It was during 1968 that it all happened. Matthew went to Paris to study french. Although he has been there for a while, he did not actually made any friends. Until one time during a protest where he met the Isabelle and Theo. Isabelle and Theo then made friends with Matthew and asked him to move with them because their parents, their dad was a poet, were out of town for at least a month. Matthew then agreed and then eventually he later learned about the twins’ secret. The twins were in fact doing things at an intimate level where their boundaries between brother and sister were severed. Matthew then joins them and they slowly descend into the depths of fantasy, away from reality. They would challenge each other as to how far they’d actually go. Some of the challenges were so intimate that it was so mind blowingly outrageous. One could not imagine as to what they were thinking.
The story was someting about self discovery wherein they took themselves to the test as to how far they would or can go with their limits and considering them in such a way that they could finish the challenge. Their actions kind of depicted what the teens were experiencing during those times wherein the revolution took place in their city. Some would join the revolution some would not. Maybe these actions of these students in the film were as free as their minds would allow them to imagine during their difficult times, considering their parents were away. And maybe becaue of the fact that their dad was a poet that they were opened to the facts of poetry regarding the human body. In all points that I raised the movie was just purely shocking. Considering the ones involved were an innocent student and the twins, which were blood related. For a fact one could say that their actions were not as quite as reasonable than the innocent ones.
Monday 3 October 2011
Self-Expressed Love
The 1993 film started its setting in a 1850s environment where one mute Scotswoman, Ada McGrath, had her piano as one of her priced possessions. Since she was mute, she used the piano as a means of showing expressions, she was also using hand signs to express herself too. Ada has a daughter named Flora, she was the one who interprets what her mother wanted to say most of the times. It was unclear as to what happend to the biological father of Flora, but it was shown that it was irrelevant. As her father sold Ada to a fixed marriage in New Zealand, to a frontiersman, Alistair Stewart, she brought with her her daughter and her beloved piano. As they landed in the beach of New Zealend the crew had objections about them then they deposited the belongings of Ada and Flora as well as her piano. Then Alistair arrives with his crew and Baines, a former sailor, to pick up Ada and Flora. But they could only carry so much, so they left some things behind, including the piano. Ada wanted the piano to be brought but Alistair continues to defy her. Then Ada asks Baines to bring the piano for her, Baines agree but for one condition, she could get the piano back in exchange of piano lessons for himself to be taught by Ada. Ada agrees, then she and Baines took the lessons together, then Baines and Ada found themselves fond of each other. Alistair starts to doubt the two, so he confronts Ada. She then says no, but deep inside Ada, she is falling for Baines. Alistair later found out about the truth of the two thanks to Flora, and sends a piece of his mind into the fingers to Ada. He left Ada and Flora together with Baines and left them for good.
There were some scenes in the film where they showed symbols, one such is the first image you see, looked like vertical lines but later showed as Ada’s fingers. The bars showed confinement. In which she was given limited acces to everything, considering she was mute. The piano itself symbolizes Ada’s emotions and feelings. She used it in every way she can to show her true emotions and feelings. That’s why she couldnt just let go of the piano which she loved dearly.
Life is full of surprises. Things don’t always go as planned. When Ada gave Flora the piano key, she didn’t expect that Flora would betray her. Ada did not expect to fall for Baines either. Sometimes expecting something can lead to disaster, that’s why we should just let our lives do the work of uncovering those unexpected mysteries at our expense.
There were some scenes in the film where they showed symbols, one such is the first image you see, looked like vertical lines but later showed as Ada’s fingers. The bars showed confinement. In which she was given limited acces to everything, considering she was mute. The piano itself symbolizes Ada’s emotions and feelings. She used it in every way she can to show her true emotions and feelings. That’s why she couldnt just let go of the piano which she loved dearly.
Life is full of surprises. Things don’t always go as planned. When Ada gave Flora the piano key, she didn’t expect that Flora would betray her. Ada did not expect to fall for Baines either. Sometimes expecting something can lead to disaster, that’s why we should just let our lives do the work of uncovering those unexpected mysteries at our expense.
