LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL: A sacrifice for family

A story about a love of a father and a husband towards his family, a love of a wife and a mother towards her family, and an innocence of a son – Life is Beautiful.

The first half of the movie revolves around the love story of Guido Orefice, a young Italian Jew, and Dora, a school teacher who came from a wealthy Italian family.

Guido went to Arezzo where he plans to own a bookstore but he first became a waiter in a restaurant where his uncle, Eliseo Orefice, works. Upon arriving in the said place, Guido met Dora in a very unusual way. Dora, having an astonishing beauty, Guido fell in love with her. Dora on the other hand easily fell in love with Guido because of its charm. Dora at that time was already engaged in an arrogant guy from an aristocrat family, Guido end up stealing Dora at her engagement party.

Several years later, Guido and Dora married and had a son, Giosuè.

The second half of the story then revolves around when Guido, his son Giosuè, and his Uncle Eliseo were captured by the Nazi army and taken to a concentration camp. Despite being non-Jew, Dora insisted to be in the same train with his family and was permitted to do so.

Even though they are facing tough times of their life, Guido tried to cover the horrible reality to his son. He told the kid that they are going to a big holiday. In the camp, Guido said to his son that they are just participating in a game where whoever wins, will have a real tank as a prize.

Guido was able to maintain the story up until the war was about to end. In trying to save his family from all the chaos, Guido was killed by a Nazi soldier.

Giosuè on the other hand, not knowing about the death of his father, thought that they had won the game for he saw a real American tank. On their way home, Giosuè saw her mother and reunited with her.

Years later, Giosuè realized the sacrifice his father had made. The sacrifice that made him alive until today. The story then ends with an older Giosuè narrating the whole story.

On the other hand, the symbolisms in the story are the horse, the game itself and Guido’s phrase, "Buongiorno Principessa”.

            The horse in the story, as we all know, was molested, was painted, etc. Such things are made just because the horse was a Jewish horse. The horse then symbolizes all the innocent Jews that were molested just because they are “Jews”.

            Furthermore, the game represented their life. If they win, they will become free and live. If they lose the game, it simply means death.

            Lastly, the phrase "Buongiorno Principessa” represents Dora and Guido’s love for each other. It also symbolizes how they met and how they would know that they are still alive inside the concentration camp.

            Honestly, the films’ production was not that great. But the story itself made it worth watching for. The story was really unique and very touching. It’s not just a simple romantic comedy film.

THE PIANO: Music Speaks

                Jane Campion’s The Piano tells a story of a mute woman, Ada McGrath, whose only way in expressing its feelings is through her piano.

            In the story, Ada McGrath together with her young daughter Flora and her piano, are sent to 1980’s New Zealand for an arranged marriage to a wealthy landowner, Alistair Stewart. Upon arriving at the beach of New Zealand, there was no one there who would meet them so Ada and her daughter spent a night alone. From the very first time Ada met Alistair, she already had an ill feeling towards him for the reason that Alistair wouldn’t agree on carrying the piano since there are insufficient men that could carry Ada’s piano.

            Even though Alistair and Ada are married, the two never had any sexual interaction and are even awkward to each other. Ada, not having what she wanted, never tried to befriend his husband but instead focused more in winning back her piano. She then decided to go to Alistair’s friend, George Baines, together with her daughter who served as her interpreter. Baines, on the other hand, tried to refuse the request at first but then eventually decided to help the women. Seeing Ada’s passion towards playing piano then became attracted to the women and decided to buy the piano. He then asked Alistair’s consent for him let his wife give some piano lessons to Baines. Getting Alistair’s approval, Ada had no choice but to teach Baines play piano. And besides, she has also been longing to play her piano again. But on the said piano lesson, he asks that he would rather listen than to play. Being attracted towards Ada, Baines took the chance and offered Ada a deal – he would give her piano if Ada would let Baines “do what he wants” while she’s playing the piano.

            On the other hand, Flora became suspicious for her mother wouldn’t let her in during piano lessons and most of the time, there was no music playing. Flora, treating Alistair as her real father, told him all those things. Hence, Alistair knew everything and tried to lock down Ada onto his house. But eventually, having the confidence and trust towards his wife, Alistair unlocked his house. Before leaving for work, Alistair asked his wife if she would meet Baines again, Ada shakes her head no. Having the trust towards his wife, Alistair finally left.

