From a description in Wikipedia, I was finally able to understand the significance of the title of this film. Sometimes in Latin America, hot chocolate is made with water rather than milk, and the chocolate melts only once the water boils. The phrase, "Like water for chocolate", refers to this. It is also used to refer to anger, being"boiling mad", may also be used as a metaphor for passion and sexual arousal, and can be frequently used to indicate"something is perfect for something else". I think we see many of these emotions-anger,passion and sexual arousal in the characters, and also in the relationship between Tita and Pedro, we see they are "perfect" for one another.
There were several scenes involving magic realism in the film. The appearance of Dona Elena as a ghost returning to continue her tirade of badgering of Tita on several instances exemplifies the real world combined with the non-existent. Tita was not frightened at the reappearances. These supernatural occurrances were more of an annoyance to her. When she finally denounces her mother, Tita is free of her captivity and Dona Elena fades away into a small light. The scene where Gertrudis sets the shower house on fire with her passion after eating the quail and rose sauce meal, then runs sensually through the desert, jumping on a horse with the soldier, and riding away into the desert, I also believe exemplifies the surreal mixed with reality. Toward the end of the film, when Tita self ignites after ingesting the matches and she and Pedro burn in the cabin is another example of magic realism. All of these instances were incorporated into the reality of the film so they seemed very natural even though they were not what we would consider natural.
The tradition of the youngest daughter never marrying to be able to take care of her mother until the mother dies was recurrent throughout this film. This is seen with Dona Elena and Tita, and then with Rosaura and her plan for Esperanza. You almost say to yourself "I can't believe this is happening again" when you hear the words repeated. I don't know if this was a common tradition of the time or culture or only practiced in their family, but you can see the strong influence of Dona Elena on the acceptance of this tradition by Rosaura. Dona Elena's matriarchal influence saturated the family and everyone on the ranch, she was not one to be crossed. When Gertrudis disgraced the family by being rumored to be working in a brothel, Dona Elena burned all of her pictures and birth certificate, essentially disowning her. Through these examples I think we see that like water for chocolate is expressed through many of the emotions that were exhibited in the characters of this film.
I did enjoy this movie even though I think it was pretty unusual. I would probably have more appreciation of it watching it a second time to be able to catch details that may have been missed the first time since it was quite different from other films I have seen.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Diarios de Motocicleta
Although the film, Diarios de Motocicleta, basically started out as a fun filled, cross country trek for 2 friends, Ernesto and Alberto, I think there were many experiences that transformed Ernesto's personality and mindset influencing him to become the leader and revolutionary that he eventually became. Ernesto's philosophy about life changed over the course of the adventure.
The first influence was when Ernesto finds himself torn between his girlfriend, Ferraya, and his commitment to serving in the leper colony, which is an end destination in the trip. He must fore go his personal wants for the commitment to volunteer in the leper community. You see Ernesto as one committed to his promise or obligation.
In early scenes of this film, Ernesto comes across as a no nonsense, straight shooter, as with the man with the neck tumor. He is almost too blunt, not tempering his delivery of the diagnosis of a tumor, but with time and experience, he develops a more sensitive side to be able to converse and empathize with those that are ill.
His compassion is evident with the old woman in Chile as he knows there is nothing he can really do to save her but offers her comfort. He develops a charisma in his interactions with the elderly and infirmed.
You can see he develops a comfort level in interacting with people he meets along the journey.He becomes a more social being as he interacts with people he meets in the towns they travel through.
As the journey progresses, you see Ernesto begin to internalize the needs of the oppressed as he meets up with the communist couple whose land has been overtaken by a big property owner. He is overwhelmed by the number of men at the mine looking for work that have lost their land due to similar over takings. He meets farmers whose property is usurped once the land is productive, and farmers uniting to care for one anothers families out of a common need. All of these situations awaken a need in Ernesto to advocate for those being victimized and oppressed.
Ernesto views the Inca ruins at Machu Pichu, realizing the Spanish force utilized to wipe out this civilization, writing in his diary "Bloodless revolution-never". This indicates he knows any revolutionary change to unite all classes will involve bloodshed.
