Leo's Room-Award Winning Film from Uruguay

A man struggles with his identity, his sexuality and his depression in this drama from Uruguay. Twenty-something Leo (Martin Rodriguez) sinks into a deep funk after his girlfriend leaves him, disappointed with his frequent bouts of impotence. Leo cuts himself off from the world and sublets a room from stoner Felipe (Rafael Soliwoda); Leo locks himself into his room and spends his days on the internet, frequently looking at gay dating sites. Leo meets Seba (Gerardo Begerez) and the two seem to hit it off; most of his friends and family suspected Leo was gay, and they offer support and encouragement, including his mother (Mirella Pascual). But Leo seems loathe to commit to anything, including his sexuality, and Seba becomes frustrated with Leo's inability to be open about their relationship. One day, Leo unexpectedly crosses paths with Caro (Cecilia Cosero), whom he dated when they were in grade school; she's fallen into a deep depression after a family crisis, and he's able to open his heart to her as a fellow lost soul. But in time Caro grows tired of Leo's eagerness to wallow in their shared depression, and with Seba at the end of his patience with their relationship, Leo realizes he has to make some decisions. El Cuarto de Leo (aka Leo's Room) was the first feature film from writer and director Enrique Buchichio.

Paraiso Travel

A young seductive woman named Reina, living in Medellin, Colombia, becomes infatuated with finding fortune in New York City. A young man named Marlon desperately falls in love with this rebellious teen. Entangled in her web of fantasies, Marlon has no other choice but to blindly follow her imposing lead. Driven by their will to reach their dreamland, the two embark on the brutal exodus of the Latin-American immigrants who cross illegally through Mexico. This adventure in narrated by Marlon on his voyage to find his love, his heroine, his Reina. The couple got separated upon arrival in New York and Marlon fueled only by the power of love has been through hell and back trying to find her.

No Ordinary Love

Here's one review for your information..

The movie is actually several movies rolled into one, with each story only receiving a portion of the total film. Each story suffers because of this intercutting, but at the same time you are drawn into each of the stories because of how they interrelate the characters with one another. This is very much the daytime drama (soap opera) approach, and as long as you are comfortable with the format, you should enjoy the film.

As an independent film, the acting and production values are not on par with big budget films, but there were no glaring issues that kept me from enjoying the movie (though the nebby mother's bad wig did stand out).

The best plot of the whole film was the burgeoning romance between the young college student and the gangbanger neighbor. It was touching and romantic, but also revealed the problems that some people face as they start to experiment.

All told though, this is a film that people will either really love or really hate. I for one loved it.

The Red Violin

The film tells the story of a perfect violin known as the "Red Violin." At the film's beginning, the violin is being auctioned in Canada. As the bidding starts, the violin's history is revealed, showing that the violin has been in existence for over 300 years, having been made in 1681.

Its history is told in five stories set in different locations around the world—Cremona, Vienna, Oxford, Shanghai, and Montreal. These stories are told in chronological order except for the Cremona and Montreal stories, which are intersected into the others with each change of location and as the tarot reading and the auction develop. The 1997 auction is used as a framing device for the first four stories in the film. After the fourth story, we see the complicated resolution to the auction sequence with no further cutaways to the other four stories.

To its owners, the violin causes anger, betrayal, love, and sacrifice. In each setting the dialogue is spoken in the appropriate language. Also, a variation of the movie's signature violin solo by composer John Corigliano is played at least once in the period it is played, with the exception of Cremona, where the solo is being hummed by Anna herself. Throughout the movie, the solos are played by noted violinist Joshua Bell.

The movie starts with Charles Morritz (Jackson) arriving at Duval's auction house to witness the sale of the Red Violin. Throughout the movie, we see the various parties representing the different eras as seen in the film vying for the Red Violin. When the scene does finally shift to Montreal, we see a flashback of the events leading up to the auction.

North Sea Texas

Pim lives in a run-down house in a dead-end street somewhere at the Belgian coast, together with his mother Yvette Bulteel (better known as Yvette Mimosa, local accordion starlet). Life here smells of cold French fries, cheap cigarettes, vermouth and stale beer. Mother Yvette uses her fat Etienne with his lousy grey Fiat as a driver for the nights she has to “perform”.

As a kid Pim dreams of a better life, imagining princesses and beauty queens. But when Pim turns 16 he dreams of Gino, the boy next door, instead. Ever since they were children there has been this tension between them. Now Gino is Pim’s motorcycling hero. Cold mockery, little humiliations and tiny bits of hope make up Pim’s life. No wonder he sometimes flees to his dream world.

Then one day Yvette leaves with young, hunky Zoltan, the boy from the fair. When Yvette leaves her son alone in the empty house, Pim seizes the opportunity and his dreams become half-truths. Pim moves to the neighbours’ house to live with Marcella, his “second mum”. And with Sabrina, Gino’s sister, who circles longingly around Pim. He even sleeps in Gino’s bed! But Gino’s off romancing and living with a girl from across the border. Dreams never come true. Or do they? On a rainy day Gino returns.

Passion of the Priest-Monk Dawson

Monk Dawson is a film that was released in 1998, directed and produced by Tom Waller and starring John Michie, Benedict Taylor, Martin Kemp, Rhona Mitra and Paula Hamilton. It was based on the novel of the same name written by Piers Paul Read.

The film is about Eddie Dawson, a monk who has led a sheltered existence at a Benedictine monastery, but when he is expelled from his order he has to learn to deal with the harsh realities of everyday life in 1970s London, finding work as a journalist. He falls in love with a beautiful widow then discovers she has been having an affair with his best friend.

Eddie later marries a young girl who he first met whilst a priest in the parish, however he decides to return to live as a monk on a remote island.

Despite being well received by film critics, the lack of a well-known cast led to a short box office run in the United Kingdom, and a straight to video release for the United States market. The film was chosen as the closer for the Leeds International Film Festival, and in 1999 it was also nominated for Best Film at the UK Creative Freedom Awards.

In Canada and the United States the film was re-released in 2004 as Passion of the Priest.