Common Ground

Starring:Federico Luppi, Mercedes Sampietro, Arturo Puig, Carlos SantamarÃa, Valentina Bassi, MarÃa Fiorentino, Claudio Rissi, Osvaldo Santoro, JosÃ© Soriano, Yael BarnatÃ¡n, JosÃ© Luis Alfonzo, Graciela Tenenbaum
Director: Adolfo Aristarain
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Description

Fernando, a respected university professor, and Lili, his devoted wife, have happily lived in Buenos Aires for many years. Without warning, they find their comfortable world threatened when Fernando is forced into early retirement. Facing an uncertain future, the couple relocates to the countryside where they bravely set out on a new chapter of their lives.

Customer Reviews:

Aging: The Hardships and the Rewards.......2006-12-05

LUGARES COMUNES (Common Ground) is yet another sensitive Argentinean film that has the courage to deal with the bumpy political life of Argentina as well as the equally rocky road to aging. Based on the novel by Lorenzo F. Aristarain and directed by Adolfo Aristarain this is a film of sunlight and shadows - and those clouds that promise to unveil the sun despite passing darkness.

Fernando Robles (Federico Luppi) is a writer and university professor in Buenos Aires who is informed before his planned trip to Madrid to visit his son Pedro (Carlos Santamaría) and daughter-in-law Natacha (Valentina Bassi) that he is being placed in early retirement: the crumbling government of Argentina cannot support such things as education! After an exquisite farewell of sage advice to his students on what is important in the role of a teacher, he goes home to his loving wife of many years Liliana (Mercedes Sampietro) to prepare for their journey to Madrid. At the airport Liliana senses sadness in Fernando and he confesses that he has been 'fired', that they have little money to live on in Buenos Aires: he covers his sadness by buying Liliana perfumes she loves. This couple is bonded so beautifully it makes us weep.

In Madrid the couple is forced to stay with the son and daughter but the closeness of this familial proximity is intolerable when Fernando informs his son of his financial situation. Pedro is cold and harsh and is in life for money and refuses to assist his parents. The couple leaves, returning to Argentina where they under advice from lawyer Carlos (Arturo Puig) sell their home and move to the country where they plan to grow grapes - a return to the purity of the land. But fate intervenes and the story ends in a manner that leaves the viewer sad but wiser.

The cast is sterling and the direction is first rate. This is one of those films that should be required viewing for many reasons, but especially for people who are approaching the time of retirement and the fear that holds. Highly recommended for a large viewing audience. In Spanish with English subtitles. Grady Harp, December 06

Good acting not enough.......2006-06-01

Like most Aristarain's films, this one goes nowhere plot-wise. It is also peppered with presumptuous ranting and gratuitous, artificial dialogue, much in Aristarain's style. The actors make a very professional effort in trying to put some life in the starchy script and slow plot, but not even the skill of Luppi can prevent the movie from stopping dead when his character is forced give speeches on every utterance.
A waste of acting talent, Spanish money and my time.

"In questions of survival, there are no rules.".......2005-10-10

In the Argentinean film "Common Ground", the country's failing economy provides the backdrop to the misfortunes of a middle class, middle-aged couple. Literature professor, Federico Luppi (Fernando Robles) and his wife, social worker Liliana (Mercedes Sampietro) live in Buenos Aires. One day they lose their jobs. Both victims of budget cuts, Federico is also selected for early retirement for his political views.

The couple takes a holiday in Madrid to see their only son Pedro (Carlos Santamaria) who, according to his father, has sold out for the nice middle class life--giving up dreams of becoming a novelist to work in computer technology. The holiday to Madrid proves to be a failure, and Federico and Lili return to Buenos Aires with their financial problems unsolved.

With the government not paying pensions immediately, Federico and Lili face imminent financial disaster, and they're forced to sell their spacious modern apartment and move to the country where they hope to grow lavender for perfume.

