Not another teen movie.

Not another teen movie (Joel Gallen, 2001) is a film that needs a very specific spectator. It could be a teenager or adult who had watched the up-to-date American movies at the time as American Beauty and the most popular teen-pics as Grease specially the 90s, as She's all that, 10 things I hate about you , Never been kissed or American Pie and also Tv series as Popular. 

 Reference to American Pie.

 Very similar to Popular.

These are only the ones I have recognised. I am 19 and Spanish, so I am sure there are a lot of references to other teen films I have not watched. 

This is the reason why I think this is a film you can enjoy only if you have a very specific cultural background. If not, the viewer will understand nothing, and will laugh never. What I like of the movie is that it is kind of ironic and criticizes the stale teenpics. 

If you have watched some American movies and want to have fun for an hour and a half, I recommend you Not another teen movie. Not just like one teen movie, but, in some way, like 10 of them.

Beginners

Beginners (Mike Mills, 2010). Why an elderly man who suffers from cancer, his 38-years old son and a 30ish actress are beginners? Are not they supposed to be amateurs in life by now?


Hal Fields (Christopher Plummer) is an elderly man who suffers from cancer. He's gay but he has declared his sexuality just some months ago. 

The narration is very interesting. It takes place in 3 different moments. Hal's childhood, the time when his father knew he had cancer and the actual time. It is curious how Hal sees his world, he expresses it through art, painting.

Like Crazy

Like Crazy (Drake Doremus, 2011) remains me to Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance, 2010) in the sense that it tries to convey the reality of a normal relation, avoiding to portray an idealised love. The narration is done through the character's eyes.

It tries to show us how the relation between Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Anna (Felicity Jones) grows up. It is not a normal romantic comedy (They meet, they split up, they make it up) but a real story based in the writer's personal experiences.


Love, real love, is different to the one that normally appears in films. It is not only being happy. It is also being jealous, being afraid, having doubts, getting angry with him/her, missing, forgiving.. It is a lot of things, it is not always easy.

It is because of that I love the ending. In real life there are no easy endings either.

Almost famous

The most interesting aspect of Almost famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000) is without any doubt, its soundtrack. The story takes place in the 70s in USA. The Who, Iggy Pop, Deep Purple.. all those bands can be listened in the film.

With regard to the figure of the narrator, it is interesting seeing how his vision of that world changes. The protagonist, William (Patrick Fugit) is just a kid when the film starts. He has totally idealised the rock&roll world. As he grows up he recognises his idols as normal people with their faults and fears. This is disappointing for him, but who is not disappointed as we grow up?

De tu ventana a la mía

De tu ventana a la mía is a beautiful film. Its mise-en-scène, its locations (the Pyrenees), costumes.. everything is delicate, detailed.

The thing I liked the most is the elements in mise-en-scène that connect the three differents times in narration. These 3 different times tell the spectator the story of 3 women who have a lot in common even if they are not really connected (they are not family or friends). They have beautiful dreams in difficult times. As we can see, their dreams do not came true. They feel disappointed and lost, but they continue with their lifes, since they are brave. These elements that connect the narration (the lost wool ball, the cut in their finger..) relate the 3 women and let us know that in some way, they represent the same: Someone who never gives up.

There is an interesting detail: The ages of the 3 protagonist. They are related to the time they live. The young one (about 18) lives in the 10s. The middle one ( about 24) lives in the times of the Spanish Civil War and the older one lives in the Spain of the dictatorship of Franco. 

De tu ventana a la mía  may seem pretencious. It is, but I do not think that is something to care about. It is a good film that I am sure you will enjoy.