see this movie!

on sunday, jordan and i went to see a new ecuadorian movie, que tan lejos (which basically means "oh how far").  the movie was directed by tania hermida and is about two women, one ecuadorian and one spanish, traveling from the city of quito to the city of cuenca. 

i highly recommend this movie to anyone who has traveled in ecuador in the past or would like to travel here in the future (especially anyone who might happen to have friends living in quito and cuenca).  there are beautiful scenes of both the sierra and the beach.  plus, there are hysterical portrayals of ecuadorian culture.  for those of you unaware of what that might mean, here are a few examples:

- a cab driver who is unable to provide change for a $20 bill, when the fare is $15. there is always a shortage of change here and my stress level always increases when i realize i only have $20s in my wallet. 

-t ahe cab driver also makes up a silly reason for why the fare costs $15 when the woman was told it would cost $8.  we've heard about an evening tax, a hotel tax, an extra person tax, various holiday taxes, etc. none of which are true.

-a road the women are traveling down is blocked due to some sort of political demonstration that nobody knows any details about.  political demonstrations are very popular in ecuador, and sometimes really do lead to great change in the government (like when the last president was forced to flee the country).  many times, however, we here about a protest that has lead to streets being shut down without any details about why people are protesting or if the protest is the real reason for the blocked roads.

-a man, who after hearing that liga (his favorite soccer team) scored a goal, pulls over his car, takes a liga flag out of the glove compartment, gets out of the car and proceeds to dance around in the street. ecuadorians love their soccer.

-the same man as above offers to drive the two women and their traveling companion, jesus, part of the way to cuenca.  during the trip he discovers that jesus and him are actually distant cousins.  everyone in ecuador seems to be related somehow to everyone else.

i'm not sure when this movie will be heading on to other countries, but when it does, go see it!

Comments

[Julia]

I will keep an eye out...i hope it comes to california, I really want to see some Ecuador scenes!

[gracia]

Hey there Risa, I'll keep my eyes peeled for it... fingers crossed we'll get to see it soon. see you, g

[yah]

Ah the memories! I have a crazy Ecuadorian cab story of my own. I love that country !! I'll definitely check it out when (if) it gets to ATL but chances are I'll have to get it on Netflix

[louise]

Hi Risa, Thanks for your fantastic description, I'll keep an eye out for it in Australia.
Cheers, Louise

[Jose Andrade]

Hey Risa!

This movie sounds hilarious!... I doubt I'll ever find it here in CT!... have to buy it in my next trip to Ecuadorsh.

[shari]

the movie looks great risa. thanks for the recommendation. xox shari

[Mar]

I didn`t heard about this movie, but i´ll be attentive. It´s been a long time without read your blog, there are a lots of interestings things to view and links to visit :)

[Jose Andrade]

Found the trailer!... seeing the guy jumping with the Liga flag is great! lol

http://www.que-tan-lejos.com/trailer2.html

[Veronica TM]

Sounds like a good movie! The street demonstrations remind me of Argentina, there is always a traffic mess due to them in some part of Buenos Aires.

[Galo]

Great film from Tania Hermida, It won the Silver award for new film makers at the Montreal International film Festival, among other's, it might be easier to get it in other countries...

Oh by the way, for several things that I have been searching on google about Ecuador, I keep getting your page and I really like your points of view, so funny things... and yes i do also enjoy putting all my books by colors, are we nutz? :)