Cinemateca

December 28 – January 6

Teatro Santa Ana, Biblioteca Pública, Insurgentes 25 / Reloj 50 A, Tel: 152-7305 Ext. 116, www.bibliotecasma.com 

José Luis’s Pick’n’Tip

The Pick:

Beautiful Boxer

This is an incredible movie made even more intriguing by being based on a real life former kickboxer named Parinya Charoenphol. If you Google Parinya you will see her striking resemblance to actor Asanee Suwan. I felt like I found hidden treasure with this movie. It is now definitely in my top ten list. Not only was the story unique and fascinating but there was so much more making it an overall tremendous film to watch. The young actor (first acting experience) Asanee Suwan is not only a professional kickboxer himself but really performed well in a very demanding role. I swear there is something in this film for everybody. From sensitive drama to action packed fight scenes to an enlightening and educational true story the film just doesn’t stop. And then there’s the spiritual and visual beauty. It even had some humor and fun. You know I may just have to put it at the top of my list. I find myself wanting to learn more about Parinya (now a professional model) but I would certainly be very respectful. I guaran
tee you would not want to piss her off. Seriously though—it’s well worth viewing. I cannot say enough good about it.


The Tip: Important: To provide the best view-ing experience, show times for some movies may be adjusted to accommodate their length. Check the schedule carefully. Ticket price is 50 pesos and discount cards buy 12 shows for 450 pesos. Starting Monday, after 11am, buy your tickets in advance for any movie or show of the week. If you have a discount card, collect your pass to secure a seat; don’t take the risk of being locked out. Like to receive this info by email? Write to José Luis at alephamour@hotmail.com.  Thank you. 


Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005)
Wednesday, January 2 at 5:30pm
Thursday, January 3 at 7:30pm
Friday, January 4 at 7:30pm
Drama, based on the book, English, 95 minutes.
Director: Dan Ireland
Cast: Joan Plowright, Rupert Friend, Anna Massey, Zoe Tapper, Georgina Hale
Joan Plowright takes the title role in this heartwarming drama, based on the best-selling novel by the same name. After traveling to London to be closer to her 26-year-old grandson (Lorcan O’Toole), the recently widowed Mrs. Palfrey moves into a local hotel while she waits—and waits—for him to return her calls. But when fate introduces her to a kindly young writer (Rupert Friend), she finds the family she’s always wanted.


A Simple Curve (2005)
Wednesday, January 2 at 7:30pm
Wednesday, January 3 at 5:30pm
Director: Aubrey Nealon
Cast: Kris Lemche, Michael Hogan, Matt Craven, Sarah Lind, Pascale Hutton.
Canadian Independent Dramas, English, 92 minutes
Torn between continuing as the woodworking partner of his father, Jim (Michael Hogan), and striking out on his own, Caleb (Kris Lemche) sees an opportunity when Jim’s old buddy (Matt Craven) comes to their small town with a proposition. But Jim’s stubborn idealism may quash the deal. A new relationship with single mom Lee (Pascale Hutton) also complicates things for Caleb in this moving drama set in the mountains of British Columbia.



Beautiful Boxer (2005)
Friday, January 4 at 5pm
Monday, January 7 at 8:30pm
Wednesday, January 9 at 7pm
Foreign Gay Dramas, Thai with English subtitles, 118 minutes.
Director: Ekachai Uekrongtham, 
Cast: Asanee Suwan, Sorapong Chatree, Orn-Anong Panyawong, Nukkid Boonthong.
Asanee Suwan portrays kickboxer Parinya Charoenphol, who’s harboring an unusual secret: He’s a transvestite. Inspired by a famous Thai pugilist who lived two drastically different lives, this moving film written and directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham recounts Parinya’s painful attempts to exist in paradoxical worlds. To fund the sex change he longs for, Parinya earns money in the ring, participating day after day in the ultimate male sport.


Musical Saturdays:
Verdi’s 
La Forza del Destino
Saturday, January 5 at 2:30pm, 167 minutes
La Forza del Destino (The Force of Destiny) is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Alvaro o La Fuerza de Sino (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller’s Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed in the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre of St. Petersburg, Russia, on 10 November 1862. After some further revisions, performances in Rome in 1863 (as Don Alvaro) and Madrid (with the Duke of Rivas, the play’s author, in attendance) followed shortly afterwards, and the opera subsequently travelled to New York and Vienna (1865), Buenos Aires (1866) and London (1867). Verdi made other revisions, with additions by Antonio Ghislanzoni, which premiered at La Scala, Milan, on 27 February 1869. This has become the “standard” performance version.


