The Wind Journeys ("Los viajes del viento")

Director: Ciro Guerra
Starring: Marciano Martinez, Yull Núñez
Year: 2009

A musician travels a great distance to return an instrument to his elderly teacher. (source: IMDB)

Comments: The film is beautifully shot against the landscape of Columbia. But what makes this movie special is the music and the earthy performances of the Columbian troubadours, whose voices and lyrics are haunting. For only his second feature film, Guerra does a masterful job juxtaposing the beauty of the landscape with the harshness of the lives of his characters.

Recommended.

Gervaise

Director: René Clément
Starring: Maria Schell, François Périer, Jacques Harden
Year: 1956

Like a Greek tragedy, "Gervaise" is a tale of inevitable destruction. The heroine, Gervaise (Maria Schell), is a Parisian working-class woman during the Second Empire (1860s) who attempts to improve her social status. Her efforts are doomed, however, by a couple of selfish alcoholics-- her first lover Lantier (Armand Mestral), and her husband Coupeau (Francois Perier). The fascination of the character of Gervaise is her courage against all odds and the tragedy of her inevitable downfall and destruction, given the social dictates of the era. (source: IMDB)

Comments: Wonderful performances, especially from Maria Schell, whose eyes and innocently hopeful expression makes the tragic ending of the film even more pointed.

Recommended.