Foreign Films: Chile, Portugal

I thought I would mention a couple of films I rented last week worth recommending. April Captains (Capitães De Abril), a slice-of-life film set during a coup by a group of Portuguese army captains in 1974. Featuring a European star-studded cast with Italian Stefano Accorsi and French-raised, Portuguese-born Maria de Madeiros, Spaniard Fele Martínez, and a Portuguese actor I know best for playing evil guys in American action films. Not a war film but a character-driven, simple and elegant piece.

The other is a sexy Chilean thinker called In Bed (En La Cama). Easy to identify with the characters who hook up for a one-night stand only to slowly learn more about each other, perhaps more than they wanted. A nice combination of Wild Orchid-like sex (without slow-mo) and vulnerability.

Since I’ve watched so many foreign films already, I’m running out. A new trick is to purposely see films that are poorly-rated. This has been working out for me as long as the synopsis catches my interest.