Tango

How the director of Tango mixes muted light and color with intoxicating dance and the richest Tango music to tell us a message without words? Can the music speak with its rhythm and sound?
Note: Think about the essential message of the film: The military years in Argentina and the disappeared and tortured.

Carol's Journey

Carol, a teenager girl, whose dad is American and whose mother is from Spain, travels for the first time to Spain in 1938 with her mother.
 How does she fight against the conventionalisms found in this new culture?
 How does her American background interfere with her efforts to adapt to the new culture in Spain?

Volver (to go back / to return)

While you screen the film consider the following questions for your blog:
a) Explain why the film is considered a tribute to women and their resilience in the face of life’s most outrageous tribulations.
b) Can you identify the tension between superstitious beliefs and real life aspects through the film? Provide at least two examples.

Mariana, a hard-working mother, has toted her two children from Colombia to New York City to indulge her husband’s whim. What happens when Mariana’s husband abandons the family? (Please do not re-tell the plot, go beyond by describing how this affect the lives of Mariana and her two children).
Some ideas you may think can include: the courage and imagination of her kids, how is their first summer ever in the United States, the strength of a mother. Is this a typical American social issue? Do single American mothers face the same problems?

Blog Discussion and Critical Thinking:

Do you think Alicia is able to reconcile her personal thoughts about her suspicions that her daughter is the child of a murdered political prisoner at one point in her life? Explain your reason and discuss in detail your inferred and factual (based on the film) ideas.
Please, make sure to sign your posting with your full name at the bottom of your posting. If you are responding to a classmate make sure to address the person by her/his name and also sign your name after your comment. As part of your participation, make sure to follow up and respond any pending comments or questions from your readers.

Thank you for your participation and excellent dedication

Like Water for Chocolate

Like Water for Chocolate

On your posting you will create your own discussion and analysis. There is no particular topic here. Some aspects you can consider for your analysis are:
-Message
-Ideology
-Traditions
-Characters
Note: Make sure to talk about the use of Magic Realism on your discussion (Mention at least one idea). Please, refer to handout.

Motorcycle Diaries

During this amazing trip Ernesto Guevara was prepared to become the leader of the revolution in Latin America, particularly in Cuba.

What scene(s) of the film display experiences that possibly helped shaped his personality as a future leader? Support your answer.
Critical Thinking: (Based on the film)
What are the main differences on celebration traditions between the United States of America and the Spanish speaking world?

El Marichi

Are you able to identify common Mexican stereotypes in the film?
Is the bandido-violence commonly associated with Mexican culture?
How do can you describe the statement: “All he wants is to be a Mariachi”
Who is the Mariachi and what is his purpose in life?
Is the role of music important in the film? How? Why?

Machuca

From opposite extremes of society, Gonzalo and Pedro form an unlikely friendship as politics rips apart marking forever the life of the whole nation of Chile. Please, respond to the following questions on your posting:

What thoughts do you have about the interaction between these two children? What kind of friendship do they develop? Do they make distinctions between social classes or skin color?

Were you able to see the differences between two social classes, the rich and the poor in Chile?

What is the main message that you can infer from this film? Your answer to this question is very important since it will display your screen analysis and critical thinking.

Add your personal thoughts about film, content, culture, social issues, etc.

Respond to this Blog for: Under the Same Moon:

Respond to the following questions in your blog for full credit:

What were the main reasons for the boy's mom to leave her son in Mexico with his grandmother? Could you infer other ideas from the context presented in the film? (Use their names as mentioned in the movie)

Why do you think the mother had to make such a difficult decision? Was it really difficult? What are clear scenes that portray those difficulties if any?

What problems did the boy face living away from his mother? What problems did his mom face living away from her son?

Would a mother in the United States made the same choice? Why?

Welcome

Welcome to our Film Class. Blogging is really easy, if this is your first time blogging make sure to save your user name and password.

If you are reading this message now you can read my posts within this Spanish Film 2011 Blog. You will see a post for every class. Answer each post with 250 to 300 words for full credit. Also, when you answer a classmate make sure to use 150 to 200 words.

Remember to give thought to your answers, make sure to answer the prompt and when providing posts to your classmates use the same rationale. Answers like: "I really like what you said" or "I agree with you" are incomplete if no examples or supportive information is provided.

Thank you