This Week in Seattle Film: Imported Perspective Edition
As President Obama finally seeks to fulfill campaign promises of immigration reform in a term positively flush with crippling economic and social crises, it's now more important than ever to realize our nation's dependence on fresh perspectives and an objective outlook on justice and survival. Here are three international triumphs playing in Seattle this week that earnestly jog our sense of humanity's interconnectedness.
Life, Above All
Varsity Theater (8/20-8/25)
While South Africa has lately been home to the filming of a number of big-budget action powerhouses including District 9 or Cinemax's new(ish) testosterone-crammed series Strike Back, let's not forget there's a lot more to the country's story than aliens, bare breasts and explosions. Life, Above All is South Africa's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film consideration at this year's Academy Awards, following screen newcomer Khomotso Manyaka as she copes with the death of her newborn sister and the suspicions that mount from the tragic circumstances. The adaptation of Allan Stratton's Chanda's Secrets takes on the ugly core of shame and stigma through the frightened gaze of a 12-year-old child, offering a raw exploration of Africa's ever-grueling battle with both the AIDS epidemic and the judgmental human element that all too often aspires to become more destructive than the virus itself.
Viva La Muerte
Grand Illusion Cinema (8/20-8/25)
Considered by some to be the emotional climax of Spanish surrealist film, Viva La Muerte is a deservedly lauded, graphic labyrinth of a movie that tackles the brutality and devastation of identity that accompanied the Spanish Civil War. "Long Live Death" plays in the guts of total war, shocking continuously with scenes of incest, bestiality and slaughter while stringing its boy protagonist down a doomed journey for his captured leftist father. It's definitely not ideal for family entertainment, but Viva La Muerte is one of the most essential examples of a significant political film that relies on passion and stark imagery to drive its point home rather than longwinded dialogue.
Pudhupettai
Northwest Film Forum (8/26)
Broaden your understanding of Indian film beyond the manic, vivid excess of Bollywood musicals with this violent, dark take on the meteoric rise of a gang lord in the slums of Channai. A box office hit in its native land, Pudhupettai represents the edgier side of one of the world's most exciting, diverse film industries. It seems more or less a perfect choice to kick off NWFF's Cruel Cinema: New Tamil Film series, which will seek to delve deeper into the cinematic titan of a nation's less mainstream offerings.
