Films this weekend

Much like Spring Festival this past year, I spend some time this weekend enjoying both Indian and Spanish movies.

Tensión Sexual no Rresuelta (Unresolved Sexual Tension) was a comedy, and like many of the Spanish films I've seen, sex played a big role in it. Even after being out of the U.S. for a while, I always find it very refreshing how sexuality isn't shyed away from, but rather is embraced whole-heartedly. Nudity as well; they aren't making a porno movie, but if it would make logical sense for a character to be without clothing in a certain scene, it isn't avoided. Tensión Sexual no Rresuelta focused mainly on the attempts of Juan José to win back his girl with the help of his "team," while simultaneously focusing on Celeste and "her team" manipulating various guys in order to get what they want, which is better sex. The word love is thrown around a lot, but it mostly just seemed like young people looking for excuses to manipulate each other. Despite the fact that if any of the characters were real people I would consider them to be pretty childish (the outrageousness of it is part of what makes it entertaining), I did enjoy the movie. It reminded me somewhat of El Otro Lado de la Cama (which was excellent), but without the musical nature and targeted at a younger audience. If I had seen the movie three or four years ago, I am sure that I would have enjoyed it even more. I recall how during my sophomore year of college I watched all of the American Pie movies, and this seemed to have quite a bit more style and sophistication than those, both in the machinations of the characters, the plot, and the general quality of cinematography on direction.

While the Spanish movie was a young, sexy, comedy, the Indian movie was nationalistic and inspiring. Mangal Pandey: The Rising takes place in British India, and focuses on the beginning of a rebellion against the British East India Company. It seemed similar to Lagaan (one of my favorites) in several ways. First, of course, the setting in India during the British colonial rule is a pretty simple similarity. I assume that there are a lot of movies set during this time, and it is a period of history that fascinates me, so I would like to learn more about it. Beyond the setting, both films star my favorite Indian actor, Amir Khan, and focus on a struggle against the British. The films both portray the British as primary villains, but they also both feature cross-racial romances and friendships, which I think is a very good thing: it helps to show that British are inherently evil. In fact, I think it is something that Chinese movies could really use to prevent (or at this point, reverse) an anti-foreign ideology. I can't recall the last time I saw a good foreigner who didn't fight against Chinese people portrayed in a Chinese movie. Aside from the broad label of "British India" I am not sure of the specific years in which Lagaan and Mangal Pandey take place, but the characters that Amir Khan portrays are quite different in each one. In Lagaan Amir Khan plays a peasant with a rebellious streak, while in Mangal Pandey he plays a company soldier of the British East Indian Company, and a Brahman. Mangal Pandey also related to Rang De Basanti in that both had characters die, initiating a wider struggle against authority. This seems to be quite a seem in Amir Khan's films, as his mega-hit 3 Idiots (again, one of my favorites) also has anti-authority seems. It also reminded me that I will have to learn hindi someday.