Film Analysis: Latin American Cinema
Assignment: Choose one film from the list below and view it. Take notes as you
do so about the plot and any other observations you have.
After viewing the film, analyze the main themes of the film. Do not spend much
space summarizing the film; rather, write a review analyzing its themes and
discussing how they relate to the larger themes that course through Latin
American history. How do they tie into or reflect ideas and concepts we have
previously discussed concerning Latin American politics, society, and culture? Be
specific and explicit.
A list of films follows. You may select a film that does not appear on this list, but
YOU MUST CLEAR YOUR PROSPECTIVE FILM WITH ME AT LEAST ONE
WEEK IN ADVANCE. If you do choose a film not on the list, it must satisfy the
following guidelines:
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It should be a film you have not seen yet
It should focus on some aspect of Latin American history or politics (so not
a pure romance or fantasy)
It should take place with the historical period between independence and
today (so not the colonial period)
Specs:
Length of film analysis: 750 words minimum, 1000 maximum
Submission format: Word document; online upload to Blackboard (no PDFs)
Due: Friday, Feb 25, 5:00 PM
Films:
Fresa y Chocolate (Cuba, 1994; Tomás Gutiérrez Alea)
Lista de Espera (Cuba, 1999; Tomás Gutiérrez Alea)
The Official Story (Argentina, 1985; Luis Puenzo)
Amores Perros (Mexico, 2000; Alejandro González Iñárritu)
El Crimen del Padre Amaro (Mexico, 2002, Carlos Carrera)
City of God (Brazil, 2002; Fernando Meirelles)
Maria Full of Grace (Colombia, 2004; Joshua Marston)
Frida (USA, 2002; Julie Taymoor) OR Frida (Mexico, 1984; Paul Leduc)
Camila (Argentina, 1984; Maria Luisa Bemberg)
The Lion’s Den (Perú, 1988; Francisco Lombardi)
Four Days in September (Brazil, 1997; Bruno Barreto)
The Motorcycle Diaries (Argentina, 2004; Walter Salles)
Voces Inocentes (USA, 2005, Luis Mandoki)
Los Olvidados (Mexico, 1950; Luis Buñuel)
Black Orpheus (Brazil, 1959; Marcel Camus)
Memories of Underdevelopment (Cuba, 1968; Tomás Gutiérrez Alea)
The South (Argentina, 1988; Fernando Solanas)
The Man on the Shore (Haiti, 1993; Raoul Peck)
Post Mortem (Chile, 2010; Pablo Larrain)
Roma (Mexico, 2018, Alfonso Cuarón)
No (Chile, 2012, Pablo Larraín)
In the Time of the Butterflies (2001, USA, Mariano Barroso)