A Woman's Resolve
The movie starts in introducing Lucia. Lucia is one of the young waitresses in a restaurant in the centre of Madrid, Spain. While working, she hears the bad news about his lover, Lorenzo, from the police, dead by suicide. By the time she heard about it, she was very upset about what happened and tried to and start a new journey in life by going to the place where Lorenzo was always talking about. It was an isolated island. When she arrived in the said island, she met new friends, discovered a lot of hidden secrets about his lover, those hidden secrets or more like so hidden secrets just ready to be seen by her. Apparently, she discovered that Lorenzo had other love affair with women. One of them was named Elena and had accidently procured a child with Lorenzo, and the child grew with no known father. And in that place, Lucia and Elena coped up about their relationships being similar yet different from one another. In the end, surprisingly Lucia did meet up with Lorenzo in the island, after finding out that he was not dead after all. With what Lucia discovered about his lover Lorenzo, still they ended up together and live happily ever in each others hearts. The journey that Lucia went to made her realize that what Lorenzo has done does not matter and what matters is that she and Lorenzo are made to be together with each other.
As I watched the movie, the first thing that came up in my thoughts was the word “confusing”. The movie had scenes that were quite mind-blowing considering different scenes occurred here and there. Then I realized that the movie was not a sequential event-type movie because the scenes from the past and the present were intertwined with each other. Then when I realized that such theme was used in the movie, I slowly understood the flow of the story. The story really was magnificent, extraordinary, mind blowing and quite intriguing. One of the symbols that I had found in the movie was the sun and the moon. The sun and the moon reflect the ‘Love” of Lorenzo. In which sometimes it is like the sun that can be irritating at times like what Elena had experienced, she conceived a child whom she did not want plus the child did not have any father to look up to. And sometimes his love can be like the moon, attractive. That’s what Lucia felt; she was attracted to the love that Lorenzo had to offer. With such movie being critiqued as one of the best, I learned that acceptance is very important in any affair that one may be in. Just like what Lucia had done, she accepted all the secrets of her lover, Lorenzo. Even though Lorenzo already had a son or Lorenzo did bad things such as having an affair with anyone, she accepted it heart-warmingly and still continued to love him for all he is and for all he was.
As I watched the movie, the first thing that came up in my thoughts was the word “confusing”. The movie had scenes that were quite mind-blowing considering different scenes occurred here and there. Then I realized that the movie was not a sequential event-type movie because the scenes from the past and the present were intertwined with each other. Then when I realized that such theme was used in the movie, I slowly understood the flow of the story. The story really was magnificent, extraordinary, mind blowing and quite intriguing. One of the symbols that I had found in the movie was the sun and the moon. The sun and the moon reflect the ‘Love” of Lorenzo. In which sometimes it is like the sun that can be irritating at times like what Elena had experienced, she conceived a child whom she did not want plus the child did not have any father to look up to. And sometimes his love can be like the moon, attractive. That’s what Lucia felt; she was attracted to the love that Lorenzo had to offer. With such movie being critiqued as one of the best, I learned that acceptance is very important in any affair that one may be in. Just like what Lucia had done, she accepted all the secrets of her lover, Lorenzo. Even though Lorenzo already had a son or Lorenzo did bad things such as having an affair with anyone, she accepted it heart-warmingly and still continued to love him for all he is and for all he was.
The Purest Race
“The Jews started it all—and by ‘it’ I mean so many of the things we care about, the underlying values that make all of us, Jew and Gentile, believer and aethiest, tick. Without the Jews, we would see the world through different eyes, hear with different ears, even feel with different feelings ... we would think with a different mind, interpret all our experience differently, draw different conclusions from the things that befall us. And we would set a different course for our lives.”
- Thomas Cahill, The Gifts Of The Jews
It’s quite interesting to know the story of the Jews from the accounts of the Holy Scripture. Different passages from the Bible illustrate how Jews were persecuted and humiliated by powerful figures or race which has started for about 2,000 years ago. According to the gospel of Matthew Chapter 27 Verse 25, the crowd shouted, “His blood be on us and our children”. The verse implies that the Jews were held responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. All throughout Christian literature, this line has been used to discriminate and exploit them. During 70 A.D. where Jerusalem was destructed, almost one million Jews were killed and were put into slavery.
During the time of Constantine, a lot of anti-Jewish laws were passed and made Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire. Jews were also persecuted in Spain because of the issue of baptism. For Christians, they were considered as enemies. These bloody persecutions were extended during the time of Adolf Hitler where the Nazi party is formed. The persecution has commenced after the war but there were already six million Jews killed.
