Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union, brings out the most recent regional statistics on GDP per inhabitant in the EU25 (the 25 member states of the European Union), expressed in terms of purchasing power standards (PPS).
In 2003, GDP per inhabitant ranged from 33% of the average (of the 25 EU countries), in Lubelskie (Poland) to 278% in Inner London (UK). There is still plenty of work for the EU's regional and cohesion policies to reduce disparities within the Union...
One region in seven above 125% of the EU average...
The three leading regions in the ranking of regional GDP per inhabitant in 2003 were Inner London in the United Kingdom (278% of the average), Bruxelles-Capitale in Belgium (238%) and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (234%). Among the 37 regions exceeding the 125% level, seven were in Germany, six each in Italy and the United Kingdom, five in the Netherlands, three in Austria, two each in Belgium and Finland, one region each in the Czech Republic, Spain, France, Ireland and Sweden, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The only region in this group amongst the new Member States was Praha in the Czech Republic (138%).
It should be noted, however, that in some regions the GDP per inhabitant figures can be significantly influenced by commuter flows (as is the case of Inner London or Brussels). Net commuter inflows in these regions push up production to a level that could not be achieved by the resident active population on its own. The result is that GDP per inhabitant can therefore be overestimated in these regions and underestimated in regions with commuter outflows.
…and one in four below 75%
The six last regions in the ranking were all in Poland: Lubelskie and Podkarpackie (both 33% of the average), Podlaskie (36%), Świętokrzyskie, Warmińsko-Mazurskie and Opolskie (all 37%). Among the 60 regions below the 75% level, sixteen were in Poland, seven in the Czech Republic, six in Hungary, five each in Greece and Italy, four each in Germany, France (all overseas departments) and Portugal, three in Slovakia, two regions in Spain, and Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta. The lowest ranked region amongst the old Member States was Norte in Portugal (57%).
In the European Region, cohesion policies (The ERDF - European Regional Development Fund, and the Cohesion Fund), which account for around one third of the Union's budget, play a key role in the effort of development of the lowest ranked regions, in reducing development disparities by promoting policies that favour economic growth, job creation and improve the competitiveness of those regions. In particular regions with a GDP per head lower than 75% of the Union's average (in PPS).
22 mai 2006
ARTS: encore la danse contemporaine à Bruxelles
Le festival initialement nommé Danse à la Balsa s'est associé en 2004 au théâtre Marni et s’associe cette année à Charleroi/Danses pour devenir Danse Balsa Marni & Raffinerie. Ensemble ils proposent des spectacles de danse contemporaine du 1er au 24 juin au Théâtre de la Balsamine, au Théâtre Marni, à la Raffinerie ainsi qu’à l’Espace Senghor. Il y a des choréographies qui semblent intéressantes et d'entre elles je conseille "Drink your wine in my glass", choreographée par l'espagnol Fernando Martín (un copain) qui danse en duo avec Sarah Piccinelli – les 14, 15, 16 juin à 19h30 au Théâtre Marni.
Pour des renseignements, informations et réservations: http://www.balsamine.be/danseX_infos.php
Infos/
Théâtre de la Balsamine
1 avenue Félix Marchal / 1030 Bruxelles
02 735 64 68
balsamine@skynet.be / www.balsamine.be
Charleroi/Danses
Raffinerie / 21 rue de Manchester / 1080 Bruxelles
071 20 56 40
www.charleroi-danses.be
Théâtre Marni
25 rue de Vergnies / 1050 Bruxelles
02 639 09 80 82
www.theatremarni.com / info@theatremarni.com
Pour des renseignements, informations et réservations: http://www.balsamine.be/danseX_infos.php
Infos/
Théâtre de la Balsamine
1 avenue Félix Marchal / 1030 Bruxelles
02 735 64 68
balsamine@skynet.be / www.balsamine.be
Charleroi/Danses
Raffinerie / 21 rue de Manchester / 1080 Bruxelles
071 20 56 40
www.charleroi-danses.be
Théâtre Marni
25 rue de Vergnies / 1050 Bruxelles
02 639 09 80 82
www.theatremarni.com / info@theatremarni.com
18 mai 2006
Arts: Rosas @ La Monnaie
Il est difficile de choisir quoi faire les soirées du mois de Mai à Bruxelles. A part les sorties cinémas - et cette semaine il y au moins "Volver" de Almodovar (voir article en post antérieur) et "DaVinci Code" - il y a plein d'activités, ce qui aide au moins à compenser le temps qui n'est pas vraiment à la hauteur... Non seulement il y a le Kunsten festival des Arts, le Jazz Marathon, il y a aussi , vendredi soir @ Ancienne Belgique, CIBELLE, chanteuse brésilienne à l'inspiration bossa-nova-pop-electro-folk... soit une bossa au gout du jour... Et puis il y a ROSAS, le groupe de Anne Teresa de Keersmaker, qui présente sa création 2006 "D'un soir un jour" à La Monnaie, où la compagnie est résidente pour la dernière année (spectacle du 17 au 21 mai). Mais le mois de mai ne s'arrêtera pas là, il y aura plein d'autres manifestations, qui se prolongent en juin (par exemple avec le festival CouleurCafé). Pour ma part, je compte ne pas rater Rosas.
"Evénement exceptionnel, George Benjamin compose pour Rosas une vaste pièce musicale - Dance Figures - qui sera créée par l'orchestre symphonique de la Monnaie sous la baguette de Kazushi Ono conjointement avec la compagnie d'Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Benjamin se déploie dans une soirée de danse que Debussy ouvre et referme. Entre eux soufflent les vents véhéments de Stravinsky. Trois compositeurs et six symphonies pour éveiller le mouvement."
17 mai 2006
Brussels Jazz Marathon
This weekend will see the 11th Edition of the Brussels Jazz Marathon make the capital of Europe swing - 19 -20 -21 May. It will be a huge party in the main squares, in hotels, cafés and clubs of Brussels with 400 musicians performing in more than 50 venues. The reputation and quality of belgian jazz are well known and the marathon is not too jazz-fundamentalist. So get ready to swing, chill out & groove in the streets, weather allowing... Check the programme here: www.brusselsjazzmarathon.be
Arts in Brussels: Kunsten Festival des Arts
The Kunsten FESTIVAL des Arts was founded by its director Frie Leysen in 1994, with its first edition. This year it will present music, theatre, dance and other art performances in Brussels between 4 and 27 May.
The conviction that created the KunstenFESTIVALdesArts and is still cultivated by it today is that each one of the realities is complex and cannot be compartmentalised without being damaged. The international festival of contemporary living arts is not built around a pre-established theme or a single artistic discipline, and even less so around a single community, region or country. Its programme brings to light the artistic personalities tackling the complex features of our contemporary societies, and the beauty with which they freely shape current forms to make us hear what they have to say about the present day - without complicating what is simple or simplifying what is complicated.
