Young Love, Sweet Love

You know children are growing up when they start asking questions that have answers. - John J. Plomp

Ta-dah! Below are my super duper fave foreign films of all time (with the appended time of reference being the years I watched them):

Jeux d'enfants (Love Me If You Dare) (2006)

Loosely translated, the French title would mean "child's play". Or "games of children", to be more exact. I got myself a copy of the movie in 2006 and watched it for the first time at home in ole ZC during Christmas break. Of course, inspired by the spirit of giving, I just had to share the gift of discovery to everyone I knew. Coming back to Manila post-holiday, I tried hard-selling the film, lending my DVD copy to anyone who would care to bring it home.

Jeux d'enfants is a cute, modern tale about a couple of childhood best friends who fall in love when they grow older and then hate each other when they grow yet older. And then finally, they entomb themselves together in the end when they realize they could no longer live without each other. Seriously. (Sorry for the spoiler!) It's really sad. But not in a tearjerky kind of way. On the other hand, if you're an endorphin junkie, then good for you. Throughout the movie you can't help but curl your toes at the kilig moments between the two lovers. Even in the midst of all-out war and mayhem, the hero and heroine manage to glower at each other with gut-wrenching love. You can't say the French don't know a thing or two about romance.

What else can I say, the story's beautiful, the cinematography's beautiful, the kids are beautiful. If not for the sort of bittersweet ending, you'd be concluding "life is beautiful." Even more significant, it's not over the top (read: cringey) like other well-loved love stories out there. Its hypnotic storyline alternately teeters on the edge of frustration and salvation, and then, as if coming home from a NY Eve party having had too much champagne to drink, you come dizzily crashing back to earth at the end of it all.

Viva Cuba (2007)

Do not be daunted by the mishmash of French and Spanish words spattered all over the sites I linked to, my friend. Click away on whatever you fancy, just as little children would finger strange things on the ground with wide-eyed adventurism.

Viva Cuba is que adorable! The critically acclaimed film wins you over with its straightforward narrative and whimsical appeal. The kid actors are a joy to watch. They might as well be the real thing. Throughout filming, they chose to work without a script, which helped furnish the film with a natural, relaxed feel that is easily engaging. If I'm not mistaken, it was their first acting job. As far as I'm concerned, them kids rocked it hard and out of the playpen. Plus, I have to admit, it totally helps that Jorgito, the young hero, looks a tad like my youngest brother, Rocky (no kidding!). I guess that's what makes this movie all the more special to me.

The film is a delicate surprise. Despite the seemingly serious, quasi-political tone the title instantly brings to mind, Viva Cuba has captured the essence of friendship and woven it into a delightful tapestry of childish banter and harebrained misadventures that has no other place than on a pedestal for kids of all ages to behold. You're bound to develop six-packs just laughing over the mundane things you wish you had done when you still had societal license.

Of course, the undercurrent theme of juvenile love always hovering over the young protagonists as they hitchhike their way from home to the other end of Cuba makes you go, "Oh no, I hope they don't go all Dawson's Creek on me." But no worries. The ending mirrors a little that of Jeux d'enfants, hanging just a wee bit more obtrusively. Then again that's just my take. Anyone else would probably conclude the obvious. No matter, since it's really the middle and even the beginning that are the cake and food and drink of the whole film. It's the proverbial journey that makes life worth living. And since hope is most abundant in youth, life really is worth living as a child.

Viva Cuba is a truly memorable film that cuts across cultures and ages, whether chronological or emotional. It’s cinematic treasures like this that remind me why I love watching movies. Watching the credits roll up, you feel like sitting back in your cushy seat and letting the good sensations roll over you, like the waves that are shown at the end of the movie. Somehow you feel as if your soul can rest easy with the knowledge that no matter who you are, no matter what you've done, at least the one good thing that has happened to you was that you were once (if not still are) a kid. And that makes all the difference in the world.

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. - Kahlil Gibran