PabloGT

When I first realized about `Behind the Sun', the movie was almost leaving town. Thanks god, for the good friend that tip me on this one. Behind the Sun is a marvelous piece-of-art. It's pure filmmaking to the maximum extension. It's so many things in a movie.

To my discomfort, my favorite American critic only granted a 2 out of 4 to this movie, and claim that although the story takes place in Brazil `…it could be set instead in the Middle East, in Bosnia, in India, in Africa, in any of those places where people kill each other because of who their parents were …' I can tell you the story could be placed in America itself and/or any other modern city. It's the millenary tradition of eye for an eye. The fact that the families involved in this centennial vendetta has a rule, which is that they don't take revenge until the decease blood has turned into yellow, is just a symbolism of the green light modern States wait from the UN or any other international organism, before invading other countries. What about the other symbolisms, the Kid is wrongfully shot and this accident will apparently put an end of the killings. It just remind me of an innocent who died 2000 years ago to give freedom to others. Or what about the mother realizing how their lives are ruled by the death, or the Kid (again) comparing with the oxen, which only goes round and round without going nowhere. Haven't you felt the same once in a while?

Then you have those marvelous shots: the killer chasing the victim in the woods, or the beautiful Clara almost flying in the sky, as a premonition of her decision of going free.

It's a movie that requires much help from your brain, and little effort from your eyes. It's just beauty in front of your face. Enjoy it!!

There is one thing I dislike the most about certain movies, and this is when they pretend to be smart, well-made, and to be something, while they indeed lack details, arguments, script, and the acting capacity of its stars is not even considered. This is all about "Four Dogs Playing Poker". At a certain moment you feel that you left your brain somewhere else, because you can't believe what you are seeing. One can be mislead, though. You see big names, i.e., Tim Curry, Forrest Whitaker, playing small roles, and you immediately presume that you are in front of a piece-of-art that has convinced those big names to work almost for free just to help a young and gifted director. I don't want to judge their intentions, but I can tell that the only good thing about "Four Dogs Playing Poker" is that keep you all the time filling up all the details that are missing. I don't want to tell you what details are missing, I prefer that you rent the movie, see it when you have nothing to do, and challenge your brain to find out all those things that make no sense at all. If the movie wanted to play a little bit serious, it should have joked about the stupid idea of its main characters, and show how unproductive it was at the end. That would have at least save the day. In a scale of 1 to 10, let not be so hard on them, let's give a 3+.

One of the persons that made a review on this film complains because of a movie that works golf more than the characters. Is it necessary always to follow the same patterns? I think it is the director choice how to manage a story and present it to us. In Robert Redford case, he did it elegantly, convincingly, and knowingly. He is telling us in images, what the book says in words. When you play a game like golf, it is yourself, the ball and the course. There's no one to blame for those bad shots; it is you and only you. It's a selfish game that will always test you. If you have your ears open, you will hear the Golfing Gods and learn the lesson. If not, you are nothing but a weekend hacker, having a good time with no brain in it. Yes it's true, it is not a masterpiece, and there are moments when you think the story could be worked a little bit more, but at the end the message is delivered, and you must be there to acknowledge receipt.

If somebody watches Tin Cup and does not find this movie a "must-see", it might be either because you don't know golf, or because you take life too easy. This film is nothing but irresistible. It combines those tiny-little-moments that we golfers must face every time we are in the golf course (yes, we may not be facing the US Open title, but golf gives us a chance to know ourselves every time we hit the ball: Do I play safe or do I take chances? Am I a winner, or am I a loser? Do I have nerves, or do I simply breakdown?). Tin Cup goes insight all of that, and it shows it to us, in such a simple form through the eyes and life of Roy McAvoy and his buddies, that at the end you find yourself with nothing but the urge to rent it again. Forget for a while about the romance and the girl, if so you want, but don't deny that the songs, the views, and the dialogue are superb. See it as a great sport movie, with a clear lesson to all of us: In life as in Golf, it is you who make that final call. A good call means success; a bad one, well I guess you know where the rest goes.