"Common Ground" is a tepid, rather limp drama that fails to inspire on many levels. First, given the financial problems experienced by Federico and Lili, they talk about shrinking their lifestyle, and living on a budget. While Federico grows more depressed, their life really seems to change very little. There's still wine, still cigarettes, and still plenty of food. A further blow to undermine the film's power is the unrealistic and idealized move to the country. This move is supposed to be a step downwards which will enable the middle-aged couple to survive--at least they'll have the ability to grow their own food and develop a preposterous business plan. Not one scene of toil is evident--Lili removes home made bread from a primitive, ancient oven and serves it hot with her home-made marmalade, and Federico delivers a final knock to a stake in the ground, but that's it.

By glossing over the hardships of growing your own food, the film weakens the dilemma of this city couple. From the viewer's position, Federico and Lili while worried about their future, were never exposed to the true meaning of poverty. With a sanitized version of country life, their downsizing--which is supposed to be a hardship--looks like an enviable, bucolic retirement.

The film also skirts the issue of Federico's politics. The plot allows him one or two vague token discourses on the subject. There's also an entirely gratuitous scene that takes place between Federico and a woman named Tutti, and this is all part of the cumbersome subplot about lavender farming. Ultimately, this well-acted film goes nowhere. While it tries to show how Argentina's financial problems eroded the life of one nice couple, it fails to do more than scratch the surface. In Spanish with English subtitles--displacedhuman

Aristarain & Luppi: what a pair!!.......2004-11-04

Filmmaker Adolfo Aristarain and actor Federico Luppi have collaborated quite a few times over the years. Always wonderful movies, always superb acting. Lugares Comunes is precisely that: a wonderful movie with superb acting. The usual Aristarain/Luppi fare. It is a quiet movie, a movie for those who like ideas, a movie to be watched and watched over and over again. A true masterpiece. Let us hope the other collaborations between those two giants are soon available on dvd here on Amazon

A poignant film!.......2004-07-27

This simple story is another proof about the enormous talent of this argentine film maker . The decay and the last day about a teacher who decides to retire to a farm , the plans and the illusion with his wife are the central focus of the supreme film .
Don't miss this one.

ABC News Nightline A Matter of Choice? Gays, Straights, and the Search For Common-Ground

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ABC News Nightline A Matter of Choice? Gays, Straights, and the Search For Common-Ground

Manufacturer: ABC News
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Description

One day a man came in to the Back Street Caf_, a gay bar, and opened fire, shooting multiple people at random. The shooter killed one person and wounded six others. A drifter from out of town, he told police he had been teased all his life because of his name, Ronald Gay. Inadvertently, perhaps, Ronald Gay forced the community of Roanoke to come face to face with certain parts of itself it might previously have ignored. It could easily have turned into an indictment of Roanoke as a breeding ground for hate crimes. But local gays and lesbians said, `No, that wouldn't be fair.' That's not the way the city is. The mayor, a devout Southern Baptist, who personally regards homosexuality as a sin, debated whether he should appear at the vigil, and then concluded that as the mayor of all the citizens of Roanoke, he should, and he did. The local paper, The Roanoke Times, had been working on a major series about homosexuality before the shooting. They'd been having a hard time getting gays and lesbians to talk. The Roanoke Times published a series that ran over four days, front page, inside page, cover of the feature section, on and on and on. For a community that had largely kept its opinions on homosexuality to itself, a community that was reeling from the shock of the Back Street shootings, the series was like lancing a boil. The subject of gays and lesbians in Roanoke, though, was all but unavoidable. It certainly couldn't be tucked back into the closet again. Correspondent: Ted Koppel

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A Heart-warming Pilgrimage of Reconciliation
Incredible

On Common Ground
Starring: Walter Cronkite , John Kenneth Galbraith , Daniel J. Goldhagen , and Tom Brokaw
Director: David Eilenberg , and Jessica Glass
Manufacturer: Arts Alliance Amer
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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When Trumpets Fade
A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams, 1944-1945
The First World War - The Complete Series
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ASIN: B0001ME5G2
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Product Description

The battle of the Huertgen Forest was one of the bloodiest of World War II. American and German forces suffered in excess of 60,000 casualties over a freezing six-month winter campaign. For the soldiers who survived, memories of the horror of that battle have continued to this day.

This is the true story of a battlefield reunion of American and German soldiers nearly 55 years after they fought in the Huertgen forest. This time they meet in the spirit of reconciliation, but vivid memories from the war and unanswered questions are never far beneath the surface.