SUNDAY PIANO MATINEE:
Edvard Grieg’s 
Lyric Pieces
Pianist: Age Kristoffersen
Sunday, January 6 at 2pm at Teatro Santa Ana



Lost, found and living the dream in San Miguel
By Atención staff 

February 23, 2007, reprinted December 28, 2007 San Miguel de Allende

This article first appeared in Atención, February 23, 2007.

Am I living the American dream? Am I happy? Do I have it all? Lost and Found in Mexico asks these questions. Filmmaker Caren Cross thought she had accomplished everything she had set out to achieve. She arrived in Mexico on vacation and immediately felt compelled to drop her old life.

She began to listen to her heart, and for the first time she understood what she had lost in the United States and found in Mexico: her true self. Cross became fixed on trying to understand the changes she felt and embarked on making this documentary. In San Miguel de Allende, she interviewed other foreigners in a quest to understand why so many of them landed here. The answers in this thought-provoking film are both stimulating and unsettling. Might others, too, be lost without even knowing it? This film proves that transformation is possible and that sometimes you have to travel far to truly come home.

Atención San Miguel: What is your background?

Caren Cross: I was a psychotherapist in private practice for 27 years. However, my undergraduate degree is in fine arts. I always thought I’d be a painter. I painted a little bit through the years, but primarily I was totally immersed in my profession.


ASM: What first brought you to San Miguel?

CC: My husband, David, and I came to San Miguel for a one-week vacation. You’ve heard this story tons of times: we went home and I couldn’t get San Miguel out of my mind. I started to think that maybe I would take a month off each year and spend it here. I kept adjusting that idea until within a year I was determined to end my practice totally and move to SMA.

ASM: Did you feel something was missing in your life in the US? And did you think you could find it in San Miguel? 

CC: I didn’t think anything was missing in my life. I felt content, fortunate, satisfied, stimulated. Mostly, I was attracted to this place because of the weather, the quality of the light and the fact that you didn’t have to drive a car. I wasn’t aware of the changes that were in store for me.

ASM: And so what did you find in San Miguel? And how did the film come about?

CC: Freedom was the first thing that I felt. I didn’t feel judged. I could just be. It reminded me of my childhood. Later, I realized that I was free because I no longer had to live by the standards of US culture, nor did I have to live by the cultural standards of Mexico. I was free to be more true to myself. As time went on, I was able to be more relaxed, less anxious, more present. This was a big discovery. I wasn’t aware of how anxious I had been.

The changes that I felt were so huge that I wanted to share them with others. I figured that I couldn’t be the only one who had lost her course! In retrospect, I see that I was combining my interest in human nature with my interest in art.

Most important for me was getting out of my culture and its constrictions. I think that is easier to do in a developing country than in the US. The film is not an invitation for people to come to San Miguel. In fact, that is the last thing I want!

ASM: How did you select the people who appeared in the film?

CC: At first I made a detailed chart and conducted 32 sit-down interviews. I interviewed people who represented different groups: young, old, gay, straight, married, single, long-timers, newly arrived. I threw that chart out at the end and chose the four main characters because they were articulate, engaging and honest. And each of them represented something that I identified with in my own discovery.

ASM: What challenges did you find in making this film?

CC: Are you kidding? I didn’t know anything about making a film. I started out by ordering five books with titles such as How to Make a Documentary Film. Without a doubt the most difficult part was having myself in the film. I didn’t want to be seen or heard. I thought I could express what I wanted to say through other people’s stories. It took a long time for me to get over my fears of making myself vulnerable. I didn’t want others to be able to judge me. This was huge. And facing this challenge and giving in to what was needed by the film was definitely the biggest hurdle.

ASM: How have audiences responded so far? 

CC: The film seems to provoke people to talk about themselves, their lives, what’s important to them. What could be more gratifying than that? Also, many people get choked up and tearful. Especially men. I am really surprised by that, and it makes me think that men have a lot more pain than I ever realized.

ASM: What do you ultimately hope to achieve with this film, in terms of public response and distribution?

CC: I never knew that I was in pain. That I wasn’t being true to myself. That I was like a hamster on a wheel. If I can help people see that in themselves, then I have been successful. The point of the film isn’t to encourage people to move to San Miguel. The point is for people to become more conscious. 

I would love to sell the film to a cable network or PBS. I can dream, can’t I?

Biblioteca thanks Lost and Found in Mexico

Lost and Found in Mexico was screened at Teatro Santa Ana 17 times over the course of the year.
Approximately 1000 people attended these screenings.
Ticket sales raised over 50,000 pesos to continue funding the programs of the Biblioteca.