This is the KunstenFESTIVALdesArts' ninth encounter with the public. It is still a new festival. It asserts the radical choice of not conforming to the tacit borders that often divide up cultural life and our own existences. In Brussels, the symbolic capital of Belgium and of Europe, it offers: - the contemporary work of artists from outside Europe in order to put into perspective the Eurocentric cultural vision with which we are saturated, in spite of ourselves - a high quality selection of current projects by European artists who all too rarely have the opportunity of being discovered by Belgian audiences - the presentation of Belgian artists in an international context - an all too rare platform of encounter for French-speaking and Dutch-speaking artists and audiences in Brussels - dialogue between various contrasting generations, aesthetics and writing, motivated here as elsewhere by the same exacting concern of bearing witness to the present day - a free selection of artistic disciplines - musical theatre, theatre, performance, visual arts and film - that are often blended together to enable the most appropriate language for each contemporary vision to flourish here. Having an international outlook and complementing the existing artistic offerings in Belgium, the KunstenFESTIVALdesArts endeavours to play what it considers to be an essential role of 'bringing together' and 'confrontation'.
The announced failure of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC),
Last week the United Nations held elections to the newly created United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), successor to the failed UN Commission on Human Rights.
The 53 members elected (for a period of 2 years plus one) include Algeria, China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia and Saudi Arabia all of which have excellent human rights records as is widely known. These countries were previously key players in undermining the effectiveness of the now-defunct “Commission on Human Rights”, and so it is to expect that they will try to play the same role on the new Council, steering it away from confronting UN members with their human rights abuses.
Ironically, just before the election, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom issued its 2006 ANNUAL REPORT, which presents the immaculate records of China, Cuba, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia. Here some excerpts about the records of those countries as to religious freedom [source: newsbyus.com]
Cuba: “Religious belief and practice continue to be tightly controlled in Cuba, where the government rarely permits the construction of new places of worship. A new law on religion, adopted last year and meant to ‘legalize’ certain religious activity, actually reinforces the government’s efforts to maintain control over religious practice. Reports indicate that at least three Protestant house churches have been closed, confiscated, and/or demolished since the new law went into effect. In the past year, both registered and unregistered religious groups continued to experience varying degrees of official interference, harassment, and repression.” [Source: ANNUAL REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM; May 2006, p. 91.]
China: “Every religious community in China is subject to serious restrictions, state control, and repression. The most severe religious freedom abuses are directed against Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, Roman Catholics, house church and unregistered Protestants, and spiritual groups such as the Falun Gong – abuses involving imprisonment, torture, and other forms of ill treatment. Though the Chinese government issued a new Ordinance on Religion in March 2005, its provisions, in fact, restrict rather than protect religious freedom, offering Party Leaders more extensive control over all religious groups and their activities.” [ANNUAL REPORT; p. 83]
Pakistan: “…a number of the country’s laws, including legislation restricting the Ahmadi community and laws against blasphemy, frequently result in imprisonment on account of religion or belief and/or vigilante violence against the accused. These religious freedom concerns persist amid the wider problem of the lack of democracy in Pakistan, an obstacle the current government has done little to address. …Given the importance of Pakistan in the U.S. government’s efforts against terrorism, the failure of the Pakistani government to implement genuine religious freedom reforms is a cause for serious concern.” [ANNUAL REPORT; p. 89]
The Russian Federation: “Since the [United States] Commission [On International Religious Freedom] expressed strong concern in its May 2003 report that the Russian government was retreating from democratic reform and endangering significant gains on human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, it has become increasingly clear that this is a deliberate policy of the Russian government. … The country’s progress toward the rule of law and protection of religious freedom and other human rights is now in peril.” [ANNUAL REPORT, 159.]
Saudi Arabia: “The repressive Saudi government continues to engage in an array of severe violations of human rights as part of its repression of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief. Abuses include: torture and cruel and degrading treatment or punishment imposed by judicial and administrative authorities; prolonged detention without charges and often incommunicado; and blatant denials of the right to liberty and security of the person, including coercive measures aimed at women…” [ANNUAL REPORT, 190.]
The 53 members elected (for a period of 2 years plus one) include Algeria, China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia and Saudi Arabia all of which have excellent human rights records as is widely known. These countries were previously key players in undermining the effectiveness of the now-defunct “Commission on Human Rights”, and so it is to expect that they will try to play the same role on the new Council, steering it away from confronting UN members with their human rights abuses.
Ironically, just before the election, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom issued its 2006 ANNUAL REPORT, which presents the immaculate records of China, Cuba, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia. Here some excerpts about the records of those countries as to religious freedom [source: newsbyus.com]
Cuba: “Religious belief and practice continue to be tightly controlled in Cuba, where the government rarely permits the construction of new places of worship. A new law on religion, adopted last year and meant to ‘legalize’ certain religious activity, actually reinforces the government’s efforts to maintain control over religious practice. Reports indicate that at least three Protestant house churches have been closed, confiscated, and/or demolished since the new law went into effect. In the past year, both registered and unregistered religious groups continued to experience varying degrees of official interference, harassment, and repression.” [Source: ANNUAL REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM; May 2006, p. 91.]
China: “Every religious community in China is subject to serious restrictions, state control, and repression. The most severe religious freedom abuses are directed against Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, Roman Catholics, house church and unregistered Protestants, and spiritual groups such as the Falun Gong – abuses involving imprisonment, torture, and other forms of ill treatment. Though the Chinese government issued a new Ordinance on Religion in March 2005, its provisions, in fact, restrict rather than protect religious freedom, offering Party Leaders more extensive control over all religious groups and their activities.” [ANNUAL REPORT; p. 83]
Pakistan: “…a number of the country’s laws, including legislation restricting the Ahmadi community and laws against blasphemy, frequently result in imprisonment on account of religion or belief and/or vigilante violence against the accused. These religious freedom concerns persist amid the wider problem of the lack of democracy in Pakistan, an obstacle the current government has done little to address. …Given the importance of Pakistan in the U.S. government’s efforts against terrorism, the failure of the Pakistani government to implement genuine religious freedom reforms is a cause for serious concern.” [ANNUAL REPORT; p. 89]
The Russian Federation: “Since the [United States] Commission [On International Religious Freedom] expressed strong concern in its May 2003 report that the Russian government was retreating from democratic reform and endangering significant gains on human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, it has become increasingly clear that this is a deliberate policy of the Russian government. … The country’s progress toward the rule of law and protection of religious freedom and other human rights is now in peril.” [ANNUAL REPORT, 159.]
Saudi Arabia: “The repressive Saudi government continues to engage in an array of severe violations of human rights as part of its repression of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief. Abuses include: torture and cruel and degrading treatment or punishment imposed by judicial and administrative authorities; prolonged detention without charges and often incommunicado; and blatant denials of the right to liberty and security of the person, including coercive measures aimed at women…” [ANNUAL REPORT, 190.]
16 mai 2006
17 May is the International Day Against Homophobia
On 17 May 1990, the General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from their list of mental disorders. The fight for the recognition of equal rights for lesbian gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people did not end there though.
Today around 80 countries in the world still criminalize homosexuality and condemn consensual same sex acts with imprisonment, of these 9 (Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen) still have the death penalty. And Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were elected last week as members of the recently created United Nations "Human Rights Commission"!!! (along with other human rights expert "champions" like Algeria, China, Cuba and Russia). Discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation and gender identity is still not recognized formally by the member states of the United Nations (even though human rights mechanisms such as the Human Rights Committee have repeatedly condemned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity). ILGA has been fighting against discrimination and for the recognition of equal rights of LGBT persons since its creation in 1978. ILGA is strongly committed to celebrating this second International Day Against Homophobia, launched one year ago by the International Day Against Homophobia Committee (IDAHO).