            Ada, on the other hand, asked her daughter to send a package for Baines which was a single piano key with “dear George, you will have my heart, Ada McGrath.” inscribed on it. Being mad towards her mother’s infidelity, Flora decided to give the package to Alistair whom she considers as her real father and not to Baines. Angered, Alistair furiously returned home and cut Ada’s index finger off. He then sent Flora to Baines the severed finger with a message that if try to meet again, Alistair would cut off Ada’s finger one by one.

            After Ada’s recovery, Alistair decided to send Ada away … together with Baines. In their journey, Ada insisted to throw the piano to the ocean. As it sinks, she purposely put her foot into the rope. But she then realized to live and escaped into the rope.

            For me, this one is again one of the greatest and most unique films I’ve ever watched. Honestly, at first, I thought the movie was boring and senseless. But I was so wrong. The conflict of the story was only shown on the latter part of the movie. On the other hand, the film showed that even those people who are very nice people who are very conservative have their limitations on these aspects. Alistair and Ada are the perfect examples for this one. At first, Alistair was very kind and thoughtful towards his wife and when even he already knew about the latter’s affair, he still accepted her. But in the end, he became the antagonist in the picture and came to a point that he cut off the finger of his own wife … in front of their daughter. Ada, on the other hand, was at first very conservative but towards the end of the film, her lust couldn’t be controlled.

            Probably the main symbol in the film is the piano itself. The piano became Ada’s instrument to speak. Whatever she feels, she would just play a song onto it. Another symbolism is probably the piano keys. This somehow symbolized Ada’s body. When Baines was taking advantage onto her, every key is somehow equivalent to parts of her body. Same thing happened when Alistair was really mad towards Ada. The single piano key somehow became equivalent to her index finger.

            All in all, The Piano is really a great to watch. Although you might find it a bit boring at first, I assure that your opinion would drastically change.

THE DREAMERS: The not so typical Movie

Matthew, portrayed by Michael Pitt, is an American exchange student learning French in Paris. Although he has been living in Paris for a few months already, Matthew has no friends.

Being a film aficionado, Matthew spends most of his time at Cinematheque Francaise. There, he met Isabelle, portrayed by Eva Green, and his brother Theo, portrayed by Louis Garrel. The three of them eventually became closer for they share the same interest which is watching films particularly The Classics.

By living in the same house, Matthew witnessed the extreme intimacy shared by the siblings, the extreme intimacy that could be somehow deemed as “incestuous”.

As the three grew closer, they became secluded and somehow made their own world, an own world that’s away from all the chaos from the outside world.

Honestly speaking, I find the movie a bit interesting yet disturbing. Interesting in a sense that it’s not the typical movie that people usually watch. It’s like a mixture of romance, comedy, socio-political, etc. On the other hand, I can definitely say that it is disturbing. It’s so unusual seeing siblings being on the same bed all naked and even taking a bath together.

Other than this, it’s also so weird to see that a twin brother would just simply watch his twin sister lose her virginity just because of a simple game. But nonetheless, I guess Theo did it on purpose to make Matthew realize that he’s wrong regarding his belief on Isabelle’s virginity.

In my understanding on the movie as a whole, the twins were just trying to stay away from all the chaos on the outside world. And as a way to stay away from all of these, they were acting very childish and played certain games that are connected to the movies they have watched. Matthew, on the other hand, represents a man or someone who made or established a boundary towards the twins’ childish acts. He was trying to make the twins realize all the things that have existed on the outside world that they haven’t noticed because of their isolation. Yes, at first Matthew also tried to play childish and just went on the flow but not until the end. But in the end, although Matthew was there to make the twins realize things that they have neglected, Isabelle and Theo still stayed together leaving Matthew behind. It’s like all Matthew’s efforts are all gone wasted.

All in all, I can say that the movie is okay, well, it was great, but not until the end. Yes, it has comedy, romance, sex, etc. but the thing that ruined my great impression was the ending. I honestly didn’t like the last part because it was hanging. However, I could still say that I recommend this movie for all the fans of movies like this. Movies that’s quite interesting and mysterious.

SCHINDLER'S LIST: A Millionaire’s Nobility

One of the best movie Steven Spielberg has directed, Schindler’s List, is a true to life story about Oskar Schindler. The millionaire who saved 1,100 lives in exchange to his fortune.

