Diandra: A Life in Movies

1995: A Little Princess

Gorgeous, heartwarming, everything.

1996: The Trap (罠)

More people need to watch the Maiku Hama, Private Eye movies! They’ve got a jaunty theme tune. They have the coolest, dorkiest, worst-dressed detective ever! The third movie has one of the scariest serial killers on film! It takes an elegant turn into haunting and creepy noir psychological horror! Please give this trilogy a try! Read my writeup on the films first!

1997: Brother (Брат)

Who knew that the way for a movie to totally win me over was to feature a slightly dorky, quite prejudiced, but still ruthless killer who saws off his own shotgun? Fans say that you’d have to be Russian to understand the complexities of what seems like a straightforward rescue thriller, but I think non-Russian me picked up on hints of what the movie might say about the “New Russia.

This movie made me a lifelong fan of the charismatic Sergei Bodrov Jr., definitely another star gone before his time. Brother is an exciting classic in what’s probably my favorite genre, the lone warrior crime movie.

1998: The Truman Show

Even upon rewatching, it still brings a tear to the eye.

1999: The Iron Giant

It was Thanksgiving when I watched this in the Metreon in San Francisco. You could sense the movie winning everyone over with its warmth, storytelling skill, and laxative jokes.

2000: Billy Elliot

We had to turn on the subtitles when watching this at a gathering of family friends. Yet I’m glad I was able to understand what was said, for the joy of movement in this movie gains extra dimension from the story with its dialogue and accents.

Diandra Rodriguez

Proudly Latinasian NorCal American.

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