ILGA has created a 30-second video to celebrate this date. See it at ILGA's website.
In every country of the world, please pass the message: 17 May is the International Day Against Homophobia, it is of homophobia that you should be fearful, not homos!
Today around 80 countries in the world still criminalize homosexuality and condemn consensual same sex acts with imprisonment, of these 9 (Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen) still have the death penalty. And Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were elected last week as members of the recently created United Nations "Human Rights Commission"!!! (along with other human rights expert "champions" like Algeria, China, Cuba and Russia). Discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation and gender identity is still not recognized formally by the member states of the United Nations (even though human rights mechanisms such as the Human Rights Committee have repeatedly condemned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity). ILGA has been fighting against discrimination and for the recognition of equal rights of LGBT persons since its creation in 1978. ILGA is strongly committed to celebrating this second International Day Against Homophobia, launched one year ago by the International Day Against Homophobia Committee (IDAHO).
ILGA has created a 30-second video to celebrate this date. See it at ILGA's website.
In every country of the world, please pass the message: 17 May is the International Day Against Homophobia, it is of homophobia that you should be fearful, not homos!
23 avril 2006
Cinema & Citizenship: "Shooting Dogs" on the Rwandan genocide
“Shooting Dogs” is a film dealing with the Rwandan genocide of 1994. It was shot in Rwanda, directed by Michael Caton-Jones and starring British actors John Hurt and Hugh Dancy, playing a Catholic priest and a teacher respectively, caught up in the genocide. The film portrays the incidents which took place during six days in April 1994 at Kigali‘s Ecole Technique Officielle, run by priests and where Belgian U.N. troops were located. The film is based on real events and was filmed at the actual location where the story took place, involving a number of genocide survivors as its cast & crew members.
When tension between Tutsis and Hutu escalated into genocide, the school became a safe haven for Europeans and Tutsis, under the protectorate of the UN. At least 2,500 Tutsis took refuge there during the initial days of the genocide. But when belgian UN soldiers pulled out, abandoning the Rwandans to their fate, Hutu militias quickly overran the school and within hours massacred nearly all the men, women and children.
The second film dealing with the Rwandan genocide after “Hotel Rwanda”, "Shooting Dogs" is arguably more powerful and harder to watch than the Oscar-nominated “Hotel Rwanda”. John Hurt in particular has a great performance, as well as Hugh Dancy.
This committed film plays an important role in remembering Rwanda’s tragedy and in questioning the West's role in Africa, which is as vital for the future as understanding the past. The film provides a good example of the reluctance of western governments to be involved in conflicts that have no material impact on them as well as of the hypocrisy behind the action of western powers. It also shows the incompetence, weakness and inefficacity of the UN to deal with world conflicts. The question is: how can those people who oversaw this tragedy and took the wrong decisions sleep nowadays?
Notes on the Rwandan Genocide from wikipedia:
The Rwandan Genocide was the slaughter of an estimated 937,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus, mostly carried out by two extremist Hutu militia groups, the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi, during a period of 100 days from April 6th through mid-July 1994.
For many, the Rwandan Genocide stands out as historically significant, not only because of the sheer number of people that were murdered in such a short period of time, but also because of the way many Western countries responded to the atrocities. Despite intelligence provided before the killing began, and international news media coverage reflecting the true scale of violence as the genocide unfolded, virtually all first-world countries declined to intervene.
The United Nations refused to authorize its peacekeeping operation in Rwanda at the time to take action to bring the killing to a halt. Despite numerous pre- and present-conflict warnings by Canadian Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire the UN peacekeepers on the ground were forbidden from engaging the militias or even discharging their weapons, unless fired upon. In the weeks prior to the attacks the UN ignored reports of Hutu militias amassing weapons and rejected plans for a pre-emptive interdiction.
The UN and member states appeared largely detached from the realities on the ground. In the midst of the crisis, Dallaire was instructed to have UNAMIR focus only on evacuating foreign nationals from Rwanda, and the change in orders even led Belgian peacekeepers to abandon a technical school filled with 2,000 refugees, while Hutu militants waited outside, drinking beer and chanting "Hutu Power." After the Belgians left, the militants entered the school and massacred those inside, including hundreds of children. Four days later the Security Council voted to reduce UNAMIR down to 260 men. But finally, on April 29, 1994, the UN conceded that "acts of genocide may have been committed." By that time, the Red Cross estimated that 500,000 Rwandans had been killed.
This failure to act became the focus of bitter recriminations towards individual policymakers specifically, such as Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh, (who was the administrative head of UNAMIR and former Cameroonian foreign minister), as well as the United Nations and countries such as France and the United States more generally and President Clinton specifically. Clinton was kept informed on a daily basis by his closest advisors and by the U.S. Embassy of Rwanda. President Clinton has said "It’s the biggest regret of my administration". He has visited Rwanda several times since leaving office. The genocide was brought to an end only when the Tutsi-dominated expatriate rebel movement known as the Rwandese Patriotic Front, led by Paul Kagame, overthrew the Hutu government and seized power. Trying to escape accountability, hundreds of thousands Hutu "genocidaires" and their accomplices fled into eastern Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The violence and its memory continue to affect the country and the region. Both the First and Second Congo Wars trace their origins to the genocide, and it continues to be a reference point for the Burundian Civil War.
21 avril 2006
Citoyenneté: De l'Argentine aux Nations Unies
Pedro Anibal Paradiso Sottile et Cesar Cigliutti, membres de l’ILGA et de la CHA (Comunidad Homosexual Argentina) ont donné un discours sur l’orientation sexuelle et l’identité de genre aux Nations Unies. Pour eux, aucune religion fondamentaliste, aucune doctrine, aucune politique ne peut justifier la honte de l’inégalité et des injustices dont souffrent les personnes à cause de leur orientation sexuelle et de leur identité de genre.
[En]
For Pedro Anibal Paradiso Sottile and Cesar Cigliutti, members of ILGA and of the CHA (Comunidad Homosexual Argentina), who talked to the United Nations on sexual orientation, no fundamentalist religion, no doctrines, no policy can justify the shame of inequality and of injustice, which persons suffer due to their sexual orientation and their sexual identity.
[Pt]
Para Pedro Anibal Paradiso Sottile e Cesar Cigliutti, membros da ILGA e da CHA (Comunidad Homosexual Argentina), que falaram às Nações Unidas sobre orientação sexual e identidade sexual, nenhuma religião fundamentalista, nenhuma doutrina, nenhuma política podem justificar a vergonha da desigualdade e as injustiças que sofrem as pessoas devido à sua orientação e/ou identidade sexual.
Read more / lisez encore / leia mais: ILGA website
[En]
For Pedro Anibal Paradiso Sottile and Cesar Cigliutti, members of ILGA and of the CHA (Comunidad Homosexual Argentina), who talked to the United Nations on sexual orientation, no fundamentalist religion, no doctrines, no policy can justify the shame of inequality and of injustice, which persons suffer due to their sexual orientation and their sexual identity.
