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Tsotsi (2005)
Excellent Film!
I am very glad I picked this movie. This was my second favorite movie I have seen this year, just behind Sin nombre. In this movie the main character struggled from a young age where his mother was sick and his father seemed to be abusive. He ran away when he was a child and grew up without parents somewhere in South Africa. He slept in pipes and turned to a life of crimes with some other kids who seemed to not have their parents. The first scene in the movie shows where the group of kids kill a man on a subway with an ice pick. Tsotsi, the main character, becomes aggravated by one of his friends and beats him up, then runs away. He steals a car from a women, he shot her in the process. However, he didn't realize that her baby was in the car. He leaves the car on the side of the road and takes the baby. He wants to raise the baby as his own. He seems to love this baby. He finds out that the mother who he shot survived. In the end, similar to an American movie, he gives the baby back to the father and mother.
Fishing Without Nets (2014)
Quality Movie
Fishing without nets was one of my favorite movies we have watched this year. I had seen Captain Philips and it was cool to watch a film that gave a different perspective on Somalian Pirates. Also, after researching a little bit more about Somalian pirates I became very informed on the issue. People didn't actually see pirates as bad guys for awhile because they were viewed as protectors of the sea. I thought it was interesting to see that the main character really was a decent guy. He didn't want to go into piracy for pure greed, but he went into piracy because he had no other options. He loved his wife and had a kid who he also loved, all he was trying to do was get enough money for them. He would've continued to be a fisherman if he could've caught more fish. Unfortunately, the waters had been polluted by illegal fishermen.
I already did a research presentation on Somalian Pirates, but I wanted to look into hostage negotiation a little more. Basically, the pirates see negotiations as a way to make a ton of cash. They think it is just business and sometimes they do get big payouts. The average hijacking payout was around 4-5 million. The money used to get delivered by plane and dropped over with a parachute, as we saw in the movie. However, it is hard to find a pilot willing to take the risk. Also, cash has been delivered by tugboat before it just takes much longer to get the money out to the ship. Overtime the pirates learn which ships to target and realize the types of ship owners that are willing and able to pay. One pirate said in an interview that he just kept getting better and better with each hijacking.
Simshar (2014)
Quality movie
This movie really gave some great insight into the perspective about immigrants. What struck me most about the film is how when one boat had a chance to save the lives of three people, one of which was a child, decided to not save them. They must see so many immigrants to the point where if they stopped to save them all that they wouldn't make any money. It is hard to imagine being out at sea and completely ignoring people who you could have saved. It also was interesting to see the struggles the fishermen were having. It made me want to look into why they weren't able to just go out and fish. Nautical borders popped up which made me wonder why in the end of the movie the men who wanted to go look for the three people stranded at sea could not. I could see having restrictions on fishing, for whatever reason, but it is hard to think that these people can't just go out anytime they want to on their boat. I decided to look deeper into the real story of Simshar. Simon had a role as an extra in the movie, which I thought was interesting. The director has known him for 6 years. Simon and his wife are back together now. The cargo ship that was focused on that did not save the characters in the movies actually saved some people later in real life. I think that is very interesting. They decided to not save one group of people but then later decided to save others. There were five people in real life, with only one of they surviving. There was an investigation and there is little evidence that the events actually happened the way the lone survivor described them. It seems that there is not many remains and there is nothing to discredit the survivors account.
Un homme qui crie (2010)
Quality movie
In A Screaming Man a father and his son share a close bond. The father loves the pool. He was a champion in 1965 and his son and him share a job as the pool attendant. The father's life gets turned upside down when the hotel decides to cut his job and make him man the front gates. He hates his new job and has jealousy towards his son, who got to keep the pool job. I believe the father hates losing his pool job so much that he gives his son to the army. I thin he did this as an attempt to get his job back. What the father didn't know was that his son was expecting a child. As soon as he hears this he becomes very upset. I think the movie is titled A Screaming Man because the father is screaming on the inside when he finds that out.
Kinyarwanda (2011)
Great Movie
After watching Hotel Rwanda, this film gives you a different perspective. Hotel Rwanda seemed to show more of the rich people staying in the hotel trying to save their lives. Yes, they were being threatened but they did get to stay in a very nice hotel. Also, those people had very powerful friends who tried to help them. In this film it was different, the "average" person's life seemed to be on display. Some of the things that happened were really hard to imagine. Specifically, when a girl came home and both her parents were dead. She Left the house and never got to apologize to her parents. Then, later in the film she somehow forgave the people who killed her parents. Maybe killings are so common that people are just expected to not hold a grudge over that or something, but it seems like if someone had killed my parents I wouldn't have forgiven them just because they asked.
