Learning the cinemas of the world

As Chilean forensic pathologists clinically described how Agave Díaz's husband, Fernando, was killed, they counted the bullet holes and broken ribs he endured while he was still living. \nThe Chilean film "Fernando Has Returned" features the workings of Chile's Identification Unit as it attempts to identify all the bodies of the "disappeared" persons during the Pinochet dictatorship. The movie is one of many Latin American films that professor and Director of Portuguese studies Darlene Sadlier features in her communication and culture class, C398: National Cinemas: Latin American Film.\n"The film component of this class gives students another look at the Latin-American culture," Sadlier said. "Films have a way of given an immediacy to the past and present the reality of life in these countries. While we look at the film's form and structure, we also look at the film's message and purpose in its portrayal of Latin- American society."\nEach semester, the course, which carries arts and humanities credit, focuses on a different cultural influence in cinema. For this semester's topic, Latin-American film, Sadlier said she uses films to analyze the different political, social and economic challenges each country faces.\nSadlier said she developed the course in the 1980s. Since then, her biggest challenge has been trying to incorporate a wide variety of Latin-American films into the curriculum, she said.\n"It's impossible to do adequate justice to all the different Latin- American film industries and countries," Sadlier said. "Latin America cinema is in a boom period, so to incorporate all the movies from all the different countries is a challenge. But I try to show clips from each one so students have an idea of the different national cinemas."\nJunior David Robb knew he had to sign up for the class after reading the course description. His love for cinema and interest in Latin-American culture made this semester's class an obvious choice, he said. \n"When I read the course description at registration, I immediately knew I had to take this class," he said. "I have an incredible passion for cinema, so I definitely wanted to take advantage of this course."\nStudents attend class discussions from 1 to 2:15 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and mandatory film screenings 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays as well. Film screenings include movies from Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Assignments throughout the semester include a midterm and final composed of essay questions, a research paper and an oral presentation on the students' final research project, Sadlier said. \nFor Robb, one of the greatest benefits of the class is the diverse makeup of students, as the class is taught in conjunction with two graduate courses. He added that because the majority of students are from Latin America, and half of the class is graduate students, the diversity of cultural and intellectual differences brings a new perspective to the class. \n"Because everyone is coming from a different background, it really adds another dimension to the class," Robb said. "The Latin-American students can relate to experiences in the movies with what is reality."\nNext semester's National Cinema topic will focus on "Soviet Film and Culture of the 1920s." Even with the change of subject, Robb encourages students to consider enrolling in the course. \n"I highly recommend this class for people who love movies and who care about what's going on in the world," he said. "This class will definitely change your perception of the world after taking it"