At the leper colony, Ernesto refused to wear gloves, believing there was little risk in transmission of the disease by contact, leprosy being a disease where victims are ostracized and secluded. The river separates the sick and the healthy but also symbolizes the divide between the powerful "haves" and the weaker "have nots". I think the pivotal point of the film is when he swims across the river to get to the leper colony, symbolizing that he is one with the oppressed and setting the course for his future.
Ernesto indicates "so much injustice" that he has viewed and experienced through his trip. His speech at the birthday party indicates his philosophy of no division of the people that will be his mantra for the future. All of these experiences molded his personality and influenced the leader he became.
From our class reading, though, it seems that Guevara developed such extremist values as he became more of a revolutionary. I think his goals initially were well founded but it seems he became quite a violent extremist as he became more of a revolutionary, lending truth to his proclamation of "Bloodless revolution-never".
The first influence was when Ernesto finds himself torn between his girlfriend, Ferraya, and his commitment to serving in the leper colony, which is an end destination in the trip. He must fore go his personal wants for the commitment to volunteer in the leper community. You see Ernesto as one committed to his promise or obligation.
In early scenes of this film, Ernesto comes across as a no nonsense, straight shooter, as with the man with the neck tumor. He is almost too blunt, not tempering his delivery of the diagnosis of a tumor, but with time and experience, he develops a more sensitive side to be able to converse and empathize with those that are ill.
His compassion is evident with the old woman in Chile as he knows there is nothing he can really do to save her but offers her comfort. He develops a charisma in his interactions with the elderly and infirmed.
You can see he develops a comfort level in interacting with people he meets along the journey.He becomes a more social being as he interacts with people he meets in the towns they travel through.
As the journey progresses, you see Ernesto begin to internalize the needs of the oppressed as he meets up with the communist couple whose land has been overtaken by a big property owner. He is overwhelmed by the number of men at the mine looking for work that have lost their land due to similar over takings. He meets farmers whose property is usurped once the land is productive, and farmers uniting to care for one anothers families out of a common need. All of these situations awaken a need in Ernesto to advocate for those being victimized and oppressed.
Ernesto views the Inca ruins at Machu Pichu, realizing the Spanish force utilized to wipe out this civilization, writing in his diary "Bloodless revolution-never". This indicates he knows any revolutionary change to unite all classes will involve bloodshed.
At the leper colony, Ernesto refused to wear gloves, believing there was little risk in transmission of the disease by contact, leprosy being a disease where victims are ostracized and secluded. The river separates the sick and the healthy but also symbolizes the divide between the powerful "haves" and the weaker "have nots". I think the pivotal point of the film is when he swims across the river to get to the leper colony, symbolizing that he is one with the oppressed and setting the course for his future.
Ernesto indicates "so much injustice" that he has viewed and experienced through his trip. His speech at the birthday party indicates his philosophy of no division of the people that will be his mantra for the future. All of these experiences molded his personality and influenced the leader he became.
From our class reading, though, it seems that Guevara developed such extremist values as he became more of a revolutionary. I think his goals initially were well founded but it seems he became quite a violent extremist as he became more of a revolutionary, lending truth to his proclamation of "Bloodless revolution-never".
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
The Spanish comedy, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, was a cute film, but possibly due to cultural differences, not one that I considered very funny. It fits into the screwball slapstick category of film in the sense that the characters exhibited alot of physically violent acts in relationship to the comedy. The coincidences occurring in the plot of the film built upon one another to create the comedic effect.