            The film took place in Poland during the 1940’s where Holocaust happened.

            Oskar Schindler, a businessman who hires Jewish slaves to become his workers for his factory in making kitchen utensils. In such business, he witnessed the unjustly treatment of the Nazi officers towards the Jews. Witnessing such cruelty, Oskar Schindler continued hiring slave Jews in order to be saved from cruelty.

            On the other hand, Amon Goeth, the commander of the Nazi officers, is the antagonist in the picture. He randomly shots the innocent Jews, regardless of age and gender, whenever he feels like doing so. Because of this, Goeth’s camp was labelled as a “death camp” while Schindler’s camp was labelled as a “haven” by the Jews.

            As the brutality has gotten worse, Schindler gradually developed his sense of conscience and moral. Through this, he decided to sacrifice his fortune and bribe the Nazi officers in exchange for the lives of the Jews. In saving such lives, Schindler became broke and was even forced to hide from the government after the war. But even though these things happened, he still felt sorry for he could save more lives if he didn’t wasted his money before.

            Before he left, the Jews decided to give him a ring with “whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.”

            Honestly speaking, I find the movie a bit boring but not until the part when Amon Goeth started killing some of the Jews. This one really got my attention and made me feel sorry for the victims. On the other hand, the black and white style of the movie also helped the viewers feel like they are really part of the movie and made them feel like they are also in the 1940’s era.

            A number of symbolisms can be found in this film. Some of these are the girl in a red coat, the candle, and the list itself. The girl in a red coat symbolizes the change of heart and mind of Oskar Schindler. When Schindler saw the dead girl, he got really shock and felt sorry for she was only a girl. Another symbolism of the movie is the candle. Its smoke symbolizes the bodies of the innocent Jews who were burnt. Lastly, the list does not only represent the lives who were saved but also the hope for the Jews to live peacefully especially to the saved ones.

            Generally speaking, this three hour movie is really a great one and is really worth it. In my case, although I was already aware about this tragic event, the movie gave me a clearer picture on such situation. It also gave a highlight on the issue of racism. Although it still exist nowadays, it’s still good to think that it’s not that rampant and violent. Also, slavery nowadays fortunately doesn’t exist.

SWIMMING POOL: a revelation of one’s alter ego

Sarah Morton, a successful author of countless thriller novels, was having a writer’s block. To help her do her next novel, Sarah’s publisher, Josh Bosload, offered a vacation house near Lacoste, France. As Sarah was enjoying her vacation-like-work and starting to gain her interest in writing again, Julie, the publisher’s daughter, showed up. She claimed that she was just having a short break from her work. She also claimed that her mother was Bosload’s mistress.

            Julie, having an exciting se life, would usually bring a guy every night that she would have a one-night-stand with. Sarah, on the other hand, felt irritated for she couldn’t concentrate on her work. Furthermore, Sarah, being a middle-aged writer with a prim and prop attitude that never experienced such things felt insecure to the beautiful and youthful Julie. But eventually, irritation and insecurity gradually took Sarah’s attention. She then started to sneak into Julie’s personal things and decided to make a story about her. When the relationship of the two started to become okay, Franck, a local waiter, enters the story.  Somehow, the two then became rivals. Julie happened to be interested also in the said guy but the latter appeared to be interested in the more mature one, Sarah, whom he became an acquaintance when Sarah frequently visit the bistro where Franck was working.

            Julie managed to bring Franck on their house and started to flirt with him. Unexpectedly, Julie invited Sarah to join their company. On that same night, an unexpected tragedy happened. Julie committed a crime in killing Franck. Sarah, on the other hand, didn’t hear all the things that happened for she was wearing earplugs.

            The next morning, Sarah started to become curious as to what happened to Julie and Franck. But this simple curiosity lead to a deeper revelation as to what had happened that night – a crime was committed.  Julie then confessed that she committed the said crime and that she did that for the sake of Sarah and her book. The two then helped each other in trying to hide the crime.

            In an effort to forget what had happened, Julie decided to leave and left the book written by her mother that she previously said was burnt. Sarah also decided to go back to the place she came from and published the book to the other publisher and not on Julie’s dad. When she visited her original publisher, it revealed a big twist in the story. There she saw the REAL Julie – a complete opposite to the Julie she met back in France.

