Pretty Woman

The movie is about the unlikely romance between a Hollywood prostitute and a wealthy businessman. It opens with Edward Lewis, a successful businessman and corporate raider, taking a detour on Hollywood Boulevard to ask for directions.

Incidentally, he meets Vivian, a beautiful prostitute, who is willing to assist him in getting his destination. Impressed with her, Edward hires Vivian to stay with him for a week as an escort for social events and agrees to pay her $3,000 and give her access to his credit cards. The week transforms Vivian from a whore to Hollywood socialite, and Edward from a ruthless businessman to a compassionate partner. But it is not only about amazing transformations, for later, the two fell into a strong sweet emotion that shall hurt them both. Vivian longs for a “fairy tale” that Edward hesitates to give. How much can each give up? Is everything worth giving up? And will the “fairy tale” have a happy ending?

Though the movie centers about love, it tackles a very sensitive social issue, prostitution, which it expresses in a light, comic, and likeable manner. It was originally conceived to be a dark drama about the subject. Well, the change proved to be effective as the movie was successfully accepted by the audience. Scenes after scenes are really engaging and exciting, filled with hilarious or romantic lines. I particularly love the bath tub scene where Vivian sings “Kiss” while teasing Edward. The movie is really a fairy tale, but a fairy tale that is possible in the real world. More than love, the movie touches the human nature of compassion, change, and redemption.

The actors are brilliant as well, particularly Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. The couple is very charismatic, natural, and appealing. They were not really the first choice for the film, especially Roberts who was not popular that time. Christopher Reeve, Al Pacino, Winona Ryder, Molly Ringwald, Meg Ryan, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Daryl Hannah were some of the few who were offered the title roles. After the movie’s success, many stars expressed regret for turning down the role. Both Gere and Roberts were nominated as best actor and best actress for the Golden Globe Awards, and Julia herself finally won the title in the 63^rd Academy (Oscar) Awards.

The movie ranked #1 on its opening week, and held the spot for four non-consecutive weeks. It became the fourth highest-grossing film of the year in the United States and the third highest-grossing worldwide. The film’s soundtracks also did well. It featured the songs “Oh, Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison which inspired the movies’ title, and Roxette’s “It Must Have Been Love” which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1990.

The movie received mixed reviews from critics. It received an average score of 51 out of 100 on Metacritic. Despite some negative reviews, the movie remains to be one of the well-loved classics of all time.

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Nicholas Sparks’ Films

Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite contemporary authors of romance novels. Who says guys don’t like love stories? And who says they can’t write them as well? LOL! Nathaniel Hawthorne, Shakespeare, Robert James Waller, and him are simply few of the best. Sparks’ novels, for me, are way better than those of Danielle Steel, Judith McNaught, Belva Plain, and the others. He has very realistic, believable and empathizing approach to his stories, unlike the others who spin great fairy tales. Click here to read full article on "Nicholas Sparks' Films".

El Crimen del Padre Amaro

This is the love month and what better way to start the season is to look back on this film about love, lust, and sin…

“El Crimen del Padre Amaro” (The Crime of Father Amaro) is a 2002 Mexican film based loosely on the novel “O Crime do Padre Amaro” (1875) by the Portuguese writer Jose Maria de Eça de Quieroz. It was directed by Carlos Carrera and starred Sancho Garcia, Ana Claudia Talancon, and Gael Garcia Bernal.

At the start of the movie, Padre Amaro, a newly ordained priest, arrives in the small town Los Reyes and starts his life serving the church. He is a protégé of a ruthless political bishop. Meanwhile, the local priest, Father Benito, harbors an affair with a restaurant owner and builds a large hospital which is partly funded by a drug lord. On the other hand, another priest in the area, Father Natalio, is under investigation for supporting rebels in his church. Padre Amaro soon meets Amelia, a local sixteen-year-old girl who teaches catechism to young children in the town. In the beginning, there is awkwardness between the two which later blossoms into a secret love affair. This love proves to be fatal. As Padre Amaro tries to hide his secret and the fruits of this secrecy, he finds himself tangled into a complicated web of events – Father Benito’s ailment, the lies to the bishop, the excommunication of Father Natalio, and the hypocrisy of the cynical old woman. The movie ends in a heartbreaking funeral, as Padre Amaro saves his face and rebuilds the fallen community…

This is a beautiful movie and certainly one of my favorite Mexican films. It succeeds in building up the characters through fragments of revelations that make it very exciting. I find myself thrilled in the beginning to see Padre Amaro and Amelia falling for each other, and later hating them for all their lies and irresponsibility. You will love them in the beginning, but eventually condemn and pity them. There are also characters in the movie which seem nuisance, but perform a significant part in the end.

The actors are also very brilliant. Anna Claudia Talancon, who played Amelia, is truly a face of innocence in disguise. Gael Garcia Bernal is great as well. He starred in many great Mexican films like “The Motorcycle Diaries”, “Amores Perros”, “Y Tu Mama Tambien”, and “Rudi y Corsi”, which are all successful, multi-awarded, and top-grossing movies. Bernal is one of the best non-Hollywood actors, very comparable to Aamir Khan of India and Tony Leung Chiu Wai of China.

The movie has a universal theme – about love and its consequences. It has well described love in its many facets – love for wealth, love for materials, love for the community, and love for the flesh. Though based on an 1875 novel, the movie is set in modern times, which makes it more relevant and appealing. Consequently, the film arose several controversies, particularly on the part of the Roman Catholic groups who desperately and unsuccessfully tried to stop the movie from being screened in Mexico.

The movie is well-received not only in Mexico but also in many parts of the world. It is one of the top-grossing foreign language films in recent history. It was also nominated for a total of 32 awards with 19 wins, including a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in both Oscar and Golden Globe in 2003.

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