Carol's Journey

I found the film Carol's journey to be fascinating. I enjoyed this movie the best of all that we have viewed. I found myself amused with Carol and her free spirit. She definantely had a stubborn side which served her well as she endured the difficulties of being in a foreign country. She fought against the conventionalism of the country when she insisted on wearing clothes that were not feminine. She also rebelled as she was encouraged to go to religion school to embrace catholism. I was intrigued by the priest refusing to give her the first communion after the war ended. I wasn't sure if he felt like she did not deserve it because she didn't act like she cared about the classes. I found that an interesting aspect in the film. I thought that this religious part showed that she allowed her American background to interfere with her adapting to the culture. Overall I was impressed with Carol's journey in Spain as she endured many difficulties but found love and support through her family and friends.

Becky Bittinger

Volver

The main character of the film Volver proved to be an extremely strong and resiliant woman. She persued and survived through some of life's most difficult situations. I felt like she was constantly being thrown into hard, problems but she took them in stride and made the best of it. She had to deal with abuse, loss of her marriage and the death of a loved one. The dynamics of the film were interesting. It seems unimaginable to think that Raimandi could survive the life she had been dealt, yet she does it with strength and fortitude. I found it interesting that her daughter learns from the difficulties that her mother goes through. Their relationship grows stronger as they endure the death of Paco and having to make it on their own. Raimandi's turning point was when she took over the resteraunt and made her own living by cooking for the film crew. She was even able to enjoy singing again which is one thing she enjoyed as a child. The impact of her singing in the film reminded me how much music is part of the Latin American culture. Most all of the women in the film were portrayed with possessing strength and character when dealing with life's most difficult challenges.
When examining the superstitious beliefs in the film, it was evident that the Spanish culture holds to many of these ideas. It was striking to see the women in the opening scene cleaning off the graves of the family, "to keep the spirits happy." I found it interesting how the older women were teaching the younger to do this without questioning the belief and practice. Another example of superstition was how the "east wind" caused people to become crazy. It appeared that the characters in the film used the wind as an excuse for problems they encountered. There were several episodes when they blamed illogical things on the "wind."
Overall I found this film intriguing to follow. It showed once again that Spanish women are strong and industrious even when faced with inexcusable circumstances in life.
Becky Bittinger

Entre Nos

In the film Entre Nos we see the strength of a young mother as she is suddenly and unexpectantly forced to become a single mother. When Mariana's husband Antonio decides to abandon his wife and two beautiful children we see Mariana develop a strength that enables her to survive. Survival seems to be the key in this film. The first instinct that she has is to raise money to get to Miami to be with her husband. Upon learning that the fare for the trip is so costly she seems to forgo this idea and settles on caring and supporting her children. My impression of Mariana is that she is very smart and observant. She watches how people survive in busy New York City. She watches as Mr. Joe collects cans and bottles to make money. Then teaches her children to do the same. This resourceful way of getting money seems to pull her little family together as they work so hard in the summer heat to survive. Mariana is very conscientious of how her children see her. She seemed so saddened in the scene when she lies to her daughter about playing hide-n-seak. She is forced to lie to her so she can escape the house to try to go out and make money. We also see a change in Mariana's attitude when her daughter accuses her of not being funny anymore. As she is sitting in the window sill with Andrea contemplating her life, she is struck by the comment from her daughter. It appears that after that scene she starts playing and laughing with her children more. Almost as if she tells herself that she is going to make the best of the situation that she is in. We see the son, Gabi become very hardworking and helpful when he gets up early and goes out on his own to collect cans. He is learning that unfortunately he must become the "man" of the family.
We see the family learn to survive through this horrible summer of their lives. Even though the father has totally devastated their lives, they show an outstanding amount of courage and strength. These situations do happen often in America but legal citizens have government agencies that they can seek for help. Several times during the film I felt saddened by the plight of the family. If they only could have sought the help of a food kitchen or homeless shelter it could have been a little easier on them. Perhaps it was the fear of being illegal that prevented her from seeking help for her family from any organized institutions. It was encouraging though to see her not only survive, but secure shelter, food,employment and even an education for her son. What as inspiring family! Becky Bittinger

The Official Story

After viewing the film The Official Story I felt saddened by what the main character Alicia had to endure. As we watch the story unfold she is burdened by the fact from the beginning that she is unable to have her own children and instead adopted a little girl, Gabby. Her feelings are evident when we watch her and her husband, Roberto, at a dinner party where she feels like one of the women puts her down and makes light of her situation. This topic can be especially hard for people who have experienced the pain of infertility. Although it is evident that this is a burden to her, it is obvious that she and Roberto love Gabby their adopted daughter with all of their hearts. I feel that due to Alicia's position as a history teacher at the high school she finds herself questioning what is going on with the politics in her country Argentina. She is the type of person who questions and persues until she gets an answer to her questions. She is troubled by the signs for the missing children in her city and starts to question the people who are close to her. She starts with her good friend Anna who was kidnapped and tortured because of her affiliation with a man Pedro. She questioned her priest who is unwilling to give her direct answers. She also questioned her husband, who although he seems to love her very much is unwilling to tell her the truth about the situation with Gabby. She ultimately keeps digging until she finds the truth herself by going to the hospital and meeting Sara, Gabby's biological grandmother. It is through this encounter with Sara that I feel Alicia comes to accept the fact that Gabby is an orphan of parents who were murdered political prisoners. She finally comes to grip with it in the final explosive scene where she confronts Roberto about it. It is interesting that even through all of the pain she was feeling, she was willing to do what was best for Gabby. Unfortunately even though Roberto was devoted to Gabby, he seemed more concerned with his shattered life, business and political downturn. I thought the film portrayed a mothers love to the fullest degree. Becky Bittinger