[Pt]
Para Pedro Anibal Paradiso Sottile e Cesar Cigliutti, membros da ILGA e da CHA (Comunidad Homosexual Argentina), que falaram às Nações Unidas sobre orientação sexual e identidade sexual, nenhuma religião fundamentalista, nenhuma doutrina, nenhuma política podem justificar a vergonha da desigualdade e as injustiças que sofrem as pessoas devido à sua orientação e/ou identidade sexual.
Read more / lisez encore / leia mais: ILGA website
Belgique : L'adoption homo définitivement adoptée
L'assemblée plénière du Sénat a approuvé par 34 voix pour, 33 contre et 2 abstentions le projet de loi venant de la Chambre permettant l'adoption par des personnes de même sexe. Le texte n'a pas été amendé. Lire encore dans Le Soir.
(D'après Belga)
[Pt]
A adpopção por homossexuais definitivamente aprovada na Bélgica.
O Senado belga aprovou ontem, pour 34 votos a favor e 33 contra, o projecto de lei do Parlamento que permite a adopção de crianças por casais do mesmo sexo. O texto não foi modificado pelo Senado. Ler mais no jornal Le Soir.
[En]
Belgium has finally approved adoption by homossexuals. The belgian senate has approved yesterday, with 34 votes in favour against 33, the project of law made by the Parliament, which allows adoption by homossexual couples. It was adopted without any amendments. Read more in the paper Le Soir.
(D'après Belga)
[Pt]
A adpopção por homossexuais definitivamente aprovada na Bélgica.
O Senado belga aprovou ontem, pour 34 votos a favor e 33 contra, o projecto de lei do Parlamento que permite a adopção de crianças por casais do mesmo sexo. O texto não foi modificado pelo Senado. Ler mais no jornal Le Soir.
[En]
Belgium has finally approved adoption by homossexuals. The belgian senate has approved yesterday, with 34 votes in favour against 33, the project of law made by the Parliament, which allows adoption by homossexual couples. It was adopted without any amendments. Read more in the paper Le Soir.
20 avril 2006
cinema: Indie Lisboa Festival
Inicia-se hoje a 3ª edição do IndieLisboa – Festival Internacional de Cinema Independente de Lisboa, que, durante dez dias, permitirá ver 300 filmes entre curtas e longas metragens, nas salas do Fórum Lisboa e dos cinemas King e Londres. O filme “Me And You And Everyone We Know” (Eu e Tu e Toda a Gente Que Nós Conhecemos), de Miranda July é o filme da abertura oficial, filme excelente que aconselho vivamente. O festival conta ainda com filmes de François Ozon, Abel Ferrara, Werner Herzog e Dave McKean. E também com a presença do actor francês Melvil Poupaud (a não perder…) para apresentar “Le Temps qui reste”, o mais recente filme do realizador François Ozon, em antestreia no festival no dia 21 de Abril. Pela primeira vez, um cineasta português, Edgar Pêra, será objecto de uma retrospectiva. Mas, infelizmente, não vou poder ver nada disto...
Citizenship: Human Rights in China
Urging China to respect Human rights
The human rights association "Human Rights In China" - HRIC - has launched the internet site "Where's Hu now", for the occasion of the first visit to the US of China's president Hu Jintao. The site is available in english and chinese. It indicates the tour of Mr Hu as well as his meetings. It also proposes to send Emails and letters to important people such as Bill Gates or President George W. Bush, asking them not to forget the poor situation of Human rights in China.
The human rights situation in China is generally deteriorating and remains serious for human rights defenders, including journalists, workers, lawyers, petitioners, religious practitioners and health activists, and others who raise issues that the PRC government considers sensitive.The Chinese government continues to maintain tight restrictions on freedom of speech and press, as evidenced by the surge in detentions in late 2004. A recent campaign to target "public intellectuals" resulted in the censorship of individuals, publications and broadcasts, as well as Internet and other wireless technology. On April 12, 2006, HRIC submitted an open letter and a list of urgent detention cases in China to U.S. President Bush in advance of his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao. HRIC urges President Bush to raise issues of particular human rights concerns, especially the increasing economic disparities undermining social stability and peaceful and sustainable development, and censorship and crackdowns on freedom of expression and access to information. Alone in 2005, out of the total reported 2148 executions carried out in the world, 1770 were in China (94%), as informs Amnesty International.
The british newspaper Guardian also reported a serious breach of Human Rights involving the trade of executed prisoners' organs for transplants from China to the UK. According to the paper, the British Transplantation Society said that "an accumulating body of evidence suggests that the organs of executed prisoners are being removed for transplantation without the prior consent of either the prisoner or their family". Thousands of organs are thought to be involved in the lucrative trade, it said. Transplant centres, patients, and the Chinese authorities and judiciary could all be implicated in a breach of human rights.
About HRIC
Founded by Chinese scientists and scholars in March 1989, Human Rights in China (HRIC) is an international, Chinese, non-governmental organization with a mission to promote universally recognized human rights and advance the institutional protection of these rights in the People's Republic of China (China). HRIC's approach is a long-term process of engaging multiple international actors, including the media, governments, corporations, various United Nations bodies, and other multilateral organizations.
[French summary - résumé en français]
Inciter la Chine à respecter les droits de l'homme
L'association Human Rights In China, qui milite pour les droits de l'homme en Chine, a lancé le site Internet Où est Hu ?, à l'occasion de la première visite du président chinois Hu Jintao aux Etats-Unis. Accessible en anglais et chinois, le site présente une carte qui retrace le parcours et les rencontres diplomatiques de M. Hu. Il propose également aux visiteurs d'envoyer des e-mails à diverses personnalités telles que Bill Gates ou le président George W. Bush, pour les inciter à ne pas ignorer la question de la répression en Chine au profit de contrats financiers lucratifs.
The human rights association "Human Rights In China" - HRIC - has launched the internet site "Where's Hu now", for the occasion of the first visit to the US of China's president Hu Jintao. The site is available in english and chinese. It indicates the tour of Mr Hu as well as his meetings. It also proposes to send Emails and letters to important people such as Bill Gates or President George W. Bush, asking them not to forget the poor situation of Human rights in China.
The human rights situation in China is generally deteriorating and remains serious for human rights defenders, including journalists, workers, lawyers, petitioners, religious practitioners and health activists, and others who raise issues that the PRC government considers sensitive.The Chinese government continues to maintain tight restrictions on freedom of speech and press, as evidenced by the surge in detentions in late 2004. A recent campaign to target "public intellectuals" resulted in the censorship of individuals, publications and broadcasts, as well as Internet and other wireless technology. On April 12, 2006, HRIC submitted an open letter and a list of urgent detention cases in China to U.S. President Bush in advance of his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao. HRIC urges President Bush to raise issues of particular human rights concerns, especially the increasing economic disparities undermining social stability and peaceful and sustainable development, and censorship and crackdowns on freedom of expression and access to information. Alone in 2005, out of the total reported 2148 executions carried out in the world, 1770 were in China (94%), as informs Amnesty International.
The british newspaper Guardian also reported a serious breach of Human Rights involving the trade of executed prisoners' organs for transplants from China to the UK. According to the paper, the British Transplantation Society said that "an accumulating body of evidence suggests that the organs of executed prisoners are being removed for transplantation without the prior consent of either the prisoner or their family". Thousands of organs are thought to be involved in the lucrative trade, it said. Transplant centres, patients, and the Chinese authorities and judiciary could all be implicated in a breach of human rights.
