Julia Solomonoff Movies

A stranger brings some changes -- not all of them welcome -- to a sleepy and forgotten community in this drama from director Julia Murat. Jotuomba is a tiny village in Brazil that has been passed over by time; less than a dozen elderly people still call it home, and their lives are governed by a routine they've followed for ages. Madalena (Sonia Guedes) wakes early each morning to bake bread, and she takes the fresh loaves to a tiny store run by Antonio (Luiz Serra), where they share a cup of coffee and often contentious conversation. Some days, the villagers gather for church services and a meal; otherwise, Madalena passes the rest of the day writing letters to her late spouse or visiting the local cemetery. But for the first time in years, something unexpected happens in Jotuomba when twenty-something Rita (Lisa E. Favero) passes through town. Taken by the beauty and quaint charm of the village, Rita decides to document Jotuomba with her homemade camera; she asks Madalena if she can rent a room, and while Madalena agrees, that doesn't mean she cares for Rita's presence or her often dismissive attitude towards the people living in the town she discovered. However, with time Rita realizes there are people with stories to tell within this village that's slowly fading away. Historias Que So Existem Quando Lembradas (aka Found Memories) received its North American premiere at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The determination of one unwavering socialist to stand up for his indigenous people in the face of an international crackdown on the Bolivian coca-growing regions forms the basis for this lively look at Aymara Indian Evo Morales' historic bid for the presidency of Bolivia. As the United States increasingly turned the focus of the War on Drugs towards the Bolivian coca-growing regions, the resulting efforts of the Bolivian government in eradicating coca crops had a devastating effect on the indigenous farmers -- who, as a result, would form a powerful union. It was personable and unpretentious union leader Morales who took it upon himself to stand up for the farmers whose livelihoods were now at stake, and his unassuming personality found him as comfortable drinking beer with his friends and swimming in his underwear as he was mingling with the cultural elite over talk of redistributing wealth, re-industrializing industries, and legalizing coca products. In this documentary, curious filmgoers are invited to gain greater insight than ever into both the political changes that are sweeping Latin America, and the mind of the populist platform leader whose stance on the state of his nation has resulted in unwavering praise from supporters, and venomous resistance from detractors. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Brazilian director Walter Salles Jr. follows up the Golden Globe-nominated Behind the Sun with this filmed adaptation of Argentinian-born Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara's journals of the same name. The Motorcycle Diaries stars Gael García Bernal (Y Tu Mamá También, Amores Perros) as a young, pre-revolution Guevara, a 23-year-old medical student in 1952 traveling across South America on a motorcycle with his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna), who co-wrote the source material. As they embark on their journey, both young men come of age and find their individual world views broadened farther than they ever expected. The Motorcycle Diaries premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi