Moolaade

 Moolaade is the best film I have ever watched in regards to expressing different cultures’ gender roles. I have always known that in some areas of the world men are still very dominant. The men that belong to the specific culture filmed in Moolaade are so set and firm with the belief that they hold all the power. The culture itself is extremely strict and close-minded. The men treat all women as if God placed us on Earth just merely to be of service to them. They act as if they hold no value for women, and I definitely did not notice any feeling of love or affection displayed.

Each woman has one husband; however, each man has 3 wives. I don’t even know if that is the appropriate word for these ladies because they are treated more like slaves. In America, a man has one wife, and if there has ever been an instance of a man having more than one woman in his life, it is likely to be kept secret! Why? Having more than one significant other is inappropriate in our culture, and even though it is pretty unfortunately common these days, cheating is also very looked down upon in society. Granted, we all have the right to our own beliefs and values, and some people are less concerned for their respect and appreciation towards women, but it isn’t even legal and never has been legal to have more than one spouse.

Another factor that contributes to the harsh culture in Moolaade is the fact that marriages are pre-arranged, men don’t even get to choose their wives. So, in possible but still very little defense for these men, how is a man supposed to value a woman when he doesn’t have to work for her? Women are presented like an object for them to have. It’s nothing like the dating scene we’re used to. People who share such a strict culture don’t have to the chance to get to experience different personalities that would normally teach them to appreciate different traits people possess. However, why would these men need to? The culture is so demanding that it doesn’t even allow anyone to be their own person. But, Moolaade has a special character, Colle, and she brings a lot of hope to her people.

In Senegal, Africa, the culture requires all young girls to go through a process called purification. It is highly desired by all men, and they will not marry a bilakord. A bilakord is a girl who has not been purified. So what exactly does it mean to “purify” someone? It is genital mutilation. A knife is used to completely cut off the clitoris, also to cut off the lips of the vagina and then basically sew the female genital area into nothing but a tight hole. It is very clear that this culture does not approve of women feeling any type of pleasure from a man, which just adds to my statement about women being treated like slaves. Obviously these men are selfish, and insecure. When you cut off the major source of pleasure, the clitoris, and sew the vagina into a small hole, you can be sure that intercourse is nothing but pure rape every time. Purification itself is extremely painful and sometimes results in death. In the film, Moolaade, 2 young girls kill themselves to escape purification.

Colle, a very lovable character, goes against the norm when she expresses her belief against purification. She keeps 4 girls with her in her home to defend them from purification. Moolaade means protection. Colle ties a string of yarn across her doorstep, and the law says that as long as the girls stay inside, no one can enter after them. Of course, her husband is extremely embarrassed of his wife and the fact that he cannot control her, and Colle endures a brutal public beating for these girls and the belief. At the end of the movie though, the women succeed in ending purification, and it is a really powerful and proud moment to watch.

Trainspotting

The first word that comes to my mind when I think about the film Trainspotting is “graphic.” The film was directed by Danny Boyle, and he brought out a lot of harsh truth behind the reality of drug-addicts for the world to see. On a personal note, I had a very short relationship with someone whom I later found out to be addicted to many drugs, including heroine (lucky me!), and this film really gave me a deeper understanding of his struggles that I could never relate to.

I found this film, in many instances, to be very dark. Even at the very beginning of the film, the main character and narrator, Renton, shoplifts so that he may be able to get some cash for his next hit. Heroin consumes addicts lives so much that obviously even a job seems out of the question. Trainspotting is set in Scotland, and the weather was pretty rainy and dreary most of the film. There is a very intense scene of shooting up in this film that I really wasn’t quite prepared for. The apartment that Renton and his friends go to do heroine is shady and dirty. It is also disturbing to notice a baby crawling around crying and unattended around all the drug use (clearly another reminder of how addicts put drugs before anything else in life). When I saw the needle and the actual act of shooting heroin, the actors did a great job of portraying the sincere eagerness for the drug and complete ultimate satisfaction it gave them once it entered their body that I actually felt bad for anyone who has any type of problem with addiction. However, Renton states, "People associate it with misery, desperation and death, which is not to be ignored. But what they forget is the pleasure of it, otherwise we wouldn't do it."

