Farewell My Concubine

The actors in this film were much better than in the last Chinese film we saw. Visually it wasn't as pretty, but it was still effective.
It was also really interesting to have people there who were familiar with Chinese culture and history (Kudoes Hans). Especially since the film had so much history in it. (Modern History can be interesting-who knew?)
I was just wondering about how the Chinese viewed homosexuality. They supported men taking on the roles of women in the theater, but when they had that scene in the square (the one where the 'King' said he didn't love the prostitue) it seemed that they found it morally reprehensible. In this (notice the emphasis) movie, I don't think the 'Concubine' started out gay, but was molded that way by his circumstance. Feel free to comment on that line.
At the end of the movie, the final question that I had to ask was the same as the one the 'Concubine' asked throughout the movie. Why does the Concubine have to die?

La Mala Educacion

I found this movie a bit graphic, but I was still surprised that it was rated NC17. The nudity was minimal, not anymore than in R movies. Although I would argue that some R movies should be moved to NC17 ratings rather than bumping this movie down to an R.
I was also really pleased at the accuracy in translation. It always makes me happy when I watch Spanish movies and can tell what is being said (Yeah for trying to be bilingual). Spanish movies are also very different from other movies from Spanish speaking countries. The European influence is really felt.
This movie was a little unique in that sympathy was achieved for all the characters even though they are all despicable in some way.
I have decided that I think Juan wasn't really gay. I think that he was just using his partners to get what he wanted. In that sense he was a very good actor. The weird thing about this conclusion is that I can't tell why I think that Juan wasn't gay. It could just be that he didn't seem explicitely attracted to Enrique.