System Requirements:

Running Time 75 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

A Heart-warming Pilgrimage of Reconciliation.......2004-09-11

"On Common Ground" encapsulates the the journey of reconciliation embarked upon by veterans of the 28th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division during their visit to Europe in 1999. The film culminates in a meeting of American and German veterans who opposed one another in the deadly Huertgen Forest Campaign during the fall of 1944. "On Common Ground" lends a real-life look at the best of "Saving Private Ryan," and "Band of Brothers" combined. The emotions expressed by the American and German veterans, and the memories they share about their war time experiences are priceless. The film combines veteran interviews with historical themes throughout. The instrumental character is Michael Eliasof, president of the 28th Regiment Association, and a gifted story-teller. Of the thirty-man platoon who landed with Eliasof at Utah Beach on July 4, 1944, only six survived the war. The producers chose to focus on the veterans and allow them to tell their own stories. We see a true to life heart retching experience, reminiscent of "Saving Private Ryan" in an American military cemetery. Here, Stephen J. Butko of Pittsburgh, Pa. visits the grave of a fallen comrade. In 1944, Butko was offered a promotion from private to sergeant. He refused, but recommended his friend Elmer M. Miller get the job instead. Miller was killed two days later, and Butko has blamed himself ever since. Butko was eventually evacuated with combat exhaustion, and his segments are some of the most honest and moving in the film. Allowing the veterans to tell the whole story, presents problems, however. A more careful campaign structure on the 8th Division, would have provided a more solid framework from which to support the veteran's perspective. There was a military historian, Steve Bowman with the group, but apparently, most of his comments wound up on the editing room floor. The vets mention the various campaigns - Normandy, Brittany, Huertgen Forest, the German cities of Duren and Cologne, the Ruhr Pocket, liberating the concentration camp at Wobbelin, and eventual link-up with the Russians - but, only briefly. Anyone not familiar with the 8th Division, an outfit that sustained a 140% casualty rate, will not be any more informed from this documentary. A more careful telling of the campaigns would have underscored the ordeal these brave vets endured. The view from the foxhole was a narrow one. Grand strategy did not trickle down to the M-1 toting grunt. For instance, Eliasof contends that the Americans could have "advanced through the valley near Aachen, and been to the Rhine River in days" instead of fighting for months in the Huertgen Forest (He is referring here to the "Aachen Gap"). Likewise, a German veteran reinforces this claim by stating he is amazed that the Americans entered the Huertgen Forest in the first place. The film leaves it at that. The American strategy, of course was not that simple. But this is the crucks of the controversy that has vailed the Huertgen Forest Campaign ever since. The producers tightly kept the lid on a perpetual can of worms. To lend "professionalism," the producers injected brief comments by Tom Brokaw and Walter Cronkite. Cronkite was a war correspondent who accompanied combat units in Europe, and a much loved grandfather figure. Brokaw, getting more mileage out of the success of his "Greatest Generation" book, is a suave talking head. He is a top-notch professional journalist, not an historian, and by no means an expert on the history of WWII. Lastly, the producers chose to add a bitter controversy about German concentration camps and whether or not "ordinary Germans" were aware of their existence at the time. Eliasof wisely concludes that the German infantrymen opposing him apparently did not know of the true nature of the camps. The German infantryman, argues Eliasof, like his American counterpart, was merely trying to survive the riggers of combat, and was most likely not any better informed about the camps existence than Eliasof and his buddies were. One German admitted he had some knowledge of them, but assumed they were forced labor camps, and that the prisoners were fed and treated reasonably well. Others, claim they were totally unaware of their existence until after the war. Interestingly, two of the German veterans reveal that today, they are looked down upon by the younger generation of Germans (including members of their own families) as "murderers" for having been in the German military, and not opposing Hitler. As a spokesman of his own generation, he pleads with the viewers to reconsider this sentiment. The producers add a rebuttal (special feature) by Daniel Goldhagen, author of the book _Hitler's Willing Executioners_. Goldhagen's book is required reading in colleges. He argues that all Germans, at every level of society knew about the existence of the camps, and because of that knowledge, are deemed "perpetrators" in the Holocaust. On the one hand, this topic certainly cannot be ignored. The Holocaust was horrible beyond description. Since the 8th Division did take part in the liberation of the Wobbelin concentration camp, these vets saw the ghastly results with their own eyes. On the other hand, one gets the feeling that the German veterans who agreed to meet with the Americans in the Huertgen in 1999, were set-up and pummelled by the producers with the added weight of Goldhagen. But unfortunately, living with this dark chapter in German history is a fact of life for all Germans. If anything, the film brought that out. With American and German World War II veterans dying at an alarming rate, this film is indispensable for its historic value. I hope it finds it way to PBS, or other educational cable channels, so a wider range of viewers will benefit from its content. Despite this mild critique, this documentary comes highly recommended. Gregory Canellis son of Sgt. Nicholas Canellis, 13th Infantry, 8th Division 1941-1945 (deceased 1962).