The women in this film all seemed quite dramatic and emotional in their interactions with men within the same culture. They did not seem to mind that their emotions were openly visible to others. There also seemed to be alot of jealousy going on between the couples in this film. This could be seen between Pepa and Ivan, Lucia and Ivan, Paulina and Ivan, even Marissa and Carlos. I'm sure the infidelity factor came into play to create so much of this. Pepa, as the betrayed lover, was very emotional and persistent in her quest to have a face to face confrontation with Ivan to let him know she was pregnant. When she does confront him at the end, she has been able to pull her emotions together and walk away from the relationship. Lucia's "big" hair and excessive eyelashes added to her aura of extreme emotions and mental instability, noted in her relationship with her son and her pursuit of Ivan. Spanish women's "hot climate culture" places emphasis on relationships and the expression of their culture is demonstrated by emotions involved in these relationships. Feelings in this film were expressed dramatically and were over reacted for effect, but I think many women would react similarly to being cheated on. (Maybe not catch the bed on fire!)
Todays American women I think have many similarities to the Spanish women in the film in that many are strong and independent and will take matters into their own hands, but are also very much influenced by their emotions. I don't think today's American women are taken in so much by the machismo exhibited in this film. I imagine though in any society there will always be the macho man that will appeal to some women, until they are left behind. If this film had occurred in the United States, I think it would have been in a large urban city, Pepa would have had a cat in her apartment but no animals on the patio, but I think much of the film could have been the same.
One difference I have noted between Spanish and American women is that Spanish women seem to be very "touch" oriented, there is more hugging and kissing in their expression. They don't observe spatial boundaries as much as many Americans do, they get into your "personal space." I have noticed this in some of the films we have watched and been a little uncomfortable with it, I suppose because it is not the norm for me.
Women from Spanish America are different from those in Spanish Europe, just as in America there are differences in women from one region to another. There are variations in values, interests, lifestyles,and habits. These differences are what make the world such an interesting place.
The women in this film all seemed quite dramatic and emotional in their interactions with men within the same culture. They did not seem to mind that their emotions were openly visible to others. There also seemed to be alot of jealousy going on between the couples in this film. This could be seen between Pepa and Ivan, Lucia and Ivan, Paulina and Ivan, even Marissa and Carlos. I'm sure the infidelity factor came into play to create so much of this. Pepa, as the betrayed lover, was very emotional and persistent in her quest to have a face to face confrontation with Ivan to let him know she was pregnant. When she does confront him at the end, she has been able to pull her emotions together and walk away from the relationship. Lucia's "big" hair and excessive eyelashes added to her aura of extreme emotions and mental instability, noted in her relationship with her son and her pursuit of Ivan. Spanish women's "hot climate culture" places emphasis on relationships and the expression of their culture is demonstrated by emotions involved in these relationships. Feelings in this film were expressed dramatically and were over reacted for effect, but I think many women would react similarly to being cheated on. (Maybe not catch the bed on fire!)
Todays American women I think have many similarities to the Spanish women in the film in that many are strong and independent and will take matters into their own hands, but are also very much influenced by their emotions. I don't think today's American women are taken in so much by the machismo exhibited in this film. I imagine though in any society there will always be the macho man that will appeal to some women, until they are left behind. If this film had occurred in the United States, I think it would have been in a large urban city, Pepa would have had a cat in her apartment but no animals on the patio, but I think much of the film could have been the same.
One difference I have noted between Spanish and American women is that Spanish women seem to be very "touch" oriented, there is more hugging and kissing in their expression. They don't observe spatial boundaries as much as many Americans do, they get into your "personal space." I have noticed this in some of the films we have watched and been a little uncomfortable with it, I suppose because it is not the norm for me.
Women from Spanish America are different from those in Spanish Europe, just as in America there are differences in women from one region to another. There are variations in values, interests, lifestyles,and habits. These differences are what make the world such an interesting place.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Machuca
The film, Machuca, focuses much of it's plot on the friendship that develops between 2 boys from 2 different socio-economic classes in Chile during the time of political upheaval surrounding Salvador Allende's socialist government oust from power by General Augusto Pinochet in 1973.
The interaction between Gonzalo and Pedro, I think, is typical of children. Even though Gonzalo is from affluence and Pedro is from the slums, they are brought together by chance when Father McEnroe integrates upper and lower class children into the private English school. They become friends, partly due to the fact that they are both bullied by some of the other boys and feel somewhat ostracized. Pedro tolerates less of the bullying than Gonzalo, and I think this sort of cements the bond between them. Their friendship grows as they sell flags with Pedro's uncle to political protesters on each side of the political fence. Both boys have eye opening experiences when they visit each other's homes and see the surroundings in which the other lives, but I didn't get the sense of either being ashamed or boastful of their status. They were accepting of each other for who they were and didn't base their friendship on societal or material status.
