A very good Uruguayan Film: El Baño del Papa Written and directed by César Charlone and Enrique FernándezEnglish name: The Pope's Toilet. No, you are not reading wrong, that is the correct translation. The movie follows one man who smuggles goods from Brazil for a living. There are rumors that thousands of people are going to visit Melo, his hometown, because the Pope is planning a visit. He comes up with the brillant idea to build a private toilet to accomodate the visitors who are expected to arrive to the town, and to charge them to use it. Will he succeed? Will he be able to pull his family out of poverty?
It was a great movie. I would classify it as a low-budget drama with the classic independent foreign film feel. I liked it just about as much as I liked Slumdog Millionaire (and I really liked Slumdog Millionaire). The film was showcased at MoMA (New York City's Museum of Modern Art) last week, so the critics liked it too. There's a lot of imagery, symbolism, social commentary, and artistic development. It's one of those "make you think" types of movies that I could chatter about for hours.
If you watch it, we can discuss. Poverty? Religion? Capitalism? Relationships? Corruption? Morality? Greed? Hope? Media? Globalization? Sacred vs. Profane? This one's got it all.
hello, i born in Melo and i living there when the pope visit us, the most fact of that movie was true. I tell you something, i cannot watch the end of the movie, only a just bite, coz for me the movie was very very really and very very sad.
ReplyDeleteI know! the ending was soooo sad. I may have had a few tears streaming down my face--but a good movie nonetheless.
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