FILM 236 - Latin American Cinema

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

(Same as LALS 236) This course investigates the history and theory of several filmic traditions in Latin America, from the silent era until the present. The films are discussed within specific cultural, social, infrastructural, and political contexts, with special attention to how these contexts overlap and diverge in relation to each other, and to the films. We study important artistic developments in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay using both features and shorts, theatrically exhibited and non-theatrical films. The readings pair scholarly works with artists’ manifestos to investigate the recurrence of specific genres (political cinema; magical realism; melodrama) and situate the socio-cultural roles played by artistic schools including Brazilian Cinema Novo, the Cuban school of revolutionary documentary, the Colombian Tropical Gothic, the Nuevo Cine Argentino, and the recent infiltration of Hollywood by Latin American filmmakers, such as Pablo Larraín and Mexico’s “three amigos.” Assignments for this class include a written or video essay comparing two different filmic traditions, a contextual research group presentation, and a research paper that features a close reading of the aesthetics of one or more films. Fabio Andrade.

Prerequisite(s): FILM 175, FILM 209, or permission of the instructor.

Two 75-minute periods accompanied by film screenings.

Course Format: CLS