La Voz Dormida

La Voz Dormida

I saw a movie last night with my program, and I wrote this review directly after, when I was still feeling emotional. Though the review's a bit dramatic, I think La Voz Dormida (The Sleeping Voice) is important to see, and I hope it gets a nod from the Academy.

Most Spanish youth won’t watch movies about the revolution, preferring dubbed action movies from across the Atlantic. But my program director, María, took us to see this civil war film. Opening with a women’s prison and a firing squad, director Benito Zambrano painted a startling portrait of the realities of “Franquismo”. The direction was smooth, the acting brilliant, and the story multifaceted. Zambrano managed to elicit empathy from eight American teenagers growing up during the internet era—we were all in tears by the halfway point. Not Notebook tears. Tears for the woman we watched die, for the victims of the war, for the victims of all wars. And despite knowing the outcome of the film since the first shot, we continued to watch in solidarity.

(Paris, 10/23/11)

(Paris, 10/21/11)

Many bridges/fences throughout Europe are covered with locks, but it all goes back to this bridge in Paris. They're called "love locks" because a couple attaches it to the bridge to ensure everlasting romance and throws the key into the river.

In theory, the locks will last forever, but the Italian government recently cut all the locks off of the Ponte Vecchio. Sources say it happened in a fit of jealousy cause Italy couldn't find a boyfriend. 

These particular locks struck me as exceptionally awesome.

(San Sebastian, 10/15/11)

(Interlaken, 08/16/11)

The water in Lake Brienz and Lake Thun was a particularly interesting shade of green/blue--not from contamination, but from the minerals it picked up on the way down the surrounding mountains.

Fresh enough to drink.

(Manarola, 08/27/11)

More sunsets, Italian style.