Incredible.......2004-06-06

It's an excellent film. I never truly felt like I understood the sacrifices and trials that our soldiers went through in World War II. The reunion between the American soldiers and the German soldiers makes you think.

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Common Ground

Manufacturer: Vision Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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amazon.com

Evangelist Billy Graham is known around the globe. He has preached in remote African villages and in the heart of New York City, and those to whom he has ministered have ranged from heads of state to the bushmen of Australia. Millions have responded to Billy Graham's message to follow Jesus Christ. Whether old or young, rich or poor, celebrated or obscure, from around the world they find themselves spiritually on Common Ground. Now hear firsthand the stories of people touched by Graham's ministry and witness the dramatic transformation that has taken place in their lives. Individuals featured in the program include Graham's wife, Ruth, and their five children; former Presidents George Bush and Gerald Ford; television personality Kathie Lee Gifford; actress Jeannette Clift George; Jerome Hines, leading bass of the Metropolitan Opera for 41 years; and Phillip Goudeaux, former member of the Black Panther party and now pastor of a growing San Diego church. Common Ground is narrated by stage and screen actress Julie Harris.

Average customer rating:

A Heart-warming Pilgrimage of Reconciliation
Incredible

On Common Ground
Starring: Walter Cronkite , John Kenneth Galbraith , Daniel J. Goldhagen , and Tom Brokaw
Director: David Eilenberg , and Jessica Glass
Manufacturer: Arrow Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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When Trumpets Fade
A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams, 1944-1945
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ASIN: B00009PY4N
Release Date: 2003-07-15

Description

"AS HEROIC AND MOVING AS ANYTHING IN SAVING PRIVATE RYAN" -Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times

On Common Ground is the true story of a reunion of American and German soldiers nearly 55 years after they fought in the Huetgen Forest Battle, one of the bloodiest campaigns of WWII. This time they meet in reconciliation, but vivid memories from the war and unanswered questions are never far beneath the surface. Includes commentary by Tom Brokaw, Walter Cronkite, John Kenneth Galbraith, and never before seen historical footage from American Combat Cameramen.

Customer Reviews:

A Heart-warming Pilgrimage of Reconciliation.......2004-09-11

Incredible.......2004-06-06

Lugares Comunes (Common Ground) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

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Lugares Comunes (Common Ground) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]
Director: Adolfo Aristarain
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000LI40Z2

Inspiring Drummers Series: Common Ground

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Inspiring Drummers Series: Common Ground
Starring: Various Artists
Manufacturer: Warner Brothers Pub.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Mega Bucks Common Ground X

Manufacturer: mossy oak
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OVER 3 HOURS,26 DEER HUNTS,WITH SPECIAL FEATURES.

Common Ground: What Protestants and Catholics Can Learn From Each Other

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Common Ground: What Protestants and Catholics Can Learn From Each Other

Manufacturer: Kensington Community Church
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

This DVD is a revealing and candid conversation between the leaders of two large churches in Troy Michigan, just North of Detroit: Father John Riccardo of St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church, and Pastor Steve Andrews of Kensington Community Church. Seeking common ground, "the priest and the pastor" respectfully examine the similarities between the two great traditions they represent. Regardless of your religious background, you'll be intrigued by their open discussion about: * Salvation * Holy Eucharist * The Virgin Mary * Confession * The Saints * Prayer & Worship * Evangelism * Christian Unity

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