could, it would be this one. With a director like Peter Jackson and a cast including Saiorse Ronan (“Atonement”), Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci, and Susan Sarandon, it could very well happen.  It opens in limited release on this date and slowly expands until its nationwide release on Martin Luther King Day weekend in 2010.

December 16

Due to the flop of “Amelia,” Fox Searchlight has moved “Crazy Heart” to 2009 in order to milk some awards out of this year (although they should have just pushed “(500) Days of Summer” harder!).  The movie stars Jeff Bridges as an aging alcoholic country singer and Maggie Gyllenhaal as the young journalist that falls for him.  Bridges has been nominated for four Oscars but has never won, so maybe the Academy will feel generous to him this year.

December 18

We will skip the big blockbuster to address what is perhaps my most anticipated movie of the season, “Nine.”  I’ve already devoted an Oscar Moment to it, but it deserves some more talk here.  I’ll just throw out some names.  Daniel Day-Lewis.  Marion Cotillard.  Penelope Cruz.  Nicole Kidman.  Judi Dench.  Sophia Loren.  Kate Hudson.  Fergie.  Director Rob Marshall.  At what name did you start thinking, “Get here now, December 18th, I HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!”?

Most sites I read think “Avatar” is going to be a huge box office success.  However, I wonder how they can think that when I have not heard a single teenager talk about the movie at all.  That is a critical demographic to the success of this movie.  It is what made “Titanic” the highest grossing movie ever (unadjusted for inflation).  And without them, this movie will flop.  A bomb is something that director James Cameron and the head honchos at 20th Century Fox simply cannot have happen.  Let me hit you with a statistic that will make your jaw drop.  ”Avatar” cost nearly $500 million dollars to make.  No, I didn’t tack on an extra zero to that figure.  Half-a-billion dollars have been dropped on this movie, so they need to make a whole lot of money to make it a profitable venture.  I’m sure with worldwide totals and video receipts, they will undoubtedly break even.  But if it is going to be a bonanza, there has to be more to “Avatar” than the coolest visual effects ever.  And I’m not getting the feeling from the trailers that it has all that strong of a story.  But at this point, no one knows.

Guilty confession: I’m actually kind of looking forward to “Did You Hear About the Morgans?” The movie stars Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker as married members of the New York elite who loathe each other. However, they are forced to spend a whole lot of time together when they see a murder and enter the Witness Protection Program in Wyoming. Sometimes these “fish out of water” comedies turn out to be quite funny. Plus, Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker usually have good taste when it comes to selecting movies.

And to help out a fledgling production company, Apparition, I’ll plug “The Young Victoria” with an embedded trailer.  If Martin Scorsese is pushing it, how bad can it be?

December 23

In order to get “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel” out of a convoluted Christmas Day openers crowd, they moved it to Wednesday, December 23.  Honestly, who wants to debate if this movie will be good or not?  I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes more money than “Avatar” the way kids ate up the first installment.

December 25

Celebrate Christmas at the movies with your family like everyone else in America!  ”Nine” and “Up in the Air” will be opening nationwide today.

Nancy Meyers, the director of “The Holiday” and “The Parent Trap,” makes movies that are just plain enjoyable to watch.  ”It’s Complicated” doesn’t look to break that tradition.  I refuse to watch the trailer because I don’t want to ruin it, but the film’s poster shows Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin bearing smug expressions in a bed with the tagline “Divorced…with benefits” written on the sheets.  Featuring a cast that also includes Steve Martin and John Krasinski (“The Office”), this could be the perfect crowd-pleasing Christmas Day movie.

Also opening on Christmas Day is a reimagined “Sherlock Holmes,” directed by Guy Ritchie (yes, Maddona’s ex-husband).  I’m all for the fresh approach, especially because it includes Robert Downey, Jr.  I loved the smug touch he added to Tony Stark in “Iron Man,” and I’m sure he will bring the same energy to the timeless detective.  The movie will no doubt benefit from the presence of Jude Law as sidekick Watson and Rachel McAdams as a love interest for Sherlock.  Although the character has lost respectability over the past few years on the silver screen, this is a version that I am more than willing to get behind.

And it is with great sadness that I have to say that Heath Ledger’s last new movie, “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus,” will be released this day.  He passed while in production of the movie, and Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law stepped into finish the role.  The three stars donated their salary for the film to Ledger’s daughter, Matilda.  The movie seems to be quite a visual spectacle, and the eye-catching visuals could be a great complement to Ledger’s final performance.

December 30

The final release of 2009 is “The White Ribbon,” winner of the prestigious Palme D’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival this spring.  The film, directed by Michael Haeneke, follows a community in pre-World War I Germany as they deal with “the origins of terrorism,” as the director puts it.  It has been selected as Germany’s submission to the Best Foreign Film category at the Academy Awards this year, so it is definitely a player there.  But with quite literal universal acclaim, it could compete in more serious categories.