            One of the symbols that are evident in the movie is the reflection of the glass when Julie was having sex with a random guy. While they were having sex, a reflection of them was shown in a glass and Sarah was on the other side of the glass, watching. This somehow symbolize having sex, having one-night-stands, this kind of lifestyle is what Sarah really wanted. Another symbolism from the movie is how Sarah would dress herself. At first, she would just dress simply but in the end of the movie, Sarah was seen wearing a red robe. Red, as we all know is looked upon a sensual colour, it somehow symbolize sexiness especially among women. Furthermore, Julie herself symbolized Sarah’s inner conscience, alter ego or what she really wanted. We can all notice that Julie would usually have one-night-stands on OLD GUYS. And also, in the last part of the story, it was revealed that the Julie that Sarah met was just an imagination.

            Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier who portrayed as Sarah and Julie really did a great job. Charlotte had this prim and prop aura while Julie had this sexy aura, I can surely say that the both of them really pulled their characters great. And I also love Ludivines’ accent in speaking French.

            All in all, although it had a hanging end, it was still a great movie. The end part of the story really gave a great impact of the success of the movie. This movie somehow tells its viewers that you should let go of the things that hinder you from doing what you really want no matter how mischievous it is. 

SEX AND LUCIA: an escape to the end

            

                As suggested by the title, Sex and Lucia is a about a love story of once strangers who fell easily in love with each through passionate sex.

            The movie started with Lucia talking to his depressed boyfriend, Lorenzo. Worried, Lucia decided to go home only to find an empty apartment. Lucia was trying to find Lorenzo when she received a phone call from a police officer and saw a suicide note from Lorenzo. Being afraid to hear the worst thing about his boyfriend, Lucia hangs up the phone. She then decided to go to the mysterious island that Lorenzo always talked about. In that Island, Lucia met Carlos and Elena who were also refugees on their personal tragedies.

            The story then goes back six years ago. Lorenzo was having a one-night-stand with a girl whom he doesn’t even know the name. The next day, Lorenzo was seen in a restaurant having a casual talk with a friend, there, he met Lucia who was somehow his admirer for she was reading Lorenzo’s novels and according to her, she had fallen to Lorenzo. The two then decided to live together and be a couple. As Lucia and Lorenzo’s relationship was going strong, Lorenzo found out that he has a child from the girl whom he had a one-night-stand. As Lorenzo was trying to cope up with his daughter, Luna, he met Belen, Luna’s nurse/nanny. Lorenzo and Belen somehow had a relationship. And all of the things Lorenzo were doing, he writes it down for his next novel. Lucia, on the other hand, had been secretly reading his novel, believing all of which was just fictional. One night, Belen invites Lorenzo to their house. That night, terrible thing happened. As Lorenzo and Belen were having sex, Luna knocked the door and was killed by the family dog. This tragic incident caused everyone to be depressed. And as the story progress, little by little, each secret was revealed – Elena happened to be Luna’s mother and Carlos was not actually Carlos. He was Belen’s step father whom she often fantasized with.

            “The first advantage is at the end of the story. It doesn't finish, it falls in a hole. And the story starts again halfway.” – We often hear this line in the movie. I noticed that this line is also the sequence of the story. Noticed that when Lucia fell in a hole, the story flashbacked to the beginning of it. Furthermore, I also noticed that the movie starts in the middle of the story and also ends in the middle of it.

            The thing that also caught my attention is when Belen ordered the family dog to “guard outside and attack whoever will disturb them”. It was surprising that the dog was clever enough to understand and even took the instruction literally.

            Some of the symbolisms that I noticed in the film are the lighthouse, the moon, the sun, and the hole. For me, the lighthouse somehow represent as a guide for Lucia. There was a scene when he was trying to follow Carlos but lost track on him, when she saw the lighthouse, it somehow served her as a guide where Carlos was. It can also represent a phallic symbol. The moon also represents the lust and sexual desires of each of the characters. Noticed when every time a couple would have sex, the moon would be shown. The sun, on the other hand, represents a new beginning of each of the character since most of them are trying

to escape from their personal tragedies. Lastly, the hole somehow represents how each of them was trying to escape from their tragic past. Because every time they enter the hole, they can go back in time even if it is just an imagination. And Carlos also hid on that hole in the last part of the story when he was trying to escape from Elena.

            All in all, the movie is a great to watch. Not only because of its unique love story but also the twist or the sequence of the story that would make you confused.