My Time Will Come/Getting Home
Various
Unrated
Now Showing at: Cincinnati World Cinema
Review by: Larry Thomas

I love foreign films. They have a different style, and are generally not ruled by the American fixation with creating a blockbuster box office hit. They transport me to places I will likely never go. It’s possible to see the sights and hear the sounds, and with a good imagination, even smell the smells.

In Cincinnati, the foreign films shown in the regular theatres are few and far between. Fortunately, there’s Cincinnati World Cinema to take up the slack. Their fall Global Film Series, featuring ten films from around the world, continues into December.

My Time Will Come is from Ecuador, and shot in the city of Quito. A predawn murder sets in motion a series of interlocking tragedies that result in several of the victims lying next to each other at the city morgue. The pathologist in charge is a young doctor who has more than his share of emotional baggage. He is uncommunicative with his peers, has serious family issues, and finds it hard to relate to members of the opposite sex, especially a young Colombian intern who is obviously quite interested in him. Yet he seems to bond in some fashion with the personal lives of his deceased charges. The intertwining of the various people is rather like walking through a maze and occasionally passing the same person going the other way. But it’s a fascinating journey, and not hampered in any way by the films low budget or fairly inexperienced actors. If an American company were to buy the rights to My Time Will Come, it might likely be to remake it in Los Angeles with Nicolas Cage as the doctor. But before that should ever happen, you can still see the original while it’s still fresh and unique.

The unrated My Time Will Come shows today at 6:30, and again on Tuesday at 7:30.

The second film for the week is Getting Home, from China, and is also related to death. A man from a small farming community is in the big city working in construction. He and his co-worker, Zhao, are downing a few at their local watering hole when the man dies at the table. Following the Chinese belief that “falling leaves return to their roots,” Zhao follows the man’s wishes of returning home to his family. Money is in short supply and the journey is long, but Zhao starts on his trek, carrying along his dead friend.

It’s not as morbid as it sounds, but neither is it an Asian version of Weekend at Bernie's. There are many good things about Getting Home… excellent photography, good music score, and some terrific performances. There’s one scene involving a robber on a bus in which that character does a complete 180 in the middle of gathering the loot from the passengers, and ends up giving a moving speech about loyalty. While the whole effort tended to leave me cold, you may enjoy this story that explores the humanity of a different culture.

The unrated Getting Home is screened today at 4:30 pm and again on Wednesday at 7:30 pm. Tickets for today’s showings can be purchased as a double feature, if you wish to see both films at one sitting.

Cincinnati World Cinema is at Covington’s Carnegie Arts Center. There is a cash bar social hour before the first film on Sunday, and on Tuesday and Wednesday. There will be post-film discussions after each showing with guest speakers.