So, have you started planning how you are going to fit all these movies into your holiday schedules like me?  If not, at least do me the courtesy of telling me what movie you would see if you could only see one.

DESDE MI CIELO

Director: Peter Jackson

Reparto: Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Saoirse Ronan, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Michael Imperioli, Amanda Michalka

Sinopsis: Basada en la novela “Desde mi cielo” de Alice Sebold,cuenta la historia de una niña de 14 años llamada Susie Salmon que es violada y asesinada, y que ve desde el cielo cómo la vida de su familia y amigos cambia tras el terrible suceso. Un detective intentará resolver el caso, mientras el asesino borra todas las pistas y se prepara para volver a matar.

While we’re on the subject of sexy, funny boys, how could I not take just a moment to talk about the lovely Ryan Reynolds. I have thought he was great ever since “Two Girls & a Girl (and a Pizza Place)” and he has always been hilarious in every role.

For a lesser known, underrated, but fabulous Ryan Reynolds movie, be sure to check out “Definitely, Maybe”. Also starring Rachel Weisz, Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks and Abigail Breslin. What more could you want??

“Stargate Atlantis” alumnus David Hewlett, who’s appearing in the forthcoming straight-to-video movies that will wrap up the “Atlantis” story, was recently cast in an indie film called “The Whistleblower,” GateWorld reported.

The movie films in Romania and is about the true story of a Nebraskan police officer who outs the United Nations for covering up sex trafficking.

Hewlett plays an American U.N. peacekeeper who’s suspected of being involved in the elicit sex trade. It’s a far ways away from his nerdy scientist character in Stargate.

“The Whistleblower” also stars Rachel Weisz, Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn and Monica Bellucci, so it’s the real deal.

GateWorld also said that MGM gave Hewlett a green light on a script he’s working on. No details about that just yet.

Jueves/ “El jardinero fiel” dirigida por Fernando Meirelles

“Fernando Meirelles, nominado a un Oscar por la película Ciudad de Dios, dirige este nuevo y fascinante largometraje que cuenta el viaje emocional y político de un hombre, que le lleva a descubrir la verdad escondida detrás de la pérdida de un ser querido y de una conspiración internacional.“

Extraído de La Higuera.

Ver además:

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_jardinero_fiel_(pel%C3%ADcula)

http://www.cineismo.com/criticas/jardinero-fiel-el.htm

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387131/

Los títulos seleccionados  son una muestra de los materiales actualmente en préstamo de los fondos de la Biblioteca del Instituto Internacional.

Si te interesa ver o leer ésta recomendación puedes consultar su disponibilidad en el catálogo la biblioteca del IIE.

El jardinero fiel = The constant gardener. [DVD] / directed by Fernando Meirelles. — Barcelona : RBA, [2005]. — 1 DVD (123 min.) : son., col. + libreto 64 p. — (Speak Up).

Idiomas : español, inglés, subtít. : español, inglés

Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz

D.L. B 24775-1985

ZW .M44 C6618 2005

What Is It?

Based on a comic book called “Hellblazer,” this is the story of John Constantine (Keanu Reeves). John is a chain smoking, exorcist. He has never repented but tries to drive out demons to earn his way to heaven. Lately the demons are doing something new. As he searches for answers, his friends and confidants all get killed. He also meets a woman cop (Rachel Weisz) who’s twin sister (same actress) has just killed herself. The cop and Constantine go on a quest through our world and the unseen spiritual world (which both of them can see) to restore a balance and keep us alive.

How Was It?

There is a very high “Hipness” factor here. The angel Gabrielle  (Tilda Swinton)is super cool, and most of the special effects are good. Still when he “kills” a boss demon, it looked like a kid animated the scene with his Nintendo.

The plot does not go anywhere. Characters either do not change, or switch sides for absolutely no reason. (Some then switch back with just as much explanation.) The movie makes up rules for the way the supernatural works. It often has to stop to tell us all of them. Unfortunately most of the “spiritual” stuff seems like they are making it up as they go along. Then the movie does not even follow its own rules.

It would be a lot better if no one spoke, so you never had to deal with there poor attempt at a plot.

Is It Good For Kids?

This film is very intense. It takes you to hell a couple of times. It also introduces you to demons, and often has lots of monsters just coming out of nowhere. The language isn’t good and there is no pervasive nudity, but the attractive woman cop often ends up completely wet.

You can check www.ScreenIt.com for a complete breakdown of elements shown on the screen.

Also, as you will see in the next question, the information about God and the spiritual world is at best confusing and at worst heresy.

How about Spiritual Issues?

Religion, as my wife pointed out, is a prop in this film. If it works they use it and if it doesn’t they use what ever else.

