The first of 75 movies this summer. This was a good way to start. The Orphanage is produced by Guillermo del Toro, who also produced and directed Pan’s Labryinth. The Orphanage, in some sense, was better than Pan’s. It is quite suspenseful. It has elements of The Others. While parts of the movie were predictable, it would have been worse if they did not play out as expected. Laura (Belen Rueda) and Carlos (Fernando Cayo), along with their son, Simon (Roger Princep) move into a big house by the Spanish coast. The movie was shot in the town of Oviedo (in the summer resort area of Llanes) in the north-west coastal region of Asturias, Spain. This region used to be a kingdom in the middle ages, but is now an autonomous community within Spain. Known for its seafood, the most famous Asturian dish is fabada asturiana

, a bean stew, probably second only to Paella in terms of Spanish food.

Back to the movie: Turns out, the house used to be an orphanage where Laura grew up. Now she wants to, along with her doctor husband, open it up for a few special children (with Down syndrome). At the welcoming party (or probably like an open house), things start going wrong. Simon, the son, who normally plays with invisible friends, (the father attributes this to loneliness and says that once ‘real’ kids show up, he will get over it) disappears. That is when things start getting interesting. Eventually in order to find her son, Laura needs to figure out what the spirit of children, who seemingly were abused in the orphanage, want in exchange for letting her know Simon’s whereabouts. The end unravels the themes of the movie: a mother’s loneliness and how she dealt with loss. The movie, at times, can make one jumpy, owing to the use of silence and music. Well directed by first time director Juan Antonio Bayona.

Documentary hosted by Alanis Morissette. PBS Video (2005).

Some notes: avg temp of earth rising faster than last 10,000 yrs; signs: droughts, rising seas, tropical diseases, extreme weather; 1 F increase in 100 yrs (worldwide); Eastern Arctic: 7 F in 50 yrs; snow caps of Mt. Kilimanjaro receding; sources of carbon: trans (33%); elec gen (33%), agriculture and land clearing (20%); increase in co2 concentration levels ; coal fired power plants – large polluters; popn growth another factor; environmental justice (Nira Robinson) – effects on low income/ minorities; asthma result of co2; west nile; el nino (heat transfer essentially): frequency & intensity changes?; 1 F warming = 10% decrease rice yield, 10% more rain needed; pop grow fast, w/ decrease food, difficulty w/ scarcity; “Boiling Point” (book)

Description from the back of the DVD:

A 150-pound bag of coffee beans might earn a farmer $50; the “street value” of that same bag—10,000 cups of coffee—is around $20,000. By following the trail of two coffee beans grown in the Peruvian Andes, this program takes a unique look at the ubiquitous stimulant which, after oil, is the most globally traded commodity. One of the beans takes the route of the open market where its price is determined by commodities traders and analysts, such as Merrill Lynch’s Judy Gaines, the industry oracle who discusses the market’s volatility. The other bean finds its way into Café Direct, a new gourmet coffee launched in Britain by a company dedicated to paying fair prices to farmers for their high-quality organic crop. (50 minutes)

Link to site

Documentary about the impact of conglomeration of the food industry, especially in seeds and fertilizers. The impact of GMOs on food safety, the future prospects for food. Disturbing look at the lengths these companies will go to patent seeds and genetic technology and to enforce the patent protection.

A documentary about the impact of world trade practices on the coffee farmers of Ethiopia.

A movie in the genre possibly started by “Shool” (w/ Manoj Bajpai). Basic premise is that Mumbai is run by an underworld Don, Khalid (Vinod Khanna) who rules in absentia from Bangkok. Another Don wannabe, Naidu, comes back from Kenya after 15 years to take control of Mumbai. Suryakanth (Randeep Hooda) is an inspector of the Encounter Task Force, who apparently can shoot the bad guys, which he does with much gusto. According to his records, at one point in the movie, he had killed 35 people already. Everyone else, including the commissioner of police is corrupt. All except for the Deputy Commissioner of Police, the support behind Suryakanth. He ‘explains’ away all of Suryakanth’s actions. Suryakanth wants to bring to justice the elusive Khalid, who has serious connections within the government, including Chief Minister wannabe Devki. Through some maneuvering Khalid has Suryakanth kicked off the force and brought up to charges of accepting bribes from Naidu, which are obviously not true given that Suryakanth is an honest officer who lives in a poor neighborhood with his widowed mother, who at times has to borrow from neighbors. In prison, Suryakanth is offered to be bailed out by the very same Khalid. He is given his job back, with the understanding that he now works for Khalid. Not being able to survive without his identity, being a police officer, Suryakanth accepts and does some of Khalid’s bidding. He then plans to have Khalid brought back to India on murder charges against a Home Minister. Of course, Khalid’s influence works to almost free him, when Suryakanth shoots and kills him. In the process, the police also shoots Suryakanth (six times) and beats him senseless. The movie ends with the voice over asking whether or not Suryakanth may have survived and suggesting that either is a possibility for the man, but the idea that Suryakanth represents lives on…

Bollywood movie scale: B+ (extra points for having few songs, maybe 3)

Hooda does a decent job. Comes across as a stiff personality who adheres to some principles and someone with intelligence. Some actions are questionable. Given that Khalid has escaped prosecution for 11 years, all the while controlling his empire from Bangkok, and given the influence he has, why would Suryakanth put his faith in the system to finally prosecute him? Especially since he himself has seen the corrupt system fail over and over. Some of the events that occur in the movie don’t seem well thought out. Not sure what role the narrator has in the movie, seems to pop up at odd moments. The girlfriend Shradha (Tanushree Dutta, another Miss India) seems to be a wasted role. Of course she has the requisite dance scene (apparently she is a video star or a singer or something). Vinod Khanna seems to have played the bad guy either very well or very poor, depending on what he was going for. Khalid is the typical villain who also has some weird sense of respect for religion (berates his own brother who yells at someone on Eid, the day when one has to show understanding apparently), follows it to the tilt (does his prayers often), looks after his mentally disabled son, yet is ruthless when it comes to his business. One does not get the sense that this is a complex man, at least as portrayed by Khanna.