About HRIC
Founded by Chinese scientists and scholars in March 1989, Human Rights in China (HRIC) is an international, Chinese, non-governmental organization with a mission to promote universally recognized human rights and advance the institutional protection of these rights in the People's Republic of China (China). HRIC's approach is a long-term process of engaging multiple international actors, including the media, governments, corporations, various United Nations bodies, and other multilateral organizations.
[French summary - résumé en français]
Inciter la Chine à respecter les droits de l'homme
L'association Human Rights In China, qui milite pour les droits de l'homme en Chine, a lancé le site Internet Où est Hu ?, à l'occasion de la première visite du président chinois Hu Jintao aux Etats-Unis. Accessible en anglais et chinois, le site présente une carte qui retrace le parcours et les rencontres diplomatiques de M. Hu. Il propose également aux visiteurs d'envoyer des e-mails à diverses personnalités telles que Bill Gates ou le président George W. Bush, pour les inciter à ne pas ignorer la question de la répression en Chine au profit de contrats financiers lucratifs.
19 avril 2006
Citizenship: Homage to the Jews killed 500 years ago in Lisbon
[english version]
Today the slaughter (pogrom) of Jews that took place in Lisbon in 1506 is remembered, slaughter which killed some four thousand Jews in the city of Lisbon. In homage to the victims, journalist Nuno Guerreiro Josué, in his site ruadajudiaria, proposed to symbolically remember the victims of the 19, 20 and 21 of April of 1506, today April,19, 2006, at 19:00, at S. Domingos sq. off Rossio, by burning 4,000 candles. The Jewish Community of Lisbon adhered to the initiative proposed by the blog. In this occasion the prayers of kadish and izkor will be said. The community does not appeal, however, that the Jews light candles, since the celebration of the Jewish Easter is finishing, during which people should prevent anything that may imply energy and work.
These events were related at the time by some historians such as Damião de Góis and Samuel Usque that left detailed stories of the bloody riots. Everything will have started in the Baixa of Lisboa (downtown), on 19 of April of 1506, a sunday, in the Church of S. Domingos, when somebody cried out to have seen the face of Christ to illuminate itself in the altar (although other versions exist). People in prayer claimed that to be a miracle. Apparently however a new Christian, (Jew converted by force) tried to explain that the light that came from the cross was only being illuminated by a sun ray. Those must have been his last words. Dragging the “heretic” to the street, the infuriated people will have beaten him up and his brother to death and dragged the bodies to Rossio, where they’d be burnt - where three decades later the Inquisition would be installed. These would only be the first ones of some 2 to 4 thousand Jews brutally murdered - Portuguese Jewish men, women and children. Initiated by the Dominican monks, the people who gathered marched to the Judiaria (Jewish neighbourhood), crying out "death to the Jews" and "heretics die". The majority of the killed would be dragged through the streets and burnt (some still living) in the S. Domingos sq. These events took place at a time of crisis in Portugal and in Lisbon, with the plague killing hundreds every day, with the famine and the drought. The royal court hat therefore been moved to Abrantes and King D. Manuel was not in Lisbon at the time. It will have taken him three days to control the riots and finish the slaughters, sending the troops to Lisbon to control the city. D. Manuel thought he would be able to keep the Jews in Portugal, by compelling them to become Christians by force - the so-called “new Christian". But this attempt to keep the Jews did not work and later they would be allowed to leave the country and the inquisition would come to Portugal.
The scenes of violence of those days, 500 years ago, are part of the Portuguese history, of that History that the Portuguese have decided to “forget”. This episode, as other unfortunate ones, is not part of the school books with which History is taught. Some other tragedies and unhappy moments are usually painted in a “light" version, such as the Inquisition, colonialism and slavery, which allows keeping the myth of the Portuguese as tolerant people. But History and memory do not forget (fortunately) and unlike some, I think that we and the future generations can and must learn with our History. We have also the duty, towards our ancestors, to remember History and to ensure that it does not fall in oblivion. So that certain episodes do not repeat ever again.
As Elie Wiesel wrote, quoted in http://ruadajudiaria.com, "I have as much fear of oblivion as of hatred or death (...). It is by remembering our common beginning that I come close to my fellow creatures, to all the human beings. It is for refusing to forget that their future is as important as mine. What would happen to the future of Humanity without memory?" – [Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize, in the preface to the book "From the Kingdom of Memory", Summit Books, New York, 1990].
The Publico newspaper is here also to be mentioned, having published in the last days some articles on this subject, thus contributing to remembering this tragedy. In the recent days the Christian world has celebrated Easter, religious celebrations were made, televisions and newspapers reported, published articles and transmitted films on a man who died two thousand years ago. To be correct, it would only be fair to remember those 4,000 people who were brutally and stupidly murdered five hundred years ago, in the name of that other man.
Today the slaughter (pogrom) of Jews that took place in Lisbon in 1506 is remembered, slaughter which killed some four thousand Jews in the city of Lisbon. In homage to the victims, journalist Nuno Guerreiro Josué, in his site ruadajudiaria, proposed to symbolically remember the victims of the 19, 20 and 21 of April of 1506, today April,19, 2006, at 19:00, at S. Domingos sq. off Rossio, by burning 4,000 candles. The Jewish Community of Lisbon adhered to the initiative proposed by the blog. In this occasion the prayers of kadish and izkor will be said. The community does not appeal, however, that the Jews light candles, since the celebration of the Jewish Easter is finishing, during which people should prevent anything that may imply energy and work.
These events were related at the time by some historians such as Damião de Góis and Samuel Usque that left detailed stories of the bloody riots. Everything will have started in the Baixa of Lisboa (downtown), on 19 of April of 1506, a sunday, in the Church of S. Domingos, when somebody cried out to have seen the face of Christ to illuminate itself in the altar (although other versions exist). People in prayer claimed that to be a miracle. Apparently however a new Christian, (Jew converted by force) tried to explain that the light that came from the cross was only being illuminated by a sun ray. Those must have been his last words. Dragging the “heretic” to the street, the infuriated people will have beaten him up and his brother to death and dragged the bodies to Rossio, where they’d be burnt - where three decades later the Inquisition would be installed. These would only be the first ones of some 2 to 4 thousand Jews brutally murdered - Portuguese Jewish men, women and children. Initiated by the Dominican monks, the people who gathered marched to the Judiaria (Jewish neighbourhood), crying out "death to the Jews" and "heretics die". The majority of the killed would be dragged through the streets and burnt (some still living) in the S. Domingos sq. These events took place at a time of crisis in Portugal and in Lisbon, with the plague killing hundreds every day, with the famine and the drought. The royal court hat therefore been moved to Abrantes and King D. Manuel was not in Lisbon at the time. It will have taken him three days to control the riots and finish the slaughters, sending the troops to Lisbon to control the city. D. Manuel thought he would be able to keep the Jews in Portugal, by compelling them to become Christians by force - the so-called “new Christian". But this attempt to keep the Jews did not work and later they would be allowed to leave the country and the inquisition would come to Portugal.
The scenes of violence of those days, 500 years ago, are part of the Portuguese history, of that History that the Portuguese have decided to “forget”. This episode, as other unfortunate ones, is not part of the school books with which History is taught. Some other tragedies and unhappy moments are usually painted in a “light" version, such as the Inquisition, colonialism and slavery, which allows keeping the myth of the Portuguese as tolerant people. But History and memory do not forget (fortunately) and unlike some, I think that we and the future generations can and must learn with our History. We have also the duty, towards our ancestors, to remember History and to ensure that it does not fall in oblivion. So that certain episodes do not repeat ever again.
As Elie Wiesel wrote, quoted in http://ruadajudiaria.com, "I have as much fear of oblivion as of hatred or death (...). It is by remembering our common beginning that I come close to my fellow creatures, to all the human beings. It is for refusing to forget that their future is as important as mine. What would happen to the future of Humanity without memory?" – [Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize, in the preface to the book "From the Kingdom of Memory", Summit Books, New York, 1990].
The Publico newspaper is here also to be mentioned, having published in the last days some articles on this subject, thus contributing to remembering this tragedy. In the recent days the Christian world has celebrated Easter, religious celebrations were made, televisions and newspapers reported, published articles and transmitted films on a man who died two thousand years ago. To be correct, it would only be fair to remember those 4,000 people who were brutally and stupidly murdered five hundred years ago, in the name of that other man.
Cidadania: Homenagem ao massacre dos judeus em Lisboa em 1506
[ór (אור) - significa simultaneamente luz e chama e, de forma metafórica, também conhecimento e memória]
É hoje recordado em Lisboa o massacre (pogrom) dos judeus que teve lugar em Lisboa em 1506. Em homenagem às vítimas, o jornalista Nuno Guerreiro Josué, no seu site ruadajudiaria, propôs lembrar simbolicamente as vítimas do massacre que, faz hoje 500 anos - de 19, 20 e 21 de Abril de 1506 - vitimou entre dois mil a quatro mil judeus na cidade de Lisboa, acendendo velas no Largo de São Domingos na Baixa de Lisboa hoje, 19 de Abril, às 19 horas. A Comunidade Judaica de Lisboa aderiu à iniciativa proposta no blog. Nessa ocasião serão rezadas as orações de kadish e izkor. A comunidade não apela, no entanto, a que os judeus presentes acendam velas, já que está a terminar a celebração da Páscoa, durante a qual os crentes devem evitar tudo o que implique energia e trabalho.
Estes acontecimentos foram relatados na época por vários cronistas como Damião de Góis e Samuel Usque, que deixaram relatos detalhados dos motins sangrentos. Tudo terá começado na Baixa, no dia 19 de Abril de 1506, um domingo, na Igreja de São Domingos, quando alguém gritou ter visto o rosto do Cristo crucificado iluminar-se inexplicavelmente no altar (existem outras versões). Em redor, gente que rezava pelo fim da seca prolongada que grassava pelo país clamou que era milagre. Entre eles, um judeu convertido à força (marrano) terá tentado explicar que a luz que emanava do crucifixo era apenas um reflexo de um raio de sol que entrava por uma fresta. Terão sido as suas últimas palavras. Acusado de herege e arrastado para a rua, o marrano e um irmão terão sido espancados até à morte e os seus corpos arrastados para o Rossio e queimados – onde três décadas depois foi instalada a Inquisição. Eles seriam apenas os primeiros de entre mais de 2 a 4 mil mortos - judeus portugueses, homens, mulheres e crianças, assassinados de forma brutal em três dias sangrentos. Incitada por frades dominicanos, a multidão que entretanto se aglomerara terá partido em direcção da Judiaria, gritando “morte aos judeus” e “morram os hereges”. A maioria dos mortos seriam arrastados pelas ruas e queimados (alguns vivos) no largo de S. Domingos. Estes acontecimentos deram-se numa época de crise em Portugal e em Lisboa, quando havia a peste (morriam cerca de 300 pessoas por dia de peste), a fome e uma grande seca. A corte tinha-se por isso mudado para Abrantes e o Rei D. Manuel não estava em Lisboa na altura, tendo levado três dias para controlar os motins e massacres, enviando as tropas para isso. D. Manuel pensava poder manter os judeus em Portugal, obrigando-os a converter-se ao cristianismo – os chamados “cristãos novos”. Mas essa tentativa de manter os judeus não deu resultado e mais tarde foi-lhes permitido deixar o país e a inquisição chegaria.
As incompreensíveis cenas de violência desses dias de há 500 anos fazem parte da história de Portugal que a História e os portugueses resolveram esquecer. Este, como outros episódios menos felizes e, não constam dos manuais escolares e mesmo outras tragédias e momentos menos positivos são pintados de forma “light”, como a inquisição, o colonialismo ou a escravatura, o que permite manter vivo o mito do tal “povo de brandos costumes”. Mas a História e a memória não esquecem ( e ainda bem) e ao contrário de alguns, eu penso que nós e as gerações futuras podemos e devemos aprender com a História. Temos aliás o dever, para com os nossos antepassados, de lembrar a História e de velar para que não caia no esquecimento. Para que certos episódios não voltem a repetir-se nunca.
Como escrevia Elie Wiesel, citado em http://ruadajudiaria.com, “tenho tanto medo do esquecimento quando do ódio ou da morte. (…). É por me lembrar do nosso princípio comum que me aproximo dos meus semelhantes, de todos os seres humanos. É por me recusar esquecer que o seu futuro é tão importante quanto o meu. Que seria o futuro da humanidade se fosse desprovido de memória?” [Elie Wiesel, prémio Nobel da Paz, retirado do prefácio do livro “From the Kingdom of Memory”, Summit Books, New York, 1990].
Menção especial ao jornal Publico que nos últimos dias escreveu bastante sobre o assunto, e em particular no sábado no artigo "A matança", contribuindo assim para não deixar cair no esquecimento esta tragédia. Nestes dias celebrou-se a Páscoa cristã, rezaram-se missas, as televisões e os media publicaram artigos e transmitiram filmes sobre um homem morto há dois mil anos. Para sermos correctos, seria justo também não esquecer outros quatro mil, assassinados cruel e estupidamente há quinhentos anos em nome desse outro homem.
(english short summary will follow)
É hoje recordado em Lisboa o massacre (pogrom) dos judeus que teve lugar em Lisboa em 1506. Em homenagem às vítimas, o jornalista Nuno Guerreiro Josué, no seu site ruadajudiaria, propôs lembrar simbolicamente as vítimas do massacre que, faz hoje 500 anos - de 19, 20 e 21 de Abril de 1506 - vitimou entre dois mil a quatro mil judeus na cidade de Lisboa, acendendo velas no Largo de São Domingos na Baixa de Lisboa hoje, 19 de Abril, às 19 horas. A Comunidade Judaica de Lisboa aderiu à iniciativa proposta no blog. Nessa ocasião serão rezadas as orações de kadish e izkor. A comunidade não apela, no entanto, a que os judeus presentes acendam velas, já que está a terminar a celebração da Páscoa, durante a qual os crentes devem evitar tudo o que implique energia e trabalho.
