Alejandra Gollas Movies
In Nicolas Echevarria's romantic comedy Vivir Mata (Living Kills), radio personality Silvia (Susana Zabaleta) meets starving artist Diego (Daniel Gimenez Cacho). She believes he is a famous author and, because she is so attractive, he continues the deception. They share a night of passion, but have a falling out in the morning when the truth is revealed. Both are eventually haunted by their actions as they wonder if there was a real spark of romance between them. A friend of Silvia's asks the right questions to get her to work toward reconciliation with Diego, while Diego also comes around to a new way of thinking. The film was screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Jiménez Cacho, Susana Zabaleta, (more)
Filmed in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, this massive biography of Cuban leader Fidel Castro begins in the 1950s, when the title character, then a young and hungry lawyer, bristles at the iniquities and corruption of the Batista political regime. Inspired by the words by left-wing radio commentor Eddie Chibas (Hector Elizondo), Fidel becomes active in a revolutionary movement aimed at toppling Fulgencio Batista (Tony Plana). In 1959, Castro and his followers stage a spectacularly successful coup, one that is staunchly supported by thousands of idealists and Cuban expatriates in the United States. Unfortunately, to paraphrase cartoonist Bill Mauldin, no sooner has Fidel come down from the hills like Robin Hood than he begins behaving like the Sheriff of Nottingham, killing scores of his political enemies in round-the-clock executions, routinely snatching away the basic human rights that he had promised his followers, and embracing Communism with a fervent passion. Although the film does not shy away from showing the darker side of Castro, it is essentially sympathetic to its subject, balancing the Cuban dictator's political outrages with his many acts of benevolence, and attempting to provide "motivation" for what seem to be appalling contradictions. Victor Huggo Martin and Honorato Magaloni are cast respectively as the younger and older Castro, with Maurice Compte as his brother Raul and Gael Garcia Bernal as the ill-fated Che Guevara.Fidel was originally telecast in two parts over the Showtime cable network on January 27 and 28, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Huggo Martin, Gael García Bernal, (more)