I think the end of the film, when Gonzalo did use his status to get out of the situation when the military was rounding up the occupants of the shantytown, was disappointing, but not untypical of the reaction and panic of a child his age in a situation like that. As Pedro watches Gonzalo ride away on his bike, there is a realization that their friendship is over. Gonzalo cries as he rides away, possibly partly due to disappointment in himself and the knowledge that he will never see Pedro again. The final scene at the school when Gonzalo does not give in to the bully I think shows he has matured through his experience with Pedro.
The differences between the 2 social classes in this film were very dramatic. Differences were noticeable in the type of dress, hairstyles, modes of transportation, recreation, living situations, as well as values between the affluent and the poor. A materialistic value was more evident in the upper class versus lower, as the lower class just struggled to survive. There was also a division politically between the 2 classes. The more affluent supported the overthrow of the current government due to it's philosophy of sharing the wealth. The lower class supported a social reform stance. Each side though appeared vehement in their demonstrations for their political views.
I think the main message from this film is one of the strength of a friendship, even though it may not last forever. The friendship that developed between Gonzalo and Pedro was a bond that could have lasted a lifetime had it not been for the political upheaval going on at the time. I see their friendship transcending the differences in their lives and statuses. Maybe this lesson could serve others well to adopt a more childlike acceptance of others that are different from ourselves. I also think this film highlights the perspective that people have politically that stem from their personal interests and concerns and how it colors their actions. Not that this is necessarily wrong, it just shows motivation behind people's behaviors.
The interaction between Gonzalo and Pedro, I think, is typical of children. Even though Gonzalo is from affluence and Pedro is from the slums, they are brought together by chance when Father McEnroe integrates upper and lower class children into the private English school. They become friends, partly due to the fact that they are both bullied by some of the other boys and feel somewhat ostracized. Pedro tolerates less of the bullying than Gonzalo, and I think this sort of cements the bond between them. Their friendship grows as they sell flags with Pedro's uncle to political protesters on each side of the political fence. Both boys have eye opening experiences when they visit each other's homes and see the surroundings in which the other lives, but I didn't get the sense of either being ashamed or boastful of their status. They were accepting of each other for who they were and didn't base their friendship on societal or material status.
I think the end of the film, when Gonzalo did use his status to get out of the situation when the military was rounding up the occupants of the shantytown, was disappointing, but not untypical of the reaction and panic of a child his age in a situation like that. As Pedro watches Gonzalo ride away on his bike, there is a realization that their friendship is over. Gonzalo cries as he rides away, possibly partly due to disappointment in himself and the knowledge that he will never see Pedro again. The final scene at the school when Gonzalo does not give in to the bully I think shows he has matured through his experience with Pedro.
The differences between the 2 social classes in this film were very dramatic. Differences were noticeable in the type of dress, hairstyles, modes of transportation, recreation, living situations, as well as values between the affluent and the poor. A materialistic value was more evident in the upper class versus lower, as the lower class just struggled to survive. There was also a division politically between the 2 classes. The more affluent supported the overthrow of the current government due to it's philosophy of sharing the wealth. The lower class supported a social reform stance. Each side though appeared vehement in their demonstrations for their political views.
I think the main message from this film is one of the strength of a friendship, even though it may not last forever. The friendship that developed between Gonzalo and Pedro was a bond that could have lasted a lifetime had it not been for the political upheaval going on at the time. I see their friendship transcending the differences in their lives and statuses. Maybe this lesson could serve others well to adopt a more childlike acceptance of others that are different from ourselves. I also think this film highlights the perspective that people have politically that stem from their personal interests and concerns and how it colors their actions. Not that this is necessarily wrong, it just shows motivation behind people's behaviors.
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