Trainspotting begins to lighten up a little as the film progresses. Renton’s friend Spud goes to an interview extremely high off speed and that gave everyone in the class a good laugh. There is also a scene where Renton and Spud go out clubbing, only to notice how long they have made heroin the center of their lives because they don’t even recognize hardly any new songs. At the end of the night both of the boys go home with a different girl and needless to say without going into any detail, the scenes did absolutely nothing for either of the characters’ sex appeal.

Renton is unsuccessful in his few attempts to quit his bad habit, and unfortunately, when Renton was on methadone he took his last hit and overdosed. The scene is very on point with illustrating what it may feel like to overdose. Renton begins to sink into the floor creating a unique illusion for the audience to watch, yet making it clear that he is beginning to drift and becoming completely out of touch with reality.

Renton survives his overdose and actually overcomes his addiction to heroine. He starts a new life in London but his old circle of friends persuade him to become involved in a huge drug deal. He ends up betraying all of them and taking the money for himself.

Renton stated early in the film, “Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday night. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?” Even so, in his own kind of messed up way, I think Renton eventually chose life.

The Return

The Return is a film that can definitely be openly interpreted, and after watching this film I have come up with my own presumption. In the first scene of the movie, it is very obvious that even at a young age, masculinity is important. The movie opens up with a group of boys that are jumping into the ocean from a high tower. One of the boys, Ivan, is scared of heights and will not jump from the tower. The next day all of his friends, including his own older brother, Andre, make fun of him. They call Ivan mean names like coward and pig. Ivan and Andre get into a fight and race home.

The next thing we learn in the film is that the boys have been without a father most of their lives, but their mother tells them that he has randomly come home and their father is inside. We don’t really know why Andre and Ivan’s father has been gone for 12 years. Their mother tells them he is a pilot, but a more mature audience can tell that she may be using that explanation just merely as an excuse to hide the real truth.

When the family sits down to have dinner, my impression of the father was that he seemed to be pretty rough around the edges. After he encourages his 2 young sons to drink a glass of wine, he then tells them that he will take them on a trip with him. Andre is very welcoming of this new man showing up in his life, however, Ivan is quite hesitant and distrusting. The boys pack their things for a trip to go fishing with their father and set out the next day.

The 3 of them encounter several conflicts along the way. In every situation, the boys’ father’s solution is always very bold. It is obvious that Andre and Ivan have been raised by their mother, and maybe a little spoiled. When the car gets stuck in the mud, they all have to get out and push the car out. The father acts as if the boys should just automatically know what to do in such a situation. His temper rises when the boys don’t exactly know how to do their part. Also, when Andre and Ivan are waiting for their father outside of a restaurant with his wallet that he gave to them to hold onto, which we note has a lot of money in it, they get robbed. The father chases down the thief and seems disappointed that neither of his sons want to punch him.

It is also very easy to tell that the Russian culture is especially strict. Ivan is very rebellious towards his father, and when he continuously complains about wanting to stay in a certain area to fish, his father kicks him out of the car and leaves him there alone in the rain. Thankfully, he later picks him back up.

When they finally arrive at their destination, an island, it seems as though the boy’s father did not take this trip only to bond with his sons. The father goes off into a forest by himself and digs up some boxes. We never find out what exactly he is retrieving.

At the end of the film Andre and Ivan get in trouble with their father for being several hours late returning from fishing. Andre is to blame because he had the watch and it was his responsibility. The boy’s father begins to get physical with Andre and it upsets Ivan. He runs off through the forest and climbs up a tower while his father chases after him and Andre follows. Ivan accidently pushes his father and he falls off a high ladder and dies.

In my opinion, at the very last of the film, I saw that the boy’s father really did care about them. I don’t know why he was gone for 12 years, but if I had to guess I would say that he was a criminal. He was obviously an alcoholic because he carried a flask with him everywhere, he made a stop along the trip to meet with a man which seemed to be very shady, and like I stated before, he carried a lot of money with him in his wallet. Also, The boy’s mother did not seem happy to see their father at the beginning of the film. I think he was gone because he was in prison, but when he was released he wanted to try and be a part of the family again. The father would have taken this trip to the island with or without his sons, but he chose to bring them along to possibly bond with them. I think that money was in those dug up boxes that he buried before he went away, and he wanted to bring it back home.

Hero

My favorite part of the plot was the clever story that Nameless came up with to try and deceive the King of Qin. The film is pretty clear and easy to follow. We know that there are a group of assassins that have sworn to kill the King of Qin. It scares him so much that the King offers a great reward for their defeat so that he can be at peace again. The King is very impressed when Nameless displays the weapons of the assassins and claims to have killed each of them. The film begins to go into scenes of flashbacks as Nameless tells his story.

