Que Bueno! Latino Movies Rock!!!

Saw two recent Latin movies: Volver and Pan's Labrynth. Both were great.

Volver is a Pedro Almovadar movie and if you've seen any of his other movies you already know if you'll like this. Like his others, it's quirky, surprising, and colorful. The twist in Volver is that almost all the characters are women. The only downside is what I've felt in his past movies, that everything's a bit ridiculous and it feels a little surfacey. I certainly don't see it as a movie I'll think much about in 2 months. Still, I would recommend it.

And Pan's Labyrnth might be my favorite 2006 movie. The movie takes place in the last gasps of the Spanish Civil War, with a mom and daughter going out to stay w/ the mom's new husband. As the military husband is out squashing the remainding rebels, the girl is off on her own hyper-fantasy adventure. Kind of a Dark Crystal meets For Whom The Bell Tolls. What's cool is that her fantasy world isn't an escape, both worlds live side by side. It doesn't distinguish between the creepy scary real world and little kid's imaginary world, and that seemed both accurate and made it not feel like a kid's movie.

These movies both are now added to my growing list of recent awesome Latino movies: Amores Perros, City of God, and Y Tu Mama Tambien.