Get Thee to a Theater

OK we’re fast approaching the Academy Awards ceremony – which airs Sunday, Feb. 25 – so you need to grab a friend and get out to the picture show.

Here’s a quick, alphabetical overview of films that relate to our Sister City countries.

Apocalypto
Remember that movie? It’s largely been ignored by the Academy, but it did receive nominations for Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Makeup. Yawn. There’s no category for most frenzied movie. Apocalypto was directed by Mel Gibson and filmed in Catemaco and Paso de Ovejas in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Unknown actors from Mexico City, the Yucatán, some Native Americans from the United States and Canada, and locals from Los Tuxtlas and Veracruz star in this picture featuring the Yukatek Maya language.
http://apocalypto.movies.go.com/

Babel
This crisscrossing global movie was directed by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu. It’s nominated for seven Academy Awards. Nominations include: Best Picture, Best Director, Original Screenplay and two Best Supporting Actress nods, Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi. The film takes place in Morocco, Japan and Mexico. It comes out on DVD Feb. 20, if you want to go ahead and see something else in the theater and watch it at home.
http://www.paramountvantage.com/babel/

Letters from Iwo Jima,
This movie, while directed by Clint Eastwood, is acted totally in Japanese. That’s a twist for the guy who got his start with Italian-filmed westerns many years ago. Nominations include: Best Picture, Best Director, Original Screenplay
http://iwojimathemovie.warnerbros.com/lettersofiwojima/framework/framework.html

The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen)
This German film rolls into theaters Feb. 23 in North Texas, so be watching for it. It’s been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. It’s directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.
http://www.sonyclassics.com/thelivesofothers/

Pan’s Labrynth (El Laberinto del Fauno)
This film by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro takes place in Franco’s post-war Spain. Nominations include: Best Foreign Language Film and Original Screenplay.
http://www.panslabyrinth.com/