The first assassin killed went by the name of Long Sky. Nameless challenges Sky to a duel and wins. He takes his spear and then travels to Zhao, which is considered to be the enemy city. He walks into a calligraphy school intending to find Flying Snow and Broken Sword. These two were assassins, and lovers. This is where I became really interested in the film. I like action, but the type of film that can really draw my attention is a good drama. Nameless proceeds to inform Snow and Sword of Sky’s death. Nameless also claims that Sky had a dying wish for Snow, which was to avenge him. Sky and Snow had a one night affair that deeply hurt Sword. In attempt to gain revenge on Snow, Sword purposely has sexual affairs with one of his students, Moon, in front of Snow for her to see. I think this is pretty classic in movies, yet always seems to hook the audience. Nameless tells the King that Snow was so angered that she killed Sword. At this point he has 2 assassins down, 1 to go. Nameless had Snow exactly where he wanted her because when they battled, she was so emotional and shook up, just as he suspected, he won. Snow was the last and final assassin to die.

I appreciated the lack of blood and intense fighting scenes that a lot of martial arts films have. I liked there was a romance involved and I liked Nameless’s tale of an affair brought out of secret, revenge, pain, and death. It really proved to me that not only are these actors and this actress extremely physically fit and masters of martial arts, they are also very capable of expressing and portraying great emotion, which was really nice to watch in the film.

I also think that the producer did a really good job with all the special effects, imagery, and music. The battle scenes in Hero are different from many other films. Not only does the film focus on the fight, it focuses deeply on the surroundings. For example; a drop of rain, or vividly colored autumn leaves blowing in the wind. I love how we are able to see the pure technique of the actors when the battle is in slow motion. The music chosen for the film put a really good touch on it. Drums are used to really make us build up anticipation and the nice smooth sound of violins being played really made me feel the characters different times of sorrow.

Code Unknown

Code Unknown is the first movie I have ever watched that required me to read subtitles. Not only was it the first foreign film I have ever seen, it is also the first independent, non Hollywood type movie I have ever watched. I have to say it is quite a different experience in many ways! I decided to take ENG 282, Intro to Film, honestly because it seemed like the most interesting course that would satisfy my cultural diversity requirement for my AA. 

While watching Code Unknown and after the first class on Tuesday, I was a little intimidated because everything about it was very new to me. But, I think I will enjoy this class and all the films we are going to be watching. I already have a new perspective on film-making and different cultures.

One difference I quickly noticed about foreign films as opposed to American movies is a significant lack of information. In order to understand and follow what is going on in a film you definitely have to pay close attention. For example, at the beginning of the film when Anne is shooting a scene for one of the films she is working on, I was not aware that she plays an actress in Code Unknown. When the producer is shooting a scene and Anne is being told that toxic gas is going to be released into a room she is locked in and he is going to watch her die, it really through me off guard. A few scenes later in Code Unknown we find out for sure that she is an actress because she tells her friends about a film she is starring in while they are all sitting down eating at a restaurant. Sometimes I find myself dazing off when watching American movies, but Code Unknown definitely kept my attention.

Another difference I noticed was a lack of close-ups. American movies are all about glorifying the actors and actresses. If a producer wants to draw a lot of attention to an up and coming movie, it is definitely important to have a great cast. Our society is more likely to go see a movie based on who is starring in it. For example, if a top of the line actor or actress such as Julia Roberts who has been around for a while and has a great reputation is going to be in a new movie, we are very likely to think it is going to be awesome because she is in the movie. However, it is very possible that the story may not end up being quite as good as we thought it would be. On the contrary, we may not go see a movie because we don't recognize anyone starring in it, but we may be missing out on some good work. Code unknown didn't focus on any particular actor or actress. There was nothing glamorous about the film at all. Code Unknown made me focus on what was happening and that is all.

Lastly, I noticed a huge difference in timeline. American movies usually have a very clear beginning, middle/climax, and end/resolution/closure. Code unknown did not. The film jumps around to different scenes that are filled with different people and everyone has different things going on in their lives. Code Unknown kind of reminded me a little bit of a foreign soap opera, except less ridiculous!

I thought it was a good film. However, I hope to be able to follow along a little better when we watch the next few films in class.