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Informative Movie
I thought it was very interesting to learn about the genocide. I knew very little about the Rwandan Genocide before I watched the movie. I can't believe there was nobody to protect the people in the hotel. Paul was my favorite character because he never gave up on his guests. He loved his family and just wanted to make them safe, but he was also willing to stay behind and help the people who stayed in the hotel. Paul was genuinely my favorite character I've watched in any movie this year. He was very brave and never thought about just saving himself. Moreover, it was crazy to think that nobody in American politics wanted to help. I think they definitely knew what was going on over there. America intervenes in so many conflicts it just doesn't make any sense as to why they wouldn't help. I was curious as to why people in America didn't help, so I decided to do some research. Not only did America abandon the Rwandan people but also other major powers, like France. When the killing in Rwanda intensified the major powers pulled out. The French set up a "humanitarian zone" which is where I guess the people from the hotel ended up in the end of the movie. I guess that was helpful but nobody wanted to go beyond and reach out to pull innocent people into the safe zone. Also, I found an article that said Bill Clinton knew about the mass killing of people in Rwanda but buried the evidence so America wouldn't intervene. The officers who were on the ground in Rwanda used the word Genocide when they described the situation; however, because Bill Clinton had already decided not to intervene the press never got coverage of the killings as a genocide.
Ixcanul (2015)
Volcano
It was interesting to see the way the Mayans live. It really gives a foreign perspective about the rural peasants life. It is actually unbelievable to think that in the 21st century anyone would be living like the people in this movie. The overall lifestyle was surprising to me. The old fashioned way that the marriage was arranged in this movie surprised me. The way that that formed a bond between the two families was interesting. Also, the gender roles was very old fashioned. The entire lifestyle just seemed to be like a thousand years behind. The mother and daughter were very close to each other. They did everything together. They would even bathe together. The whole lifestyle just seemed dreadful. Day in and day out they did the same thing. The movie never showed anything they did for fun. It just seemed like a very primitive lifestyle, which I didn't think existed anymore. If the film had said it had taken place in the 1800s, I would've believed it.
Cidade de Deus (2002)
Great movie
I really enjoyed this movie. The acting was really good and I learned a lot about the culture. The main character narrates the whole thing, and he eventually causes a gang war. I really liked how the movie showed the slums. The depiction of the slums showed how much violence was there. The corruption became clear as day. The gangs ran the city. In The City of God Lil Ze becomes one of the most feared gang leaders. Eventually, he climbs to the top with his friend and they rule the slums together. He pays off basically all of the cops for them to let him do his thing. They make so much money it is ridiculous. However, his friend gets shot which shocked me. It was actually the narrator who was just trying to avenge his brothers death. Lil Ze had killed his brother earlier in the movie. It is hard to imagine that people actually live in slums run by people like Lil Ze. I really wonder what it is like to be an average person in that society.
Una noche (2012)
Triangle of Love
The film starts out with Elio, the brother of the narrator Lila, helping teach her to swim. Next, the director shows the close relationship between the two as they ride through the streets of Havana together on a bike. They seem inseparable, and Lila feels like they are inseparable. Then, Elio meets Raul who it seems that Elio takes a liking to. From that point on, Elio and Raul work in a kitchen of a hotel while preparing to migrate across the ocean 93 miles to Miami. Raul believes his dad is living there and that if they go they will have a better life. I don't think Elio has bought into the "American Dream" but it appears he will do anything for Raul. Raul dreams of driving a fast car and reuniting with is dad. The trip over seas is expedited when Raul is accused of seriously injuring a tourist. Elio drops everything and starts stealing materials to put together a raft. Lila also wants to tag along on the journey because she would do anything for Elio. They attempt to cross the ocean to Miami but don't succeed. Also, in the process Elio seems to be killed by a shark while saving his sister. They end up circling back around to Cuba. The film shows how people have hope for a better life in America but the struggle to get there is great
También la lluvia (2010)
Quality Film
Even the Rain starts out with producers of a film hiring actors for cheap labor. It is interesting to see a movie made about a movie. Sebastian and Costa are the movie makers (possibly producers or directors). They have to find a way to make a movie that seems to be underfunded. They find a local of Bolivia, Danielle, who seems to do a great job. At the same time of acting, he leads a protest against a 400% tax raise just to get drinking water. It's crazy to see that the government thinks somehow the people are supposed to pay this increase overnight. I really liked how Sebastian and Costa changed as the film progressed. In the Beginning, Costa just likes the cheap actors and Sebastian is the one who wants to give all the actors a chance to audition. However, in the end, Costa comes to build a relationship with Danielle and even saves his daughters life. Sebastian became more concerned with finishing the movie and even tells Costa not to go help her. Also, I really enjoyed the scene when all the people involved in making the movie were at a nice restaurant and the waiter tells Costa what the word for water was in the native language (yuka); eventually, the film ends with Costa opening a present from Danielle. The present was yuka.
Sin nombre (2009)
Great Movie
The film starts out captivating your attention by throwing yourself into the perspective of a Gangster. I like the real-life sense that you get from watching the movie. I didn't dislike anything about the movie. I loved how professional and high-budget the film seemed. The film seemed not American because there wasn't a happy ending. Usually, in an American film there are basic guidelines that the movies follow. Culturally, the difference between Mexico and America was evident from the gangs to the clothes the actors wore. It was easy to see that crime overtakes at least some cities in Mexico. The perspective I take from this film is that the only reason these people wanted to cross the border was for hope of a better life. The people who actually stay in Mexico are the gangs, it seemed to me that those who wanted to leave were the ones not in gangs. If I was in Smiley's position I probably would've done exactly what he did. It seems that if you are not in a gang that you are in danger. I wouldn't change the ending; what made the movie so good was the realistic feel that the ending could've happened in real life.