At points the theology seems to be going well. The Angel Gabriel answers John’s accusation of God being unfair with “you are going to die because you have smoked 3 packs a day since you were 15 and you are going to hell because of the life you took, so your ****ed” She then explains that he can’t buy his way into heaven, but could just repent and believe in God so he can be saved. It even goes as far as explaining the difference between “knowing” God is there and “Believing” in him.

Still all this goes out the window and is contradicted through out the film. Then the rest is just sad.

John explains that God and Satan have a bet to see who can get the most followers just by influence and never by actual action. (Though there is evidence of both sides acting on people all the time.) He later says that God doesn’t care; he’s just a “Kid with an ant farm.”

Suicide is looked at as a one way ticket to Hell. The two suicides we see in the film are both rejections of God.

The Roman Catholic Church is the only church shown. We only meet 2 priests. The first is only there to tell the surviving twin that her sister’s suicide makes it so she can not have a Catholic funeral.

The other (Pruitt Taylor Vince) is a scary looking fat guy who drinks like mad to avoid having to think about the demons. He finally drinks himself to death during a rampage in a liquor store.

(This is where I spoil the end)

Later Gabriel switches sides and tries to help Satan’s son come into the world. After Satan (Peter Stormare) stops her (he doesn’t want Jr. taking over), she is punished and becomes human. (This is an odd punishment because earlier she pointed out, very Biblically, that she was jealous of humans because they can repent and become children of God.)

John uses suicide to trick Satan into letting him go to heaven. Then Satan chooses to heal John so he doesn’t die. Biblically God is the only one who can heal or has power over who lives and who dies.

What Is Your Recommendation?

Nope.

The film is not good and the script is bad and the theology is terrible. I guess if you’re just in the mood to play “find the heresy”, maybe…. Or if you have a friend who wanted to talk to you about “Is that true?”

Even the totally un-theological “Roger Ebert” said the film was just silly because he spends the whole time trying to earn his way into heaven when “You don’t have to kill these demons to earn your way into heaven because any sin can be forgiven..” Amen

In that note, below are some movies to watch.

The Road (2009)

Director: John Hillcoat
Writers: Cormac McCarthy (novel) Joe Penhall (adaptation)
Release Date: 25 November 2009 (USA)
Genre: Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Plot: A post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible.

Cast
Charlize Theron -Wife
Viggo Mortensen -The Man
Guy Pearce -The Veteran
Robert Duvall -Old Man

The Lovely Bones (2009)

Director: Peter Jackson
Writers (WGA): Fran Walsh (screenplay) &  Philippa Boyens (screenplay)
Release Date: 15 January 2010 (USA)
Genre: Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller more
Plot: Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

Cast
Mark Wahlberg -Jack Salmon
Rachel Weisz -Abigail Salmon
Susan Sarandon -Grandma Lynn
Stanley Tucci -George Harvey
Saoirse Ronan -Susie Salmon
Michael Imperioli -Len Fenerman

Tell-Tale (2009)

Director: Michael Cuesta
Writers (WGA): Dave Callaham (screenplay) Edgar Allan Poe (short story “The Tell-Tale Heart”)
Genre: Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Plot: A man’s newly transplanted heart leads him on a dangerous journey to find out who murdered its donor.

Cast
Josh Lucas -Terry
Lena Headey -Elizabeth
Brian Cox -Van Doren

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

Directors: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
Writers (WGA): John Requa (written by) & Glenn Ficarra (written by)
Release Date: 12 February 2010 (USA)
Genre: Comedy | Drama
Plot: Steven Russell is happily married to Debbie, and a member of the local police force when a car accident provokes a dramatic reassessment of his life…

Cast
Jim Carrey -Steven Russell
Ewan McGregor -Phillip Morris
Leslie Mann -Debbie

Shutter Island (2010)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers (WGA): Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay) Dennis Lehane (novel)
Release Date: 19 February 2010 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller
Plot: Drama is set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.

Cast
Leonardo DiCaprio -Teddy Daniels
Mark Ruffalo -Chuck Aule
Ben Kingsley -Dr. John Cawley
Emily Mortimer -Rachel Solando
Michelle Williams -Dolores Chanal
Max von Sydow -Dr. Jeremiah Naehring
Jackie Earle Haley -George Noyce

Daybreakers (2010)

Directors: Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig
Writers: Michael Spierig (writer) Peter Spierig (writer)
Release Date: 8 January 2010 (USA)
Genre: Action | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller more
Plot: In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.

Cast
Willem Dafoe -Elvis
Isabel Lucas -Alison Bromley
Ethan Hawke -Edward
Sam Neill -Charles Bromley

Source: http://www.imdb.com/

A vederlo così Agora sembra un film “tranquillo”, una pellicola hollywoodiana da 5 milioni di euro e 27 di incassi solo in Spagna. Ma il nuovo lavoro di Alejandro Amenabar (Il Mare Dentro, The Others) racconta la storia della filosofa, matematica e astronoma Ipazia D’alessandria, mente brillante e donna libera che fu uccisa ferocemente (smembrata e poi bruciata) da un gruppo di monaci cristiani quasi sicuramente guidati dal vescovo Cirillo nel 415.

