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ejhoffman
Reviews
Que Horas Ela Volta? (2015)
A Harsh Reality
This movies tells the interesting story of a nanny, Val, and her daughter, Jessica. The two have not seen each other in about ten years, and out of the blue, Jessica calls and is on her way to Sao Paolo to begin applying for university. The rest of the movie is a portrayal of Jessica and Val's rocky relationship over the socioeconomic classes that dictate Val's oppressed behavior. The most confusing part of the story for me is Jessica's aggressive reaction to her mother's position within the family that she is serving. The movie does not go into much details as to where Jessica was raised, but it is hinted that she came from the northeast. Her attitude is almost entitled as if she too is coming from the highest of the socioeconomic class of Brazil. While I disagree with the manner in which Val is treated by the family, there are certain social graces that most people understand regardless of socioeconomic class. Jessica's aggressive behavior causes a lot of tension between her and her mother, and I still do not understand where this is coming from. WE do not know if she is coming from a higher socioeconomic class than her mother. My theory is that she maybe is harboring a little bit of jealousy. Val has more or less been the mother figure to the son of the family, Fabrinho. While Jessica at a young age, had her mother stolen from her, Fabrinho had two. Sort of. Val seems to be kinder and more caring towards this young boy that is not even her own child. As a daughter, that must be hard to watch, and that is why I believe that Jessica is a little aggressive in her behavior at the family's home. The children of the domestic workers are almost getting the short end of the stick. She had to grow up without really knowing her mother, at the same time that her mother was taking care of a child that is not her own.
La teta asustada (2009)
It had potential
Set in the slums of Lima, Peru, La Teta Asustada tells the slow and at times confusing story of a young girl's obsessive fear of rape. As a younger woman, Fausta's mother fell victim to a violent rape incident while pregnant. From that moment on, the mother never seemed to recover. Her inability to move past the sexual violence went as far as to instill an irrational fear within Fausta. Fausta, whom we as the audience do not really ever get the chance to understand, has a debilitating fear of men even though she herself, so far as we understand, has never fallen victim to rape or another form of sexual violence. It's as if the fear that her mother experienced became hers and she refuses to let anyone close to her. As the audience, I feel as though we missed the opportunity to understand her and really get to know her character. Maybe it was an intentional part of the movie direction, but Fausta's irrational fear of men overtakes her and seems to be a fear of people in general. Additionally, in the moments that the audience is allowed a peak into the mind and thoughts of Fausta, we are left a little confused. Watching the movie, I did not initially understand Fausta's dismissal from the taxi cab, or her abrupt awakening from her seemingly drunk uncle. While we are in moments uplifted by Fausta's family business, wedding planning, overall the movie was slow and rather boring. The most exciting parts weren't the moments that we get a glimpse into her character, but rather when we are getting to see the young brides celebrate the traditions of marriage in the slums. Understanding this part of their culture would have been much more exciting. The cultural traditions of weddings and marriage in another place can teach us so much about that culture of that place.
Liz en Septiembre (2014)
Not a believable story line
The movie, Liz in September, is an unusual story about two women, one a heterosexual, married woman named Eva, and the other, a homosexual, single woman named Liz. The audience is immediately swept into the story of Eva as it opens with her finding out about her husband's affair. The two female characters meets by chance after Eva experiences some trouble with her car as she is beginning a vacation road trip. He husband was supposed to be accompanying her; however, he is off, secretly, or so he assumes, tending to his affair. After realizing she will have to stay overnight until her car is fixed, Eva finds a room to rent in an isolated hotel full of women, and Liz is one of them. While at the hotel, Liz and Eva quickly develop a very sexually charged friendship. Eva's ability to move from her existing, heterosexual sexuality to exploring her curiosity in a lesbian relationship with Liz seems a little far-fetched. Maybe Eva is driven by disappointment and sadness in her marriage to an unfaithful man; however, I had a difficult time believing that her transformation from heterosexual to homosexual could be real. The sweet friendship between the two women does end in a lesbian relationship and the two spend Liz's last remaining days madly in love, although poorly portrayed in my opinion. Eva always seems to keep an awkward distance from her new found lover. The movie is filmed on a beautiful, secluded beach which helps prompt a very sexy atmosphere for the women staying at the hotel. It seems possible, that on a whim, Eva could have been swept up in her emotion, curiosity, and the beautiful setting, to explore a homosexual night, but to have abandoned her husband for a homosexual relationship, I didn't find plausible. The conclusion of the movie was altogether a bit unresolved.
Ixcanul (2015)
A Compelling Story
Set in the beautiful, mountainous landscape of Guatemala, Ixcanul tells the sad, but compelling story of a young girl fighting with her cultural norms. Maria, the protagonist of the movie, has been promised, at the decision of her parents, to another young man she does not know and does not love. From an outsider's perspective, not understanding the culture of arranged marriages, it is quite difficult to identify with her and the emotions that she is feeling. Additionally, the use of the Mayan language, Kaqchikel, only heightens the disconnect between Maria and the audience of the movie. While the use of the indigenous, Mayan language, is beautiful, and is bringing light to an almost forgotten culture, it keeps the audience at a distance. Even though we want to truly understand Maria and her rebellion against her culture's traditions, we simply cannot. At least not at first. As the story progresses, I was able to more strongly connect with Maria and her sad situation. I was able to see past the language barrier and sympathize with her. Here she is, a young, promised woman, pregnant with another man's baby, trying to protect her family's reputation from what she has done. The audience is let in and able to develop a connection to Maria through the intimate scene with her mother. We may not be right there, but the audience is allowed to participate in these scenes. In the end, I really did appreciate the movie, its use of an indigenous, Mayan language, and its ability to slowly pull the audience into Maria's story. There is a level of complexity that at first kept the audience at a distance, and may have even turned some viewer's off to the movie. As the director allows moments of participation between Maria, Juana and the audience, it becomes a beautiful story that captures any audience.