On Friday I went to a food cart called La Arepa. The one I went to is on SE Foster. I have never been to that part of Portland. It has a Midwest/Southern feel to it. Some of the buildings look western still. This cart is part of the Portland Mercado. It is made up of Hispanic food trucks. There are a lot of bright colors. There is a building at one end. It has a pretty mural on it. There is a parking lot. La Arepa is in the corner apart from the other carts. They make Venezuelan food. The cart is decorated in the colors of the flag. To order the food you use an ipad like thing. You choose what you want and pay. Then wait for your food. I don't know if this is because of COVID or they always had it. You don't really talk to anyone until the end when you choose your salsas. I got a shredded beef arepa and tostones (fried green plantains) with a mild avocado salsa. The tostones were good but they really need salt or the salsa. The arepa was good. The meat had good flavor. The corn arepa itself was nice and crispy. It's what I've been looking for since I saw arepas on Jane the Virgin. It is messy. Mostly because the shredded beef is hard to bite through. I'm glad not many people were around because it was not pretty. I would go back.
Monday: Elmer Gantry (1960)
Elmer is a traveling salesmen. He is charming and can talk anyone into anything. One day he walks into a evangelist service. The main speaker is a woman named Sister Sharon. Elmer is fascinated by her. He convinces her to let him preach for her. She is reluctant. Elmer turns out to be a convincing preacher. Soon they are getting more attention. They get called to do bigger cities. Even with all the success people still think they are frauds. Elmer's dark past comes to haunt him and make trouble. I thought this movie was ok. Interesting to see how the evangelist movement was back in the 30s or whenever it was.
Tuesday: Fury (1936)
Joe is engaged to Katherine. They don't have enough money to get married. So Katherine moves away to work and save. When they have enough Joe travels to see her. He is arrested and accused of being the kidnapper that has been all over the news papers. He is innocent. Even the sheriff isn't completely sure it is him. The word gets out that a suspect is in custody. The people of the town get riled up. They attack the jail and burn it down. Joe is presumed dead. To get his revenge Joe frames the mobs for his murder. He wants them to pay for what they did. I thought this movie was alright.
Wednesday: The Wagons Roll at Night (1941)
Nick runs a circus. Flo is the fortune teller. She loves him but he never commits to anything with her. One day a lion escapes from the cage. It wanders into a grocery store. Matt, the grocery clerk, traps the lion and saves a child. Amazed at how he handled the lion and wanting to ride on the publicity, Nick hires Matt to help with the lions. Matt learns from the lion tamer, who is a drunk. When the lion tamer can't go on one night Matt has to be the main lion tamer. He does a good job. Nick puts him in charge and fires the other one. When Nick goes out of town Matt gets hurt. Not wanting to draw attention to the circus Flo takes Matt to Nick's farm. Nick wants to keep his sister away from the circus life. Flo thinks it will be ok until she discovers his sister, Mary, is back home. She hopes Nick won't find out. But Matt and Mary fall in love while he heals. When Nick finds out he is furious. He tries to separate them with no success. Nick turns to more drastic measures. This movie is good, but not great. Of course it has lions in it so I had to see it.
Friday: Pieces of a Woman (2020)
Martha is pregnant with her first child. She and her husband Sean want a home birth. When she goes into labor they call the midwife. Her's isn't available so another has to come. Martha has difficulties giving birth. The baby dies soon after being born. The rest of the movie shows the year following the loss. Martha and Sean are grieving in their own ways and drifting apart. With encouragement from her mother, Martha and Sean have pressed charges on the midwife. They blame her. The case is all over the news. Martha struggles to move on. I thought this movie was ok. I heard reviews about how hard it was to watch and that it was so depressing. I mean the birth scene is long and uncomfortable, but not that bad. Yeah it's sad, but not that bad either.
Saturday: Sylvie's Love (2020)
This movie is set in the 50s. Robert is a jazz saxophonist just getting his start. To make some extra money he gets a job a record store. The store owner's daughter, Sylvie, also works there. She is obsessed with TV but also knows a lot about music. She is engaged to a man fighting in Korea. Despite that they fall in love. Sylvie gets pregnant just as Robert gets a big gig in Paris. She decides not to tell him so he can be successful. She marries her fiance. Years pass. Sylvie gets a job at a tv studio. She runs into Robert and their romance is reignited. Their careers and relationships make it hard for them to be together, but their love is strong. This is a really good movie. I can see it getting some oscar buzz. It is a classic 50s movie made current. And most of the actors are black. It is mostly about their love story. It doesn't focus too much on what was going on at that time for black people.
Sunday: Black Orpheus (1959)
This is a Brazilian film. It a retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. It takes place in Rio during Carnaval. Eurydice runs away to Rio to escape a man who wants to kill her. She plans to stay with her cousin Serafina. On the way she meets a handsome street car driver named Orpheus. Orpheus's girlfriend, Mira, is forcing them to get married. Orpheus doesn't really like her. At her cousin's house Eurydice discovers Orpheus lives right next door. While getting ready for carnival she spends time with Orpheus at rehearsal. He is the lead singer and performer of the samba school that will be in carnaval. They fall in love. During Carnaval the man chasing Eurydice shows up. Everything is thrown into chaos. I thought this movie was good.
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