A qualcuno deve ancora dare fastidio Ipazia, il simbolo laico che è diventato e il messaggio contro ogni fondamentalismo di Amenabar perché il film, bizzarramente, non trova distribuzione in Italia. Ne parla un articolo su La Stampa e si muove Facebook. Ipazia è ispirazione per ogni donna non a disposizione ed è cara alle Razor che questo film vorrebbero vederlo. Anche se è brutto o Rachel Weisz non è capace. La petizione online per richiedere la distribuzione in Italia, è qui.

rachel weisz interpreta ipazia di alessandria in agora'

Ripubblichiamo da TERRA:

Supera le 5.000 firme la petizione perchè il film Agorà trovi distribuzione in Italia. Tra i supporter Hack e Odifreddi

Il film, diretto da Alejandro Amenabar ed interpretato da Rachel Weisz, racconta la storia vera di Ipazia, scienziata e filosofa greca trucidata barbaramente dai monaci cristiani su istigazione di San Cirillo di Alessandria.
Agorà è uscito nelle sale spagnole da circa un mese, ha già raccolto oltre 27 milioni di dollari di incassi, ed ha trovato distribuzione in Francia, USA, Israele, Libano, Taiwan e moltissimi altri paesi.

Già in “Mare Dentro” Amenabar aveva creato sconcerto tra le gerarchie cattoliche, affrontando laicamente il tema dell’eutanasia.
La petizione è nata in seguito alla notizia che Agorà non uscirà in Italia ed ha raggiunto in breve oltre 5.000 firme attraverso il passaparola.
Moltissime le adesioni provenienti dal mondo della cultura e dello spettacolo. Tra gli altri Margherita Hack, Piergiorgio Odifreddi, Leo Bassi, Francesco Tricarico.

Per firmare la petizione: QUI

il sito ufficiale di Agorà: QUI

Mario Cirillo

Piu’ informazioni sul film, sulla petizione e sulla storia di Ipazia di Alessandria QUI

Robert Pattinson ainda envolvido com a divulgação de Lua Nova falou ao Collider sobre as produções nas quais deve estar envolvido. Em uma delas  ele pode (quando confirmado) fazer parceria com Rachel Weisz e Hugh Jackman em que Pattinson será um jovem que foi sequestrado, junto com sua irmã, por índios aos quatro anos de idade.  Depois de anos, a mãe consegue encontrá-los, e eles precisam se readaptar a sua nova cultura.

O site Omelete chamou a atenção sobre a incrível semelhança desse filme com Rastro de Ódio de John Ford. De fato, o filme de 1956 conta a história de um veterano do exército confederado que depois que volta para a casa, após anos de luta no exército americano, tem uma nova guerra para enfrentar: sua a casa é atacada por índios que matam quase toda sua família, exceto uma sobrinha que é raptada. Ele e um sobrinho adotado iniciam começam uma caçada por anos.

Mas pesquisando web a dentro percebe-se que apesar da premíca semelhante o filme que Pattinson pode estrelar não vai se concentrar na caçada como o filme de Ford, mas no retorno dos dois personagens para casa, as dificuldades de adaptação e o que vier com isso.

Pessoalmente, só acho meio inverossímel as crianças serem raptadas por índios. Seria mais plausível, bem mais, eles serem levados por alguma babá louca etc etc etc. É só ler os jornais. Mas,vamos esperar.

Gigolô

A outra produção que Pattinson pode vir participar será Bel Ami uma adpatção do conto de Guy Maupassant. Nesse filme, se confirmado, o galã será um jovem ambicioso, Geroge Duroy, que usa seu charme para tentar entrar na alta sociedade inglesa no século XIX. Sua porta de entrada aos seus objetivos será atravésda dama da sociedade Madeline Forestier (Nicole Kidman)  que inicialmente será conselheira de Duroy e, posteriomente, sua esposa.

De pano de fundo  política e os meios de comunicação social lutam por ganhar influência e o sexo tido como fonte de poder e a fama é uma obsessão. Não podia ser mais atual.

Com ou sem Pattinson, o filme começam a ser rodados em fevereiro e estreia no verão americano de 2011. O ator corre o risco de não estar nele devido as gravações de Amanhecer,  quarto ( e último??) filme da saga Crepúsculo.

Ambas produções são chances de Robert Pattinson provar que é muito mais que um rosto bonito e, quem sabe, conquistar a crítica que o enxovalhou pelo fraco desempenho como o vampiro Edward.

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Adriana Chaves