The Schindler’s List is a story that could stir our emotions. It projects different life experiences and struggles. The movie concentrates more on the lives of the Jews rather than that of Schindler’s. Schindler is a happy-go-lucky man who possesses almost everything in life. Money, fame, power, name it! He holds a business in Czechoslovakia where he hires hundreds or thousands of employees to do numerous tasks. Mr. Schindler has been involved with the Nazis though he does not hate Jews. Upon the arrival of German people in Poland, the Jewish community received harsh treatment. The Germans took their belongings leaving them nothing at hand. Despite these massive killings and persecutions, Schindler hired 150 Jews for his enamelware factory. The Nazis were a bit suspicious of his acts. He was arrested but his friends will always come to rescue him out.
On the other hand, the Nazis pursued their operation on concentration camps until such time that the workers become sick or weak. Amon Koth initiated the construction of labour camps in Krakow. He loves to shoot anyone who is uncooperative, the elders, and even those who are innocent. During this time, Schindler also builds his sub-camp for the security of his workers.
Schindler along with his friend Stern made a list of workers. It includes 1,100 Jews which later on became the popular “Schindler’s List”. These were the people who survived the Second World War and escaped cruelty from the hands of the German oppressors.
- Thomas Cahill, The Gifts Of The Jews
It’s quite interesting to know the story of the Jews from the accounts of the Holy Scripture. Different passages from the Bible illustrate how Jews were persecuted and humiliated by powerful figures or race which has started for about 2,000 years ago. According to the gospel of Matthew Chapter 27 Verse 25, the crowd shouted, “His blood be on us and our children”. The verse implies that the Jews were held responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. All throughout Christian literature, this line has been used to discriminate and exploit them. During 70 A.D. where Jerusalem was destructed, almost one million Jews were killed and were put into slavery.
During the time of Constantine, a lot of anti-Jewish laws were passed and made Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire. Jews were also persecuted in Spain because of the issue of baptism. For Christians, they were considered as enemies. These bloody persecutions were extended during the time of Adolf Hitler where the Nazi party is formed. The persecution has commenced after the war but there were already six million Jews killed.
The Schindler’s List is a story that could stir our emotions. It projects different life experiences and struggles. The movie concentrates more on the lives of the Jews rather than that of Schindler’s. Schindler is a happy-go-lucky man who possesses almost everything in life. Money, fame, power, name it! He holds a business in Czechoslovakia where he hires hundreds or thousands of employees to do numerous tasks. Mr. Schindler has been involved with the Nazis though he does not hate Jews. Upon the arrival of German people in Poland, the Jewish community received harsh treatment. The Germans took their belongings leaving them nothing at hand. Despite these massive killings and persecutions, Schindler hired 150 Jews for his enamelware factory. The Nazis were a bit suspicious of his acts. He was arrested but his friends will always come to rescue him out.
On the other hand, the Nazis pursued their operation on concentration camps until such time that the workers become sick or weak. Amon Koth initiated the construction of labour camps in Krakow. He loves to shoot anyone who is uncooperative, the elders, and even those who are innocent. During this time, Schindler also builds his sub-camp for the security of his workers.
Schindler along with his friend Stern made a list of workers. It includes 1,100 Jews which later on became the popular “Schindler’s List”. These were the people who survived the Second World War and escaped cruelty from the hands of the German oppressors.
Malena
Malena
“You can only find your dignity in the place you’ve lost it.”
Malena is a story of love, loyalty and romance. Malena is a Sicilian woman who lived during the Second World War. She may have lived in a chaotic environment but still she remained as a symbol of beauty and fame. She is always talked about in town that no man could dare not to look at her and use her as a figure of their sexual fantasies. One of them was a 12-year old boy named Renato. He was so obsessed with her that wherever she would go he would be there following her. Renato would even dare to defend Malena in his own accord. Renato witnessed and heard some things that he shouldn’t know about Malena including some rumours about her husband’s death and that brought her grave sadness. Such sadness leads to her sexual affinities. Thus, she uses her own body to gain personal benefits. Despite all the criticisms and struggles that she went through, she still remained hopeful the she would regain what she had lost. And she did.
There are a lot of symbolisms found in the movie. The pants worn by the children is a symbol of manhood and maturity. Next is the disk which symbolizes Malena’s feelings for her beloved husband that every time she remembers him, she would play this disk. The peephole symbolizes Renato’s curiosity towards Malena’s life. The peephole is the most repeated symbol all throughout the film. The black dress which Malena wore she heard her husband died symbolizes grief and sadness. Malena’s new hairstyle represents her strong personality towards all criticisms addressed to her.
