I don't know Cronos, but I can certainly recommend Amores Perros - brilliant film, at least that's how I feel about it.

Y tu mama tambien is pretty good too, as is Pan's Labyrinth.

And if you happen to feel like watching a bizarre film, Jodorowsky is always a guarantee for that (Fando y Lis, The Holy Mountain, El topo).

Ah, many good films in your list to choose from! 

Where We Are:  Mexico
wikipedia

What We Watched:


Cronos
Year of Release:  1993
Directed By:  Guillermo del Toro
Genre:  Horror
Starring:  Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook, Margarita Isabel, Tamara Shanath

Overview:
Guillermo del Toro made an auspicious and audacious feature debut with Cronos, a highly unorthodox tale about the seductiveness of the idea of immortality. Kindly antiques dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) happens upon an ancient golden device in the shape of a scarab, and soon finds himself possessor and victim of its sinister, addictive powers, as well as the target of a mysterious American named Angel (a delightfully crude and deranged Ron Perlman). Featuring marvelous makeup effects and the haunting imagery for which del Toro has become world-renowned, Cronos is a dark, visually rich, and emotionally captivating dark fantasy.

My Thoughts:
I loved this film! I thought it was an original take on vampirism, and an inventive and imaginative film.  We loved Pan's Labyrinth and del Toro doesn't disappoint here.  The imagery is very striking, the camera work excellent, and the actors are all very good - though I was especially impressed with Luppi and Perlman.  The film was very creepy and kept you wondering what would happen next, though its slower pace would likely detract for some viewers. 

I love a good horror film, but I really only like a certain kind of horror - I'm not into slasher flicks or torture porn; too much gore and you've lost me.  What I love is a film with atmosphere, supernatural issues and the building horror of what might happen, and in this Cronos does not disappoint.  Here it's the question of what might happen to this kindly man, whose relationship with his granddaughter reminded me of mine with my grandfather, especially in how he took her everywhere with him and doted on her. 

I would recommend this to anyone who liked old-fashioned horror films, or just a good story with elements of horror.

Overall:  4/5

Where We Are:  Costa Rica
wikipedia

What We Watched:


Caribe
Year of Release:  2004
Directed By:  Esteban Ramirez
Genre:  Drama
Starring:  Jorge Perugorria, Cuca Escribano, Maya Zapata

Overview
This tantalizing tale of passion and betrayal created a sensation when it was first released. With its atmosphere of unspoiled tropical beaches and an unforgettable cast featuring the charismatic Jorge Perugorria (Strawberry & Chocolate) as Vicente and the seductive Maya Zapata (Bordertown) as his lover Irene, CARIBE casts an intoxicating spell. While Vicente experiences a passion like none he has ever before experienced, his life hangs in the balance as an American oil company threatens to destroy him unless he betrays the country he loves.

My Thoughts:
This is a film about a man's life as it falls apart, and about how corporate mentality destroys lives.  Vincente is a good man with a happy life, a wonderful relationship with his wife, and a beautiful banana plantation.  An oil company wants to drill off the coast of Costa Rica and the local people, including Vincente oppose it.  Then the exporter that buys Vincente's bananas tells him they can no longer do so, because corporate wants more profit.  Vincente, now faced with losing his plantation, is tempted to take work from the oil company to save it.  As he is tempted in one area, he is tempted in another, by his wife's beautiful half-sister, Irene, who has come to visit.  And when gives into one temptation, he gives into the other, his personal life paralleling his professional one.

This was a good film, but not without its flaws.  It seemed disjointed, as if the filmmaker wasn't certain which story he wanted to tell:  that of the fight against the oil company or that of the love triangle between Vincente, Irene and Abigail.  Or that the filmmaker wanted to tell the love triangle story but thought his film needed more than that.  The flow wasn't always the best and the two stories could have been interwoven better.  You could see the filmmaker tried to do so, because there are obvious parallels and connections between the two stories in Vincente's life.  You also know it isn't going to end well, because Vincente has fallen in love with one woman while he still loves another.  However Vincente's ending feels forced, but there were few ways for the filmmaker to get out of the situation he had created.  I was pleased to see that the two women patched up their relationship at the end, however.

I liked the acting in the film.  I felt all of the three leads did a good job and I understood and sympathized with each of them.  The camera work was average, but Caribe did a good job at showcasing the beauty of Costa Rica and its environment, and what the people had to lose with the entre of oil extraction.

Bechdel Test:  Pass, but barely.  Irene & Abigail talk about their mother, but most of their conversations are about Vincente.

Overall: 2.75/5

So, after a long break we have finally made it to Columbia!

During our long break we watched a lot of nature programs, National Geographic specials and several seasons of History Channel documentaries on geology and paleontology. 

We also bought another Columbian film, Los viajes del viento (The Wind Journeys) and that's what we have finally watched.

Where we're going next:  Ecuador

I own one film from Ecuador - Cuando Me Toque a Mi (My Time Will Come) - so that's what we'll be watching. 

Hopefully there won't be such a long break this time!

