Luche Libre Starring Blue Demon (1970)

I've been a fan of flamboyant Mexican wrestlers ever since my Dad and I saw Mil Mascaras beat the snot out of the villainous Greg Valentine at the fairgrounds 30 years ago. Yeah, yeah I know wrasslin' is fake, but I would think a 250 lb man jumping on you from the top rope would have to smart at least a little bit. Mexico holds its heroic grapplers in high esteem, featuring them in magazines, advertisements and, naturally, action films.


In this silly diversion, a group of luchadors enmascarado attempts to protect some beauty pageant contestants from the evil designs of a mad scientist and his seemingly inexhaustible supply of midget wrestler henchmen.


Our barrel-chested heros get themselves in a variety of pickles, but are saved by teamwork, agility and the fact that the mad scientist's various contraptions always seem to go haywire at critical moments.


The action is accompanied by a twinkly cocktail party jazz score that makes no sense whatsoever. The filmmaking is sloppy, amateurish, riddled with continuity errors and I adored every minute of it. Alain Resnais did not direct this film.

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Luche Libre Starring Blue Demon (1970)

I've been a fan of flamboyant Mexican wrestlers ever since my Dad and I saw Mil Mascaras beat the snot out of the villainous Greg Valentine at the fairgrounds 30 years ago. Yeah, yeah I know wrasslin' is fake, but I would think a 250 lb man jumping on you from the top rope would have to smart at least a little bit. Mexico holds its heroic grapplers in high esteem, featuring them in magazines, advertisements and, naturally, action films.


In this silly diversion, a group of luchadors enmascarado attempts to protect some beauty pageant contestants from the evil designs of a mad scientist and his seemingly inexhaustible supply of midget wrestler henchmen.


Our barrel-chested heros get themselves in a variety of pickles, but are saved by teamwork, agility and the fact that the mad scientist's various contraptions always seem to go haywire at critical moments.


The action is accompanied by a twinkly cocktail party jazz score that makes no sense whatsoever. The filmmaking is sloppy, amateurish, riddled with continuity errors and I adored every minute of it. Alain Resnais did not direct this film.

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Human Resources (1999)

A cold, biting realism permeates every frame of Laurent Cantet’s impressive feature debut. Human Resources is a simple story of young Franck (Jalil Respert), a business school student who returns to his hometown northwest of Paris to intern with a metal fabrication factory. Franck grew up virtually in the shadow of this massive plant, and his father (brilliantly played by Jean-Claude Vallod) has worked there as a union laborer for thirty years. Respert receives his share of razzing from family and friends in the early going, as we quickly realize this child of blue-collar culture is returning as a suspect white-collar anti-hero, and we feel for his predicament. All goes well for Franck with his management overlords, as they assign him to a special research project that, unknown to Franck, will give them decisive leverage over the union in upcoming labor negotiations.


There is palpable tension at home, however, as the more Franck achieves in his new position, the more it isolates him from his father and childhood friends. Clearly the father is quite proud of the son, but neither of them, due to their generational and cultural differences, has the ability to express those feelings to each other. Then one night, Franck discovers a secret letter on a superior’s computer that causes a chain of dramatic and extraordinary events, and ultimately a heartbreaking father-son role reversal. Cantet has done a number of films about the dangers of workplace politics, culminating in the excellent 2008 Palme d’Or winner The Class. Here we see the roots of the intellectually gripping naturalism that has become his stylistic signature. Not as dark as Haneke, and not as documentarian as the Dardenne Brothers, Cantet creates absorbing and highly believable portraits of those who find their work rewarding in ways other than monetary.

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Human Resources (1999)

A cold, biting realism permeates every frame of Laurent Cantet’s impressive feature debut. Human Resources is a simple story of young Franck (Jalil Respert), a business school student who returns to his hometown northwest of Paris to intern with a metal fabrication factory. Franck grew up virtually in the shadow of this massive plant, and his father (brilliantly played by Jean-Claude Vallod) has worked there as a union laborer for thirty years. Respert receives his share of razzing from family and friends in the early going, as we quickly realize this child of blue-collar culture is returning as a suspect white-collar anti-hero, and we feel for his predicament. All goes well for Franck with his management overlords, as they assign him to a special research project that, unknown to Franck, will give them decisive leverage over the union in upcoming labor negotiations.


There is palpable tension at home, however, as the more Franck achieves in his new position, the more it isolates him from his father and childhood friends. Clearly the father is quite proud of the son, but neither of them, due to their generational and cultural differences, has the ability to express those feelings to each other. Then one night, Franck discovers a secret letter on a superior’s computer that causes a chain of dramatic and extraordinary events, and ultimately a heartbreaking father-son role reversal. Cantet has done a number of films about the dangers of workplace politics, culminating in the excellent 2008 Palme d’Or winner The Class. Here we see the roots of the intellectually gripping naturalism that has become his stylistic signature. Not as dark as Haneke, and not as documentarian as the Dardenne Brothers, Cantet creates absorbing and highly believable portraits of those who find their work rewarding in ways other than monetary.

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Mondays in the Sun (2003)

The debilitating effect of unemployment on the male psyche is explored in this well directed drama from Spain. A group of idle men, all former co-workers at the same defunct shipyard, regularly convene at a neighborhood bar, where we learn all about their shared history and the challenges they face pursuing new employment in a world that no longer values skilled labor. The story is told in a leisurely progression of vignettes, each done in a casual, laconic naturalism, which reinforces the central predicament of the men. When one has nothing to do, there is never any need to rush.


While theoretically an ensemble piece, this is actually Javier Bardem's movie, as he gained significant weight for the role and the added bulk makes his presence even more formidable than usual. The film strikes a near perfect balance of pathos and humor, and Bardem's witticisms while waiting in the unemployment queue will have most viewers rolling with laughter.


Yet we are never far removed from the grim prospects these men face, as they approach middle age with their hopes and self-esteem shattered. Director Fernando Leon de Aranoa, who also helmed the equally excellent "Princesas", is clearly a talent to watch.

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Mondays in the Sun (2003)

The debilitating effect of unemployment on the male psyche is explored in this well directed drama from Spain. A group of idle men, all former co-workers at the same defunct shipyard, regularly convene at a neighborhood bar, where we learn all about their shared history and the challenges they face pursuing new employment in a world that no longer values skilled labor. The story is told in a leisurely progression of vignettes, each done in a casual, laconic naturalism, which reinforces the central predicament of the men. When one has nothing to do, there is never any need to rush.


While theoretically an ensemble piece, this is actually Javier Bardem's movie, as he gained significant weight for the role and the added bulk makes his presence even more formidable than usual. The film strikes a near perfect balance of pathos and humor, and Bardem's witticisms while waiting in the unemployment queue will have most viewers rolling with laughter.


Yet we are never far removed from the grim prospects these men face, as they approach middle age with their hopes and self-esteem shattered. Director Fernando Leon de Aranoa, who also helmed the equally excellent "Princesas", is clearly a talent to watch.

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Moving Midway (2007)

What starts as a straightforward documentary about the logistics of safely moving a large historic home, eventually morphs into a profound and inspirational story of racial and cultural healing. Faced with commercial encroachment from the rapidly growing Raleigh suburb of Knightdale, Charlie Silver plans to move his family’s 200 year old home, known locally as Midway Plantation, several miles away to a more quiet and verdant site and away from it’s current frontage on busy Hwy 64.



Silver’s cousin, NY based film critic Godfrey Cheshire, chronicles the plans and preparations for this herculean task, and at times the entire idea seems like an insane folly. But Cheshire’s research into his family tree reveals an unknown and surprising branch, one that unites his relatives with the present day descendants of the slaves that originally built Midway.



As moving day approaches, Cheshire seeks out those that share his bonds of blood and history, and a number of happily tearful reunions occur. Meanwhile, the plantation house is slowly lifted from its centuries-old moorings, and a new, much richer, chapter of this family’s history begins.



Moving Midway is a fascinating amalgam of Fitzcarraldo and Roots and offers clear and welcome evidence that the American South, like Midway Plantation, is ready to reconcile and move on.

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