Movie: Mal Dia Para Pescar

I went to see the Uruaguayan film, Mal Dia Para Pescar (Bad Day to Go Fishing), by director, Alvaro Brechner, at the movie theater this weekend. The film earns a mixed review from me. On the one hand there were a few funny lines, artistic shots, and references to Uruguayan culture, but for the most part it just wasn't my type of movie.


It is the story of an aging boxer and his manager trying to run a gambit to make money. They come to a certain town in Latin America and their plan hits a bump in the road.

It's not that I hated the movie or that I loved it either. The profuse amount of chain smoking and booze-drinking started to pester me about three-fourths of the way through though. The movie's premise (fighting) didn't make it any better either--more of guy movie perhaps? If the characters had been developed better I may have been won over. As is, I could take it or leave it. The Pope's Toilet is still the best Uruguayan film I've seen.

The Pope's Toilet

A very good Uruguayan Film: El Baño del Papa Written and directed by César Charlone and Enrique Fernández

English 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.