Rudo y Cursi March 19, 2010

This series is free and open to the public. All films are shown in Jepson Hall 118 unless otherwise noted. Friday showings are at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday showings are at 7:30 p.m. The films are shown in the original language with English subtitles. For more information, please contact Paul Portefield.

March 19 & 21
Mexico, 20087
Directed by Carlos Cuaron
103 minutes (Rated R)

Rudo y Cursi, the directorial debut by Carlos Cuaron, reunites actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna as brothers who rise from plantation workers to soccer stars and face the pitfalls of fame. The movie portrays the changing relationship between Beto (Luna) and Tato (Bernal) whose dream in rural Mexico is to save enough money to buy their mother a new home. This aspiration shifts as the brothers are spotted playing soccer by professional scout (Argentinean comic Guillermo Francella) who wishes to only bring one of the brothers with him to Mexico City. Sibling rivalry arises as Tato scores a goal instead of throwing the match to his brother as planned and leaves for soccer stardom first. Though his sights are not set on the athletic world, but instead on the celebrity scene as his dream is to become a pop star. Due to his flamboyant playing style and much attention for his flashy lifestyle, Tato is nicknamed ‘Cursi’. Beto eventually is given his chance to show off his talent on the pitch as a goaltender and is given the name ‘Rudo’ for his hard-nosed style of play but becomes lost along the way and distracted by the big city and the rush of high-stakes poker. Though fast paced, this is not a sports movie but a human drama disguised as a comedy as the real competition is which of the two brothers can be more self-destructive. Premiering at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, Rudo y Cursi has been described as “a kind of travelogue of ambition and loserdom, from the rural clarity of a dirt pitch to the dangerous allure of the literal and figurative green.” Cuaron, who co-wrote Y Tu Mama Tambien with his brother Alfonso, presents the first movie from the newly formed Cha Cha Cha Productions, a collaboration between Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (“Babel”), Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”), and Alfonso Cuaron.

Official Website: http://library.richmond.edu/mrc/international-film-series.html