Estes acontecimentos foram relatados na época por vários cronistas como Damião de Góis e Samuel Usque, que deixaram relatos detalhados dos motins sangrentos. Tudo terá começado na Baixa, no dia 19 de Abril de 1506, um domingo, na Igreja de São Domingos, quando alguém gritou ter visto o rosto do Cristo crucificado iluminar-se inexplicavelmente no altar (existem outras versões). Em redor, gente que rezava pelo fim da seca prolongada que grassava pelo país clamou que era milagre. Entre eles, um judeu convertido à força (marrano) terá tentado explicar que a luz que emanava do crucifixo era apenas um reflexo de um raio de sol que entrava por uma fresta. Terão sido as suas últimas palavras. Acusado de herege e arrastado para a rua, o marrano e um irmão terão sido espancados até à morte e os seus corpos arrastados para o Rossio e queimados – onde três décadas depois foi instalada a Inquisição. Eles seriam apenas os primeiros de entre mais de 2 a 4 mil mortos - judeus portugueses, homens, mulheres e crianças, assassinados de forma brutal em três dias sangrentos. Incitada por frades dominicanos, a multidão que entretanto se aglomerara terá partido em direcção da Judiaria, gritando “morte aos judeus” e “morram os hereges”. A maioria dos mortos seriam arrastados pelas ruas e queimados (alguns vivos) no largo de S. Domingos. Estes acontecimentos deram-se numa época de crise em Portugal e em Lisboa, quando havia a peste (morriam cerca de 300 pessoas por dia de peste), a fome e uma grande seca. A corte tinha-se por isso mudado para Abrantes e o Rei D. Manuel não estava em Lisboa na altura, tendo levado três dias para controlar os motins e massacres, enviando as tropas para isso. D. Manuel pensava poder manter os judeus em Portugal, obrigando-os a converter-se ao cristianismo – os chamados “cristãos novos”. Mas essa tentativa de manter os judeus não deu resultado e mais tarde foi-lhes permitido deixar o país e a inquisição chegaria.
As incompreensíveis cenas de violência desses dias de há 500 anos fazem parte da história de Portugal que a História e os portugueses resolveram esquecer. Este, como outros episódios menos felizes e, não constam dos manuais escolares e mesmo outras tragédias e momentos menos positivos são pintados de forma “light”, como a inquisição, o colonialismo ou a escravatura, o que permite manter vivo o mito do tal “povo de brandos costumes”. Mas a História e a memória não esquecem ( e ainda bem) e ao contrário de alguns, eu penso que nós e as gerações futuras podemos e devemos aprender com a História. Temos aliás o dever, para com os nossos antepassados, de lembrar a História e de velar para que não caia no esquecimento. Para que certos episódios não voltem a repetir-se nunca.
Como escrevia Elie Wiesel, citado em http://ruadajudiaria.com, “tenho tanto medo do esquecimento quando do ódio ou da morte. (…). É por me lembrar do nosso princípio comum que me aproximo dos meus semelhantes, de todos os seres humanos. É por me recusar esquecer que o seu futuro é tão importante quanto o meu. Que seria o futuro da humanidade se fosse desprovido de memória?” [Elie Wiesel, prémio Nobel da Paz, retirado do prefácio do livro “From the Kingdom of Memory”, Summit Books, New York, 1990].
Menção especial ao jornal Publico que nos últimos dias escreveu bastante sobre o assunto, e em particular no sábado no artigo "A matança", contribuindo assim para não deixar cair no esquecimento esta tragédia. Nestes dias celebrou-se a Páscoa cristã, rezaram-se missas, as televisões e os media publicaram artigos e transmitiram filmes sobre um homem morto há dois mil anos. Para sermos correctos, seria justo também não esquecer outros quatro mil, assassinados cruel e estupidamente há quinhentos anos em nome desse outro homem.
(english short summary will follow)
07 avril 2006
intermezzo
Senhores telespectadores, pedimos desculpa por esta interrupção.
O programa segue dentro de momentos.
O programa segue dentro de momentos.
Cinema: Volver
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Actors: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Chus Lampreave
Almodóvar returns. The best thing about the movie is its title "Volver" (return). Almodóvar returns to his homeland, returns to his usual subjects, returns to his favourite actresses (Carmen Maura)… once more he talks about women and men remain mere “cabrones” who only serve to torment women. But he also talks about rapes, a recurrent subject… and once more he will return to satisfy his fans.
The film is better than his most recent films, yet, for me it is far from his first movies like "Que he hecho yo para merecer esto", "Matador" and especially "Women at the edge of a nervous breakdown”. The photography is remarkable, the plans are technically excellent. It is Almodóvar at his best. Some magnificent plans seem studied to the millimetre, like real live paintings. As for example the initial scenes, with all the women of the town in the cemetery, cleaning the tombs of their husbands, the burial of the aunt or Penélope Cruz washing the dishes (and her breasts…). The film is unclassifiable, neither a comedy nor a drama, more like a comedy of life.
Almodóvar returns to his native Castilla-La Mancha, but that is also, one of the weakest points of the film. It is not very genuine, the actresses do not convince as "women of La Mancha", in particular the glamorous Penélope Cruz (as an Hollywood diva), always so full of makeup… too artificial (and always having the easy teardrops). Her acting is not very convincing, in my view, not as in the Italian film in which she played an easy girl. But the other actresses are very good, in particular the superb Carmen Maura (who comes back to film with Almodovar after a long absence), but also Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo y Chus Lampreave. One of the promises of the film was "the fantastic", but in reality nothing is really fantastic… However, in spite of its irregularities (in its rhythm, the stories that lead nowhere, certain technical mistakes like when Cruz gets dressed for a party and there appears in a totally different way…) the film is interesting and is to be recommended.
Maybe that’s exactly what Almodovar’s cinema is about: unreal, lies, excess, not contained, a comedy of life with all its contradictions, but always a show. Although I must say the film didn’t make me cry… "Volver" will not cease to please Almodovar’s admirers as an interesting exercise of cinema.
[español]
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Intérpretes: Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Carmen Maura, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave
Almodóvar vuelve. Lo mejor de Volver es probablemente su título: Almodóvar vuelve a su tierra, vuelve a sus temas de siempre, vuelve a sus actrices fetiche (Carmen, Maura)… vuelve a hablar de las mujeres y el hombre queda un "cabrón" que sólo sirve para atormentar. Vuelve también a hablar de violaciones, tema de siempre… pero seguramente volverá a encantar a sus fans.
La pelicula es mejor que su srecientes peliculas pero todavia no se puede comparar a filmes como “Que he hecho yo…”, “Matador” y en particular “Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios”. La fotografía es notable, los planes muy bien hechos, técnicamente perfectos. Es Almodóvar en su mejor. Algunos planos son magníficos, estudiados al milímetro, auténticos cuadros vivos. Como por ejemplo los iniciales, con todas las mujeres del pueblo en el cementerio, limpiando las tumbas de sus maridos, o el entierro de la tía o Penélope Cruz lavando la vajilla (y sus tetas…). La película es inclasificable, ni comedia ni drama, una comedia de la vida.
