Tango

I have to admit, I enjoyed the movie Tango much more than expected.  It was slow at first, but the powerful dancing, the lighting gave you a mixture of emotions, and the storyline took you on rollercoaster feelings through the movie.  The story portrayed a film producer Mario's life.  We started off by seeing his scenes with his ex (girlfriend, wife or other), then a period of mourning, followed by a new, younger love in his life.  The lighting helped show the emotions he was feeling during each scene.  Warm colors represented happier times, and then blended into muted tones of warm colors that made you feel hostility.  The quickly moving light made you feel unsettled, unsure of what was going to happen.  Then white to black, black to white gave a feeling of a struggle between the different emotions love emits. 
The actual storyline from the production (the end of the movie) told more of a timeline of Argentina.  The ups and downs the people of Argentina had during their turbulent history.  Though possibly difficult to interpret, the scene where the military was torturing the citizens was very powerful, and in my opinion, well-choreographed.  The orange color gave you a violent feeling, mixed with the motion of the dance provided a chaotic scene.  The very end, when the mafia boss yelled out to his former love, Mario’s current love, I really thought the scene had gone wrong, and the perpetrator was really going to kill her for leaving the mafia boss.  Mario runs to her screaming, that made me think he was next.   Overall, I applaud the movie.      
Chris Pappas

El Viaje de Carol

Carol fights against the conventionalisms found in this new cultural by.....
Not conforming to the social norms usually associated with being a women in a Spain.  When her mother dies, she is forced to live with her aunt, who tries to impose her will on Carol.  Another way she does this is by continuing to try to get letters to her father, who is an American as well, fighting for the "other" side of the Spanish revolution.  Her American background plays a major role in both of these examples.  Many people across the world, have the impression that Americans are hard headed, not willing to change.  While this may be true, it definitely interferes with Carol's ability to adapt to her new culture in Spain. 

The Franco years...what is pretty amazing about Franco and reign of power that he held was that he had absolute power for 40 years.  That is an absurd amount of time for one regime, let alone one person to hold power over an entire country.  He abolishes Parliament, and possibly more damaging, he did away with all political parties (his opposition).  Though not everything that Franco did could be considered bad, he definitely did many things that have hurt Spain even 35 years later.  He suppressed many of the rights of women, especially the right to an education.
Chris Pappas

Volver

Volver

            This film was definitely a tribute to women.  There were some obvious points to this thought, all the main and just about every character was a woman.  A man committed a horrendous act, was killed, stored in a freezer then buried in that same freezer, in a river bed.  The more subtle traits were the strength of all the women portrayed in the movie.  Not to mention that Raimunda was a stunningly attractive woman, who controlled, if not manipulated pretty much everyone she encountered.  But did it with a smile and charm that made you want to do what she said.  Irene, the mother, though in a different way was also a prominent character in the movie.  She reappeared as a caretaker for their aunt, after being believed dead for many years.  After Irene’s sister, Aunt Paula (Raimunda’s aunt) passed she took on the task of caring for Augustina.  A person giving care for others, is a trait of strength.  Their strength through several deaths, including a self defensive killing, nosey neighbors, is blatantly present throughout the movie. 

            An example of tension between superstitious beliefs and real life aspects through the film could be, the thought that dead people in the village return to their loved ones and that the wind make the villagers crazy.  Irene is thought to have perished in a fire then she reveals herself to her daughters.  The wind is mentioned a couple of time throughout the movie.  Large power generating wind turbines are shown during driving scenes, to and from the village to the city.  Aunt Paula is believed to have lost her wits in the years prior to her death, though some of it was actual truth.  Irene did come back to help her in the later part of her life. 

Chris Pappas

Entre Nos

                                                                Chris Pappas

Entre Nos

Admittedly this was a hard movie for me to watch.  Mariana brings her two kids to the US, to reunite with her husband, only to find that he leaves after only two weeks.  Wow, what a piece of work this guy was!  He leaves them with literally nothing to help them survive.  Mariana, though the movie doesn’t say that she is illegal, kind of implies that fact.  She has to do what she can to provide for her kids.  The kids pretty much stayed upbeat, Mariana’s spirit breaks, though she doesn’t show her kids that fear.  That says a lot about her character and strength to press on in the face of an unknown future. The scene where they climb the stairs for a safer place to sleep, was very hard to watch.  That was a coming of age scene for Gaby.  He leaves before his mother and sister awake, going to work, to help provide for his family.  To get over yourself, to pick up everything you’ve known and let it go, accepting that you have to be the provider, was a powerful point to me. 

At the end, when Gaby had to tell his new classmates a little about his summer, you could see the maturation and experience in his voice.  While the other kids did their normal summer routine, he had to help his mother and sister stay alive.  I couldn’t imagine having to sleep outside in New York City, for anything.  I’m not a parent, but this makes you see the lengths a parent must go to keep their kids alive.  Sacrificing themselves and their wellbeing, to provide for their children is the epitome of being a parent.

