Feature Films and Documentaries
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Walls of Mexico, The
Films for the Humanities. 1 VHS cassette (56 mins.): color. Documentary, English.v
"This beautifully filmed program looks at the wall paintings of some of the most famous Mexican muralists -- Diego Rivera, Juan O'Gorman, José Clemente Orozco -- and at the work of Luis Barragán, the greatest Mexican architect of this century. Their common medium is the wall. The muralists sought to return art to the people, by putting it on the walls of public buildings, just as it had been in the days of their Mayan forefathers. Barragán embraced a modernism imported from Europe, but developed a style that echoes with memories of ancient times. Both the muralists and Barragán used the wall to create something new and vital, but they all found their guiding force in the roots of Mexican art and culture, in traditions grounded in the pre-Columbian era." (from the video jacket)
Warnung vor einer heiligen Nutte (Beware of the Holy Whore)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder. 1 VHS cassette (103 mins.): color. German with English subtitles, Feature film. West Germany, 1971. Actors: Lou Castel, Eddie Constantine, Hanna Schygulla, Margarethe Von Trotta, Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
"'Beware of a holy whore' chronicles the experiences of a film cast and crew stranded in a luxury seaside hotel. They are stalled by every conceivable production problem; the start thinks his part is too brutal, the producer has run out of money and the director hasn't shown up yet. When the tyrannical director (Lou Castel) finally arrives, he makes life a living hell for everyone involved on the shoot. The group is left to petty bickering attempts at amusement and desperate contacts to make it through the filming of the movie." (from the video jacket)
Wesele (The Wedding)
Andrzej Wajda. 1 VHS cassette (110 mins.): color. Polish with English subtitles, Feature film. Poland, 1972.
"Critics said that Wajda had achieved the impossible in bringing one of the greatest national dramas to the screen. A bitter tale of the marriage of an intelligent man to a peasant, their opposing views, the artist's inability to find a place for himself in the world and fruitless dreams of freedom. The success of this film at home and abroad once again emphasized the talent and imagination of its director." (from the video jacket)
Where the eagles fly: portraits of women of power: Savoniha: A Siberian old believer
Costanzo Allione and Mystic Fire Video. 1 VHS cassette (30 mins.): color. English, Documentary. USA, 1997.
"'Forgiveness allowed me to enjoy the autumn of my life. Forgiveness is not merely a word, a prayer pronounced with our lips, it is something we conquer inside ourself. Forgiveness set me free; everything gains a less distinctive shape, each thought is softer and passing by my heart it doesn't hurt my feelings.' Savoniha belongs to the 'Old Believers', a sect of the Russian Orthodox Church who was exiled to Buryatia, Siberia, many centuries ago. Along the centuries they never ceased to be persecuted, Savoniha, 95 years old when this film was made, witnessed Stalin's anti-religious campaign loosing[sic] her father, one of the main spiritual representatives of the Siberian Old Believers. 'People now come to me asking for help: I speak to them, my words flow like a river soothing their pain. I am amazed, and with my thought I go back to the One who speaks through my tongue. Many ask for advice as if I might have accumulated a treasure that I can pull out to relieve other beings. But I see no bag! I only see a small key that allows me to talk like a bird to the sky.'" (from the video jacket)
Where the eagles fly: portraits of women of power: Moon Heart: the magical world of Tuvian shamans
Costanzo Allione and Mystic Fire Video. 1 VHS cassette ( 30 mins.): color. English, Documentary. USA, 1997.
"'When I accepted my destiny as a shaman the spririts of my ancestors taught me the cosmic origin of man and nature and about our father the Eternal Blue Sky and our Mother the Earth. I dedicate my life to my gentle people who believe that I am the link between man and God, I am a poet, a priest, a healer, a foretell, a teacher but mostly I am their friend.' Moon Heart is a shaman from Tuva, a very powerful healer who speaks to the stars. Tuva is a very ancient country of shamans and throat singers. It lies betweent he Siberian forests and the central Asian desert, marking the center of Asia. The high Savan mountains protected Tuva keeping it wild and pure. Tuvinian people love nature and live in harmony, fearing the rage of the powerful spirits of the mountain. 'To heal a person I invoke his star asking it to come down. When the star appears a strong heat falls from above and my eyes are filled with tears. The strength of the star comes down fromt he sky until gradually everybody bends to the earth.' 'To get in touch with the spirits of the mountains and to sooth them we use our traditional throat singing chants whose melodies derive from our contemplation of life, the sound of nature.'" (from the video jacket)
Windows to Paris
Guy Seligmann. 1 VHS cassette (92 mins.): color. Russian with English subtitles. 1995.