Almodóvar vuelve a su Castilla la Mancha natal, pero eso es quizas uno de los puntos más flojos de la película, no resulta muy verosímil, las actrices no convencen como “manchegas”, en particular la glamurosa Penélope Cruz (como buena diva de Hollywood), siempre tan bien maquillada y puesta… resulta demasiado artificial (y siempre con la lagrima tan facil). Su actuación tampoco resulta muy convincente, no como en la película italiana en la que hizo de prostituta (ahí si estuvo muy bien). Pero las otras actrices están muy bien, en particular la magnifica Carmen Maura, pero también Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo y Chus Lampreave.El aspecto que más prometía del film era el “fantástico”, pero en realidad no hay nada de fantástico... A pesar de sus irregularidades (en su ritmo, de historias que no llevan a ningún lado y no se sabe bien para que sirven, pero también de fallos técnicos como Penélope que se viste para una fiesta y en la fiesta está vestida de forma totalmente distinta) el film es interesante y se ve bien, al final no deja de ser un Almodovar.
El cine de Almodóvar es quizas eso mismo, irreal, mentira, exageración, falta de contención, ni comédia ni drama y todo a la vez, con todas las contradiciones. Aunque para decir la verdad no me he emocionado mucho... Con “Volver”, sin embargo, Almodovar no defraudará a sus admiradores con este ejercicio de cine.
Actors: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Chus Lampreave
Almodóvar returns. The best thing about the movie is its title "Volver" (return). Almodóvar returns to his homeland, returns to his usual subjects, returns to his favourite actresses (Carmen Maura)… once more he talks about women and men remain mere “cabrones” who only serve to torment women. But he also talks about rapes, a recurrent subject… and once more he will return to satisfy his fans.
The film is better than his most recent films, yet, for me it is far from his first movies like "Que he hecho yo para merecer esto", "Matador" and especially "Women at the edge of a nervous breakdown”. The photography is remarkable, the plans are technically excellent. It is Almodóvar at his best. Some magnificent plans seem studied to the millimetre, like real live paintings. As for example the initial scenes, with all the women of the town in the cemetery, cleaning the tombs of their husbands, the burial of the aunt or Penélope Cruz washing the dishes (and her breasts…). The film is unclassifiable, neither a comedy nor a drama, more like a comedy of life.
Almodóvar returns to his native Castilla-La Mancha, but that is also, one of the weakest points of the film. It is not very genuine, the actresses do not convince as "women of La Mancha", in particular the glamorous Penélope Cruz (as an Hollywood diva), always so full of makeup… too artificial (and always having the easy teardrops). Her acting is not very convincing, in my view, not as in the Italian film in which she played an easy girl. But the other actresses are very good, in particular the superb Carmen Maura (who comes back to film with Almodovar after a long absence), but also Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo y Chus Lampreave. One of the promises of the film was "the fantastic", but in reality nothing is really fantastic… However, in spite of its irregularities (in its rhythm, the stories that lead nowhere, certain technical mistakes like when Cruz gets dressed for a party and there appears in a totally different way…) the film is interesting and is to be recommended.
Maybe that’s exactly what Almodovar’s cinema is about: unreal, lies, excess, not contained, a comedy of life with all its contradictions, but always a show. Although I must say the film didn’t make me cry… "Volver" will not cease to please Almodovar’s admirers as an interesting exercise of cinema.
[español]
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Intérpretes: Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Carmen Maura, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave
Almodóvar vuelve. Lo mejor de Volver es probablemente su título: Almodóvar vuelve a su tierra, vuelve a sus temas de siempre, vuelve a sus actrices fetiche (Carmen, Maura)… vuelve a hablar de las mujeres y el hombre queda un "cabrón" que sólo sirve para atormentar. Vuelve también a hablar de violaciones, tema de siempre… pero seguramente volverá a encantar a sus fans.
La pelicula es mejor que su srecientes peliculas pero todavia no se puede comparar a filmes como “Que he hecho yo…”, “Matador” y en particular “Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios”. La fotografía es notable, los planes muy bien hechos, técnicamente perfectos. Es Almodóvar en su mejor. Algunos planos son magníficos, estudiados al milímetro, auténticos cuadros vivos. Como por ejemplo los iniciales, con todas las mujeres del pueblo en el cementerio, limpiando las tumbas de sus maridos, o el entierro de la tía o Penélope Cruz lavando la vajilla (y sus tetas…). La película es inclasificable, ni comedia ni drama, una comedia de la vida.
Almodóvar vuelve a su Castilla la Mancha natal, pero eso es quizas uno de los puntos más flojos de la película, no resulta muy verosímil, las actrices no convencen como “manchegas”, en particular la glamurosa Penélope Cruz (como buena diva de Hollywood), siempre tan bien maquillada y puesta… resulta demasiado artificial (y siempre con la lagrima tan facil). Su actuación tampoco resulta muy convincente, no como en la película italiana en la que hizo de prostituta (ahí si estuvo muy bien). Pero las otras actrices están muy bien, en particular la magnifica Carmen Maura, pero también Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo y Chus Lampreave.El aspecto que más prometía del film era el “fantástico”, pero en realidad no hay nada de fantástico... A pesar de sus irregularidades (en su ritmo, de historias que no llevan a ningún lado y no se sabe bien para que sirven, pero también de fallos técnicos como Penélope que se viste para una fiesta y en la fiesta está vestida de forma totalmente distinta) el film es interesante y se ve bien, al final no deja de ser un Almodovar.
El cine de Almodóvar es quizas eso mismo, irreal, mentira, exageración, falta de contención, ni comédia ni drama y todo a la vez, con todas las contradiciones. Aunque para decir la verdad no me he emocionado mucho... Con “Volver”, sin embargo, Almodovar no defraudará a sus admiradores con este ejercicio de cine.
01 avril 2006
Cinema: V for Vendetta
"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people"
The film "V For Vendetta" is a United Kingdom-Germany co-production, set in London, is directed by James Mcteigue. It is starring Natalie Portman - as "Evey" - (Closer, Garden State) and Hugo Weaving as "V", featuring other excellent actors like Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry and John Hurt. But V for Vendetta was originally a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd, published between 1982 and 1985, in black and white, in Warrior, a British anthology comic.
The film is set against a futuristic landscape in a totalitarian Britain, some years from now. V for Vendetta tells the story of a nice young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man (Hugo Weaving) known only as “V.” “V” uses terrorist tactics to fight against totalitarianism and oppression, urging Britain’s citizens to rise up and stand up for freedom and justice and start a revolution, while pursuing at the same time his own personal revenge. When Evey uncovers the truth about V’s mysterious background, she also discovers a new herself and becomes his ally in the execution of his masterplan. The film is a mix somewhere between Zorro (of which it shows an excerpt) and Matrix, it is a modern post-9/11 Orwell, criticising the never-ending war on terrorism (and its scapegoating, its use of fear, the use of racism and xenophobia). The idea of an antifascist terrorist-as-hero is certainly controversial and will provoque debate, since, as someone wrote “one man’s terrorist is another's freedom fighter."
The film is graphically very well designed, visually beautiful and superbly acted. It actually makes you think while watching explosions and street fights. The film is highly enjoyable despite its over-ambition (aiming to be a political allegory, a love story and a thriller all in one) and although the story feels somehow flat and the characters remain a bit shallow. Natalie Portman also contributes highly to recommend this movie, confirming her special talent. And let’s admit it, the fall of the US and watching the Houses of Parliament blowing up are also very enticing.
And I say, governments should not control thir people, people should control their governments.
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)