The Official Story

The Official Story detailed a period when Argentina's military took back control and punished those who participated in communist militia’s and communistic ideas.  Around 11,000 people, from 1978-1983, disappeared for actions they were a part of during the late 1960's and early 1970's. 
Alicia's husband was friends with "The General", who was no doubt a big part of the reason why they adopted Gaby.  We never really find this out in the movie; I actually did a little research to help fill in the gaps that the movie leaves.  By the end, Alicia knows for sure, that her husband was part of the new military government and their supporters.  Through the movie, Alicia becomes increasingly paranoid that her adopted baby belongs to one of the families accused and punished for their part in the movement.  So much so, that it teats her up inside, this is evident by the glazed over stares and the bouts of emotional breakdown.  She can no longer trust her husband, who, by the end, is a mess himself.  The scene where he beat her, hitting her head against the door frame, then smashing her fingers in the door jam, was hard to watch.  You could see that he was ready to hit her, but I did not see the rest of that incident coming.
Overall, this was a powerful movie that depicted how people can be blinded by acts that are seemingly right in their face.  The husband makes this point to Alicia, as she keeps prodding him to reveal more info.  That's pretty much like living with someone who is living a double life; you only see what that person wants you to see. 
Chris Pappas

Like Water For Chocolate

Chris Pappas

Like Water for Chocolate was definitely an interesting movie, much different than what we have seen previously.  The forbidden love aspect that we discussed before the movie was a definite topic.  With the main character, Tita, her mother, and (red headed) sister Gertrudis, all experiencing a different kind of forbiddance.  The message, in my opinion, was one of following your dreams, not allowing anything to come between.  Tita and Pedro were tortured souls throughout the whole movie.  Longing only to be with each other, but the Cinderalla style mother, wouldn’t allow that to happen, even with her death she haunted the ranch.    

Tita’s special power to add her love to the food she prepared was an interesting use of magical realism.  This ability is set in the normal, modern world, with authentic depictions of humans and society.  Her tears in the wedding cake, made everyone feel her pain.  Her explosion of love, with the rose pedals, made everyone leave the table to pleasure themselves, definitely an interesting twist that I didn’t see coming.   

The most unusual tradition had to be the youngest daughter being forced to care for the mother. I have never heard of such a tradition, and frankly, I’m glad for that.  Some of the characters stood out to me.  Though he didn’t play a large role, Sargento Treviño made me laugh every scene he was involved with.  You had to feel bad for the doctor, who put his love out for Tita, she partially reciprocated, that is, until Pedro was around. 

Motorcycle Diaries

There are many scenes in the film Motorcycle Diaries, that you can see how the experiences shaped the personality of Che Guevara’s future as a leader.  A couple of scenes that stand out to me are when they visit the mine.  Che sees people suffering when waiting to be selected to work in the mine.  He yells at the mine’s foreman for not recognizing the workers were suffering.  We later find out that Che gives the $15 to the couple, after holding onto it for so long, and sacrificing his own well-being to help others.  When they visit Machu Picchu, Che encounters many native people who are poor and are suffering.  You can draw parallels to how he bought into the communist ideals, creating an all for one, one for all mentality.  When they are visiting the leper colony, the amount of human suffering they encounter, really draws out the compassion in Che.  He listens to their stories of government mistreatment and dreams of a united (South) America.

Taking such a long journey, experiencing the different parts of the world and class wealth, went miles to shape Che’s attitude and his direction in political leadership.  The experiences that he had while on the trip, truly made him the leader that he came to be.  The communist sympathy and allowance of a US enemy into a close proximity to our country ultimately sealed the fate of Che. 

Celebrations in the Spanish speaking world have some definite differences when compared to celebrations in the United States.  The first, and most glaring, is how our capitalistic society, along with the media, have made holidays in the United States very materialistic.  I can think of no better example that Christmas.  The “Christmas Season” starts before Thanksgiving now, trying to squeeze every holiday dollar out of the consumers.  In many Spanish speaking countries, the over-abundance of money and food, found in the US, are just not present in Spanish speaking countries.  Some of our holidays, are day, or a couple of days long, where not everything shuts down.  In other countries, the cities basically shut down for time of the holiday.  Here, you can still buy and do many of the things that you can on normal everyday life.  For both, holidays are meant to be spent with family and close friends, but Spanish speaking countries tend to allow for more community involved celebrations.