"A wildly-inventive comedy that alternates romance with outrageous slapstick. Window to Paris is the story of a young musician who discovers a magic window which takes him from his rundown Russian apartment to the streets of Paris."
Wings of Desire (Himmel über Berlin, Der)
Wim Wenders. 1 VHS cassette (130 min.): color. English and German with English subtitles. Feature Film. Actors: Peter Falk Bruno Ganz, Otto Sander. West Germany, 1987.
"From acclaimed filmmaker Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas) comes this wonderfully romantic fantasy about an angel who wishes he were mortal and is willing to fall from the sky if it means the chance of falling in love. Offering truly stellar performances by stars Bruno Ganz and Peter Falk, Wings of Desire is set in modern-day Berlin and follows angel Damien's path from heavenly flight to earthly delight in a manner that's comical, touching and entertaining." (from the video jacket)
Woyzeck
János Szász. 1 VHS cassette (93 mins.): B&W. Hungarian with English subtitles, Feature film. Hungary, 1994.
"A riveting and visually opulent update of George Büchner's classic and darkly disturbing drama as directed by one of Europe's most acclaimed young filmmakers: János Szász, 1994 winner Best Young Filmmaker, Berling Film Festival. Woyzeck, a flagman in a putrefied trainyard, leads an unbearable existence. Trapped between a cruel railyard manager, grinding poverty, and an increasingly aloof wife, Woyzeck allows himslef to be the subject of a bizarre medical experiment to support his young family: He is permitted to eat nothing but peas in order to prove some obscure medical theory. Further tormented by dark apocalyptic voices from within, the full force of Woyzeck's social and sexual oppression erupts when he discovers that his wife is having an affair with a vain policeman. Pushed to the edge of existence, Woyzeck smashes his desolation in a fit of violent madness. A chillingly sharp parable on the acute plight of the dispossessed and the explosive nature of dormant rebellion." (from the video jacket)
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Xica da Silva
Carlos Diegues. 1 VHS cassette (109 mins.): color. Portuguese with English subtitles, Feature film. Brazil, 1976. Actors: Zezé Motta, Elke Maravilha, Walmor Chagas, José Wilker.
"An outrageous camedy, XICA (Sheika) is based on the life of the legenday black woman whom director Carlos Diegues calls 'Brazil's Joan of Arc. Sort of.' A diamond rush in the 1700's transformed Brazil's interior into a place of fabulous wealth and excess. In this unrestrained atmosphere, the slave Xica uses her iron will and her unique sexual talent to seduce her way into becoming the unofficial Empress of Brazil, lording it over her former masters and gleefully emptying the crown's treasury. A festive exercise in Brazilian Baroque, XICA is dominated by the lean, fiery Zeze Motta, described by her directer as 'a combination of Eartha Kitt and Carmen Miranda.'" (from the video jacket)
Xochimiclo: Floating Gardens of Mexico
Educational Video. 1 VHS cassette.
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Yo, la peor de todas (I, the Worst of All)
Maria Luisa Bemberg. 1 VHS cassette (107 mins.): color. Spanish with English subtitles, Feature film. Argentina, 1995.
"Assumpta Serna stars as the brilliant and beautiful poet Sister Juana Ines de la Cruz in this magnificent portrayal of 17th Century Mexico. In order to pursue her love of writing, Juana enters the convent and gains international renown. When the Inquisition comes, the local Vicereine becomes Juana's protectress and erotic muse, and soon begins a thrilling romance of startling passion and intensity."
NOTE: ** indicates does not circulate.
