CINEMATECA

José Luis’ Pick and Tip


The Pick: 

The Beautiful Country

The Beautiful Country tells the story of Vietnam and America, 20 years later. This story underlines the ability of the human spirit to endure the worst in order to survive. That the main character keeps his heart on the other side of such an ordeal was profoundly touching to me. Even the ending, showing the improbable (yet unspoken) reunion of father and son was treated with an affectionate if somewhat inconclusive touch. We rarely know where the journey of life will take us. The will to undertake even the most difficult journey is a testament to the human spirit.


The Tip 

Important: In order to provide the best viewing experience, the show times for some movies may be adjusted to accommodate their length. Be sure to check the schedule carefully. I also want to remind you of our new ticket price: 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 assure you a seat; don’t take the risk of being locked out.… Nos vemos en el Cine.…

You want to receive this info by email? Write to José Luis at 

alephamour@hotmail.com.  

Thank you.





Cheech & Chong: Still Smokin (1983)
Only show Monday November 5 at 5pm
Cult Latino Comedy, English, 90 minutes
Director: Tommy Chong
Cast: Tommy Chong, Cheech Marin, 
Susan Hahn, Carol van Herwijnen
In the fourth film outing for stoner duo Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, the pair attends the Amsterdam Film Festival, a venue that affords them ample opportunities for obtaining sex and drugs. Although Cheech and Chong have been invited as guests of the festival, organizers are actually expecting Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson. A wacky case of mistaken identity ensues, and the boys flex their comedic muscles through sketches and impersonations.



Under Milk Wood (1973)
Monday, November 5 at 7pm
Friday, November 9 at 5pm
Classic Drama, 
English with Spanish subtitles, 88 minutes
Director: Andrew Sinclair. Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Vivien Merchant, Peter O’Toole. 
Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’ radio play comes to life in this delightful adaptation vibrantly narrated by fellow Welshman and Thomas devotee Richard Burton. The film takes viewers into the lives of a seaside town’s eccentric denizens via the character of Capt. Cat (Peter O’Toole), a silver-tongued seaman who knows the village intimately despite his rapidly failing eyesight. Glynis Johns and Burton’s then-wife, Elizabeth Taylor, co-star.



BBC Series: Planet Earth (2007)
“Fresh Water” and “Caves”
Tuesday, November 6 at 5pm
Narrator: David Attenborough 
“Fresh Water”: Only 3% of the world’s water is fresh, yet all life ultimately depends on it. Its journey begins as a stream in the mountains, illustrated by Venezuela’s Tepui, where there is a tropical downpour almost every day. With the aid of some expansive helicopter photography, one sequence demonstrates the vastness of Angel Falls, the world’s highest free-flowing waterfall. Its waters drop unbroken for nearly 1,000 meters and are blown away as a mist before they reach the bottom. The erosive nature of rivers is shown by the Grand Canyon, created over five million years by the Colorado River. In Japan, the water is inhabited by the biggest amphibian, the two-metre long giant salamander. Also featured are smooth coated otters repelling mugger crocodiles and the latter’s Nile cousin ambushing wildebeest as they cross the Mara River. Roseate spoonbills are numerous in the Pantanal and are prey to spectacled caiman. In addition, there are cichlids, piranhas, river dolphins and swimming crab-eating macaques. 

“Caves”: At a depth of 400 meters, Mexico’s Cave of Swallows is Earth’s deepest pit cave freefall drop, allowing entry by skydivers. Also featured is Borneo’s Deer Cave and Gomantong Cave. Inhabitants of the former include three million wrinkle-lipped bats. In Gomantong Cave, guano is many meters high and is blanketed with hundreds of thousands of cockroaches and other invertebrates. Also depicted are eyeless, subterranean creatures, such as the Texas blind salamander and bizarrely a species of crab. Mexico’s Cueva de Villa Luz with its flowing stream of sulphuric acid and snottite formations made of living bacteria is also featured. 



The Beautiful Country (2005)
Tuesday, November 6 at 7:30pm
Wednesday, November 7 at 5:30pm
Social Drama, English, Spanish subtitles, 107 minutes
Director: Hans Petter Moland. Cast: Nick Nolte, Bai Ling, Tim Roth, Anh Thu, Khuong Duc Thuan
Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland tells the story of Binh (Damien Nguyen), a shy Vietnamese man in his 20s who embarks on a personal journey with a beautiful young woman named Ling (Ling Bai) aboard a refugee ship bound for America. The objective of Binh’s quest is to find a better life -- and his estranged American father. Nick Nolte and Tim Roth play supporting roles in this drama exploring the consequences of the Vietnam War.



Heart of Light (Lysets Hjerte 2000)
Thursday, November 8, at 5pm
Friday, November 9, at 7pm
Scandinavia Adventures Drama, 
Danish with English subtitles, 92 minutes.
Director: Jacob Gronlykke. Cast: Rasmus Lyberth, Vivi Nielson, Niels Piatou, ?Anda Kristiansen, Knud Petersen.
When the humiliation and grief of his eldest son’s shooting rampage and subsequent suicide threatens to pull him under, a brokenhearted father (Rasmus Lyberth) leaves his family and tight-knit community and heads into Greenland’s bleak landscape. ?As he journeys forth on an antiquated dogsled with no destination, he eventually finds solace – and the soul he lost long ago – in the form of a mystical hermit (Anda Kristiansen).



Verdi’s Ernani 
Saturday, November 10 at 2:30pm, 140 minutes
Director: Preben Montel
This outstanding production of Giuseppe Verdi’s tragic opera stars Mirella Freni as the gentle heroine pursued by Placido Domingo, Renato Bruson and Nicolai Ghiaurov. The cast gives an impassioned performance under the baton of Riccardo Muti. Based on Victor Hugo’s play, this violent and somber story of frustrated passion and ambition is set by the composer to a succession of irresistible tunes unsurpassed even in his mature works.