El Mariachi

Chris Pappas

El Mariachi

                The movie El Mariachi, by Robert Rodriguez, is the prequel to the movie Desperado, starring Antonio Benderas.  There are many stereotypes of Mexicans portrayed in this movie.  From the beginning we see a jailer paid off to let the hit-men into the jail, so they can kill.  The jailor is paid off to look the other way, and then when they fail, the jailor is paid off by the other side, without any repercussions.  The Mariachi symbolizes a stereotype as well; he is hardly in a scene without his guitar case, even when you really don’t believe he needs it.  The Bandito-violence stereotype is present in the character of Azul, runs around the city like he owns it, shooting anyone who gets in his way.  The character of Moco shows the cartel stereotype, wearing all white and running his criminal operation from his home, using intimidation and all other harassing tools to get his way. 

                The statement, “All he wants is to be a Mariachi,” shows that he doesn’t really care about all that is going on around him, the music that his father and grandfather taught him, is all that matters.  He’s forced into defending himself from the men who wrongly confuse him with another Azul.  His new found love for Domino makes it difficult for him to the Mariachi, when she dies, he seeks vengeance.  (As represented in the next movie). 

                Music plays a huge role in this film, one, because a Mariachi is a musician by trade, two, to set the tone for each scene.  The use of sound effects is very prevalent also. 

Machuca

Chris Pappas

Machuca

                Machuca portrays the story of two school aged kids, growing up in Santiago, Chile, during a time of national turmoil and political unrest.  Gonzalo is a boy from the rich side of the river, while Pedro is from a shanti town on the on the other.  They meet in prep school, where there is an effort to communize an elite school.  From the beginning, they both share a common problem; a bully in the class targets each of them.  They develop a friendship that began with looking out for each other.  Their interactions are pretty awkward at first; neither really knows how to treat each other, or just where each is coming from.  There is a real, unavoidable fact that they are from different parts of the world, even though it’s only separated by a river.  They develop an inseparable friendship, along with a neighborhood girl; spend all their free time hanging out together. 

                Definitely, the kids see a distinction between their skin color and social classes.  This is very apparent by the clothes they wear and the reaction to the possessions each other has in their house.  Though they learn to look passed those distinctions, they are always present, right down to the end.  The film shows the classes in the city pretty clearly.  The poor have to wait in food lines, whereas the rich have access to black market goods, not available to the people who don’t have money. 

                The main message that the film shows, is that no matter where you are from, people are not as different as it seems.  Though Gonzalo’s family has all the money and items to make their lives easier, money doesn’t buy happiness.  Gonzalo’s mother has an ongoing relationship with an older man, his father seems to be disconnected with the family.  So much so that he takes a job in Italy.  The film sends a powerful message about government forcing ideals on public.  The communist versus democracy, versus military rule.   

La Misma Luna - Under The Same Moon- Chris Pappas

La Misma Luna

Under The Same Moon

                In the movie, Under the Same Moon, the main character, Carlitos, illegally crosses the United State/ Mexican border to be reunited with his mother.  The story is one of several cultural plots that many illegal, as well as legal immigrants face today. 

                Carlitos’ mother, Rosario, leaves him behind in Mexico, to find a better life for herself and later, Carlitos, in the United States.  She leaves him with her mother, in Mexico, and illegally crosses the border.  The film covers several characters, and their adjustments living in a country that hasn’t fully accepted the rights of illegal immigrants.  During one scene in particular, Carlito is saved from a terrible situation, by a women named Reina.  Reina takes Carlito to her house, where she provides board from several working, illegal immigrants. 

                I’m sure the decision to leave her son behind, in order to provide for a better life for him, was extremely difficult.  To most cultures, family and religion are the most important aspects of life; it’s all that a person has in this world.  This is especially true in areas such as Mexico.  Rosario makes the dangerous trip across the Rio Grande River, and into Texas, all for the future of her family.  When Rosario discovers that Carlito has run away to find her, she is obviously torn on what to do next.  She decides to board a bus to go back to Mexico, only to get off the bus, ultimately finding her son in the place she’s described for years.  There are also scenes where she looks at pictures, and up at the same moon that Carlito is also looking at.  This moon is symbolic, as it represents, though they are far apart, they can find comfort knowing that the moon is still high in the sky. 

                Carlito faced many problems living in Mexico, away from his mother.  He had the pressures of his Aunt and Uncle, from his father that he’d never seen. They wanted to take him, no doubt only because of the money that his mother sent home every month.  Not having either parent in his life, was a tough issue for a nine year old boy to handle.

                Rosario faced a couple of different problems.  She struggle with not having her son, as well as not fully being accepted by the citizens and culture of the United States.  She loses her job as a home keeper, working for a lady who clearly exploits the fact that Rosario is an illegal immigrant. 

                Mothers in the United States do make similar choices, like the one Rosario did.  Many mothers make daily sacrifices for the well being of their children.  Going without the time and possessions they could have, if they were not putting their children first.  If the United States had an overall condition and financial state that Mexico has, and if Canada offered the same opportunity that the US does, yes, we would see similar plights.  Most of us are extremely fortunate to have the upbringing and optimistic futures that we experience here.  This is a reminder, that not everyone has the chances that we do.

Chris Pappas