Arts & Entertainment

Disputed Oscar pick out on DVD

By Nathan Nix
The Daily Cougar

One of the biggest controversies surrounding this yearis Academy Awards presentation had nothing to do with the war in Iraq, but instead focused on our neighbors to the south, Mexico.

Photo courtesy of Alameda Films

Though the dust had settled by presentation time, the film-going community was initially discontent over Mexicois nomination for its representation in the foreign film category. Mexico picked El crimen del Padre Amaro (The Crime of Father Amaro), one of this weekis DVD releases, over the much-hyped tour-de-force Y tu mamá también (And Your Mother Too).

Padre Amaro shouldnit be given the cold shoulder, though. It received great reviews and features the star of both movies (and a rising American star as a result), Gael García Bernal, in an especially poignant performance as Amaro.

The film stirred up perhaps the most controversy ever seen in Mexican cinema even before the Oscars over its portrayal of the crookedness of a Catholic church in the heart of Mexico. It shows the naive Amaro as he learns the ropes of dishonesty and hypocrisy in the Catholic clergy.

Add to this his involvement with a 16-year-old girl from the town, and you get a church so riddled with corruption that it almost rivals the Catholic Church in Boston.

Although not quite so controversial, Standing in the Shadows of Motown has its share of baggage.

For years, Motown Records churned out hit after hit from its Detroit studio, creating a sound that would be the roots of todayis modern hit music.

Standing in the Shadows of Motown explores the legacy of the hit-making machine that turned out such hits as "My Girl" and "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?" by examining the lives of Motownis house band, the Funk Brothers. Its members never received the recognition (or money) they deserved for helping to create one of the most noticeable sounds in music history.

In addition to humorous interviews with living members, the documentary shows a recently recorded concert at which stars of today such as Ben Harper, Joan Osborne, Montell Jordan and Chaka Khan collaborate with some remaining Funk Brothers on some of their biggest hits.

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