Where We Are:  Ecuador
wikipedia

What We Watched:


Cuando me toque a mi (My Time Will Come)
Year of Release:  2008
Directed By:  Víctor Arregui
Genre:  Drama
Starring:  Manuel Calisto Sánchez, Ramiro Logroño, Randi Krarup, José Alvear, David Nieto

Overview
A predawn murder sets in motion a series of interlocking tragedies that eventually find their way to the city morgue's brooding Dr. Arturo Fernandez.  Physically and emotionally isloated from the world around him, Arturo develops an oddly intimate relationship with the personal lives of his cases, gradually forcing him to confront his connection to the living, and the dead.  Adapted from the novel De Que Nada Se Sabe, director Victor Arregui's serpentine tale is a dark but sympathetic portrait of one man's solitude set against a richly textured rendering of Quito, Ecuador's capital city.

My Thoughts:
My first thought was that the overview made Arturo sound like much more of a prominant character than he was, for the first part of the film is very much an ensemble piece.  Gradually, however, Arturo takes a greater role in the film, until he does become the protagonist, such as the film has.  This is a low-budget film not overly concerned with the technical (the camera work, for instance, is a bit shoddy).  Instead, this is a slice-of-life kind of picture, a look at the lives of these characters, where and how they intersect, and the dark, gritty Quito they inhabit.  It is also a character study of Arturo, a man with an inability to form connections with other people.  One wonderful scene, perhaps the best scene in the film, is very short and completely wordless, but tells the viewer everything they need to know about Arturo's family.  I couldn't help but think after that scene that a US film would have felt the need to have a lot of dialogue there, but that instead Arregui had the actors convey everything with body language.  It was a wonderful moment and really showcased that Arregui has quite a bit of talent as a director.  If you like quirky, character-driven films that aren't transparent as to where they're headed, give this one a try.  Much like others I've watched, if you need a lot of action or a tidy, wrapped-up ending, skip it.

Bechtel Test:  Fail

Overall: 3.25/5

Where We Are:  Peru
wikipedia

What We Watched:


Dioses (Gods)
Year of Release:  2008
Directed By:  Josué Méndez
Genre:  Drama
Starring:  Maricielo Effio, Sergio Gjurinovic, Anahí de Cárdenas, Edgar Saba

Overview
In director Josué Méndez's stylishly composed second feature, Elisa – the soon-to-be-wife of a wealthy industrialist – is eager to shed her working-class background in favor of the opulence of her fiance's elite lifestyle. To her dismay, she soon realizes her hopes to slip into magazine-ready images of domestic splendor must also include her future stepchildren: Diego, who is hounded by his overbearing father and reluctantly preparing to enter the family business, and Andrea, Diego's party-girl sister and the object of both his desire and disgust. As Elisa embraces her new life of lavish parties and beachfront estates, Diego and Andrea rebel against their upper-class upbringing, setting the stage for an ironic contrast of fate and ambition in this biting satire of upper-crust wealth and privilege.

My Thoughts:
Dioses is a great depiction of a dysfunctional family.  The overview is a bit misleading, as it implies Elisa trying to develop a relationship with Diego and Andrea, and that isn't the focus of the film at all.  Instead Diego and Andrea's primary relationships are with each other, while Elisa works at trying to fit in with the elite and develop her relationships with the other wives in her new social circle.  All of the main characters are very well drawn.  They're believable, sympathetic, flawed individuals and the actors really breathe life into them.  I was very impressed by all four of the main actors.  The director, meanwhile, focuses on the artificiality of their lives while contrasting them with brief glimpses of the genuine.  Great little film, quite well made, very much worth a watch if you have an interest in familial drama.

Bechtel Test:  Pass

Overall: 4/5

Where We Are:  Chile
wikipedia

What We Watched:


La sagrada familia (The Sacred Family)
Year of Release:  2004
Directed By:  Sebastián Campos
Genre:  Drama
Starring:  Sergio Hernández, Coca Guazzini, Néstor Cantillana, Patricia López, Macarena Teke, Mauricio Diocares, Juan Pablo Miranda

Overview:
A dinner guest turns a family's Easter weekend upside down in this sophisticated comedy drama from Chile. On Good Friday, college freshman Marco brings his beautiful new girlfriend Sofia to meet his parents at their house on the beach. Sofia quickly charms everyone, but her impulsiveness and honesty hint at her disruptive nature. When mother is unexpectedly called away and the trio are joined by another three of Marco's friends, Sofia's flirtatious, manipulative ways soon expose latent frictions, sexual tensions, and the unspoken rules that tie the family together.

My Thoughts:
Hand-held camera, improvised dialogue, three day shoot; this is a film that shows its low budget and revels in it, using it to achieve a look that is like watching a home movie.  It works well for this film, as it wouldn't for others.  The cast all do their work very well, each inhabiting their character believably.  Nonetheless, there's a distance between them and the viewer that makes it hard to care about them.  The film is sort of raw and real, but also rough and in parts a little poorly finished.  Transition in one scene in particular is very poor and jumpy, leaving the viewer confused as to how and what exactly happened.  The ending is the same, while Marco comes of age and finds his truth at the end of the film, and there is some closure, his actions before that don't make a lot of sense either way one interprets them.  Interesting film, however, but only recommended if you're a fan of art films.

Bechtel Test:  Pass

Overall: 3/5