El Viaje de Carol

I have to admit it was challenging viewing this film without subtitles. Yet I believe I was able to get the plot. Carol was a young girl traveling to Spain, her mother's home, while her english speaking father was at war. Carol portrayed a well adjusted young girl with the American "attitude." She spoke easily to adults, sometimes with words that the adults didn't want to hear. She didn't shy away from conflict in comparison with the other young children of Spain. This could be seen when Tomiche stood silent when the soldiers spoke to him and when the little blond girl did exactly what her mother wanted without any question. Right or wrong, Carol seemed to speak her mind with any adult. Her grandfather even painted over the graffiti written on his house because it made Carol uncomfortable.

I enjoyed the character of Tomiche. He portrayed a young boy of Spain that knew much pain. I wasn't sure if the soldier was his father or not. I thought this, maybe because of the odd relationship between the two. When Tomiche sheltered his ears from the gunshots hear, I felt he must have known someone who was killed in the same way. I wish I could have understood the language. I think this would have been a real tear jerker if I could have known exactly what was being said. None the less I was captivated by the emotion of Carol and the love for her mother, father, grandfather and Tomiche.

The innocent first kiss of Carol and Tomiche was priceless. Their friendship was an honest innocent one. I enjoyed their private moments. I felt this was the first true friend that Tomiche had really ever had.

I was able to see how difficult it was to even get a letter mailed. Having to smuggle a letter to a loved one must have been difficult. I did have the question of what happened to Carol's father after Tomiche was killed. I resisted googling this film before my blog so I could give my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this film, although next time I view it it will be with English subtitles.

Volver

The film Volver showed multiple examples of strength and resilience of these women as they faced life's most outrageous tribulations. The opening scene showed each women washing and polishing the grave stones of their loved ones. The respect shown here was awesome. Even Agustine cleaned her own grave stone because she said it relaxed her.

It wasn't known until the end of the film that Paula, Raimunda's daughter was the result of a rape from Raimunda's own father. Raimunda loved her daughter with tenderness and care. She was able to put aside her own feeling for what her father had done. She also hid the anger toward her own mother for not knowing that she was being abused. Paula was raised in a normal household, until the day she was forced to stab her father Paco for an attempted rape. Again Raimunda put her feelings aside and comforted her daughter and told her she would take any blame for the death of Paco. During all this Raimunda was able to run a restaurant while also dealing with the death of her Aunt Paula. She portrayed a strong, resilient woman through out the film.

The superstitious beliefs shown was when Irene, the mother of Sole and Raimunda, showed herself. She was believed to have died four years before in the arms of her husband. In actuality it was Irene's husband and his mistress that died together. Irene in the fit of rage, the rage blame on the superstitious wind, set fire to the two adulterers. Irene the took care of her sick sister for years. Again she was able to do this because of the superstition of the dead coming back to finish "some unfinished" business. Here again the strength of this woman was seen. She rarely went outside, she spent her life with the thoughts of what she had done. Thoughts that may have made another person crazy. Instead Irene took wonderful care of her sister until she died. I appreciated the character of Irene. Her husband's mistress was the mother of her neighbor Agustine. When Agustine was diagnosed with cancer and had no one to care for her. Irene again posed as a ghost and cared for Agustine. Agustine wanted to know if her mother was dead or alive. I believe that Irene told kind stories to Agustine about her mother as she also cared for her until her death. Irene gave up time with her own daughters and grand daughter to care for someone in desperate need.

What a great testimony to the strength and resilience of these women!

Guantanamera

This was my least favorite film. I thought it was absurd. There were many strong Cuban cultures represented in this film.

I felt the strongest Cuban culture was the macho attitudes of the men. Mariano was a trucker who portrayed a womanizer, having a different woman in each town he passed through. He didn't seem to love them, he just used them for his own pleasure then passed them aside. Woman were just a dispensable item to him. Even when he was reunited with, Gina, the only woman he really loved, he was kissing another woman at the train station.

Mariano's uncle, Ramon, thought he was a better man because he had a woman at home. One that was overweight and unattractive and wouldn't mind his infidelity . Someone to take care of him when he was old. Ramon stated, "there's nothing wrong with the extra woman here and there when you're on the road." Both men shared the same disrespect for woman.

Aldofo portrayed a different kind of macho attitude. He was mentally and physically abusive to his wife Gina. He hit, shoved, and pulled Gina anytime she disagreed with him. Thank goodness the Cuban culture is moving away from this kind of abuse toward woman.

Cuban travel was very peculiar to me. While Ramon and Mariano drove their truck they were required to stop at certain checkpoints. Passengers were waiting, it was comparable to the United States bus stop. A man running the checkpoint would announce the truckers destination and a multitude of people loaded into the truck, to be taken to the next stop. Literature states that this kind of travel still continues in Cuba today.

I was intrigued in the little girl that represented death but that is a separate blog altogether.

I give this film a thumbs down.

The Official Story/La historia oficial

I feel, The Official Story is a powerful heartbreaking film describing the events that occurred during the "Dirty War" in 1976. I was touched immensely by this film.

As a mother of a five year old, I could relate to the struggles of Alicia ( the adoptive mother of 5 year old Gaby ). Gaby was adopted by Alicia and Roberto, a wealthy couple from Argentina. Alicia had always thought that Gaby's birth mother "didn't want her". When Alicia learned that her daughter may have been taken from a tortured subservient woman, her struggle began. I was amazed at the strength that it took for Alicia to investigate the birth of her daughter. First knowing that her husband would not approve and second and more importantly that her daughter may be taken from her if her fears were true.

As Alicia's seeks out information concerning her daughter birth/adoption, she uncovers that her husband, Roberto, may have known all along about the illegal buying of their daughter. Her fears heighten when she questions Roberto. Roberto never admits to any illegal activity concerning Gaby's adoption, but his anger arises.

When Alicia suspects that Gaby's birth grandmother is found, her feelings are torn between the love for her daughter and the pain of the Gaby's birth grandmother. This angers Roberto and leads to one of the last scenes when Roberto brutally assaults Alicia. I will never condone physical violence but I do understand that the fear of both Alicia and Roberto were at their highest points. Roberto knew deep in his heart that what he did was wrong. I also believe that Roberto was a good man and he adopted/bought Gaby because he loved his wife so dearly. He knew how much she wanted a child.

Another aspect of this film that is moving is the nursery rhyme that Gaby sings in several scenes.

" In the land of I-don’t-remember, I take three steps and I’m lost.

One step this way. I wonder if I may.

One step over there.

Oh, what a big scare.

In the land of I-don’t-remember, I take three steps and I’m lost.

One step backward fast, and that’ll be my last…

Because I no longer know where my other foot will go.

Oh, what a big scare."

I researched what this song represents, but I interpreted the first line to represent that ,"the land I-don't-remember", being the life of Gaby's birth parents that she would never know. How scary to not know who you really are or what your heritage is.

To address the question of the ideas of hope and hopeless, I can image both in this film. This film left me with many options of what could happen to Gaby. I believe there is hope in any situation. If both Gaby's adoptive parents and her birth grandmother could come together for the sake of the child and love her for who she is, and allow her to experience the best of both cultures, Gaby could live a fulfilled life. I also see this as hopeless knowing that these two cultures could probably never come together. Roberto couldn't even come together with his own brother and father because of their different beliefs.

Again I must express how heartbreaking this film was knowing that this kind of brutality exist!