Looking for a good politically-themed drama on DVD? Here are some of my recent favorites (I'll have a list of documentaries later). I'm not thrilled by the movie descriptions from Netflix, especially for Guantanamera, but you get the idea...
City of God (2002): Busca-Pe ( Alexandre Rodrigues) lives in Cidade de Deus (City of God), a housing project reputed to be one of the most dangerous parts of otherwise magical Rio de Janeiro. He's frightened he'll end up like the countless others around him -- troubled, violent or dead. But his saving grace is his photographer's eye, through which the stories of several people who live in this forsaken "city" unfold.
Guantanamera (1994): When her aunt dies soon after coming to visit, Gina ( Mirta Ibarra) takes the body to Havana, accompanied by the woman's aging childhood sweetheart ( Raul Eguren). To their annoyance, Gina's husband (Carlos Cruz), an undertaker with political ambitions, takes charge of the journey. But Gina begins to fall in love with someone else when the group repeatedly crosses paths with a playboy trucker (Jorge Perugorria).
Machuca (2005): Set in 1973 Santiago amid political unrest, this tale centers on the friendship of two schoolboys from vastly different backgrounds. After receiving a scholarship for poor kids, new pupil Pedro (Ariel Mateluna) is bullied by his rich peers. Seeking escape from his stormy home life, well-to-do Gonzalo ( Matias Quer) befriends Pedro. The two grow close despite class hierarchy, but politics invade the school and threaten to destroy their friendship.
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004): This film tells the incredible true story of a 23-year-old medical student from Argentina, Che Guevara (yes, that Che, played here by Gael Garcia Bernal ), who motorcycled across South America with his friend Alberto Granado ( Rodrigo de la Serna) in 1951-52. The trek became a personal odyssey that ultimately crystallized the young man's budding revolutionary beliefs. Walter Salles's film is based on Che's own diaries of the trip.
Pan's Labyrinth (2006): In this fairy tale for adults, 10-year-old Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) stumbles on a decaying labyrinth guarded by Pan ( Doug Jones), an ancient satyr who claims to know her destiny. With a new home, a new stepfather ( Sergi Lopez) -- a Fascist officer in the pro-Franco army -- and a new sibling on the way, nothing is familiar to Ofelia in this multiple Oscar-winning tale set in 1944 Spain from director Guillermo del Toro.
Paradise Now (2005): Hany Abu-Assad's disturbing yet moving tale finds two men at a critical juncture in their lives. They've been drafted as suicide bombers in an upcoming assignment in Tel Aviv. Granted a night to spend with their families, they go home but are unable to say goodbye for fear of tipping their hand. But perhaps it isn't time for farewells yet as the two become separated during the mission and must decide on their own whether to continue or bail out.
The Syrian Bride (2004): Eran Riklis's film digs into the Middle East conflict with the tale of a Druze woman who lives with her family in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Her family makes plans for her to marry a Syrian television star from Damascus, but the wedding must take place at the border, and once she marries and crosses into Syria, she'll never be able to return home. Hiyam Abbass and Makram J. Khoury and Clara Khoury star.
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