Malena is a character-driven story because it talks about a certain character who gives meaning to the film. The film is trying to give us an idea as to what lies and assumptions can do to a person with no self respect. The film is also trying to teach us the humanity of a person, such as Renato’s actions which shows us the freedom of a child in his own actions. The film basically is a heart-breaking story about a woman who once lost her dignity but then found it in the one place she truly belonged to.
“You can only find your dignity in the place you’ve lost it.”
Malena is a story of love, loyalty and romance. Malena is a Sicilian woman who lived during the Second World War. She may have lived in a chaotic environment but still she remained as a symbol of beauty and fame. She is always talked about in town that no man could dare not to look at her and use her as a figure of their sexual fantasies. One of them was a 12-year old boy named Renato. He was so obsessed with her that wherever she would go he would be there following her. Renato would even dare to defend Malena in his own accord. Renato witnessed and heard some things that he shouldn’t know about Malena including some rumours about her husband’s death and that brought her grave sadness. Such sadness leads to her sexual affinities. Thus, she uses her own body to gain personal benefits. Despite all the criticisms and struggles that she went through, she still remained hopeful the she would regain what she had lost. And she did.
There are a lot of symbolisms found in the movie. The pants worn by the children is a symbol of manhood and maturity. Next is the disk which symbolizes Malena’s feelings for her beloved husband that every time she remembers him, she would play this disk. The peephole symbolizes Renato’s curiosity towards Malena’s life. The peephole is the most repeated symbol all throughout the film. The black dress which Malena wore she heard her husband died symbolizes grief and sadness. Malena’s new hairstyle represents her strong personality towards all criticisms addressed to her.
Malena is a character-driven story because it talks about a certain character who gives meaning to the film. The film is trying to give us an idea as to what lies and assumptions can do to a person with no self respect. The film is also trying to teach us the humanity of a person, such as Renato’s actions which shows us the freedom of a child in his own actions. The film basically is a heart-breaking story about a woman who once lost her dignity but then found it in the one place she truly belonged to.
Unconditional Love
Life is beautiful is a family movie inspired by a love of a father to his family, especially to his son. The story began when a Jewish and poet, Guido Orefice, meets an Italian school teacher, Dora. Guido uses his tricks and style to get Dora to like her, and he did. He and Dora went away with each other and lived in Guido’s uncle’s house. They then had a child named, Giosue. Guido and Dora always had conflicts with each other, and then until Giosue’s certain birthday, reconciliation happened between them. After that, Germans captured Guido and his son so that they will be transferred to a concentration camp. Dora doesn’t want to leave them so she decides to go with them, where Guido was afraid of. When they arrived at the camp, Dora was separated from Guido and their son. They were put into their respective camps and Guido cautiously hides Giosue from the Germans. When they arrived at a certain place at the camp, Guido tells his son that all of those things that they were going to go through were only a part of the game, and the one who wins the game earns 1000 points and earns a tank. Giosue happily believes what his father tells him and plays the game with the conditions that was given to him. With the days becoming quite dangerous and problematic, Guido felt it was no longer safe to play around with his son. So he decides to make sacrifices to protect Giosue and let him meet with his mother once again. At one time, Guido tells Giosue to hide in a certain place so that no one could find him because in the game, Guido tells Giosue that everyone was looking for him. At the final moment, Guido still managed to make his son laugh by imitating some Nazi guards as if they were marching together. Then Guido sacrificed his life to protect his son so that the Germans would not find out where his son was and got shot dead. After a while, Giosue gets out of his hiding place and found Americans going in the camp with tanks, and with that Guido was so happy because he thought he won.
The Love of the father to his family especially to his son was quite remarkable. It is because; the father did all he can just to let his young boy feel the comfort of life, instead of making him fell the fear that the others did. The father was exceptionally brave because of what he did during their stay in the camp. Who would be so daring like him? A true measure of one’s love to another is the way in which that person delivers it to the one he or she loves. In the movie, Guido risked it all just to protect his son. A lot of people today would also do the same just to protect their beloved. Love is a wonderful thing and it shows the real person inside you. All we have to do in order to do what you want or what you believe is true is to be true to yourself, and you’ll find out that you can be like what Guido was, a true person who did everything he can to save his son, and he did. A true person can do anything he desires because by being true, all the hindrances that you encounter will just be like the air: nothing.
The Love of the father to his family especially to his son was quite remarkable. It is because; the father did all he can just to let his young boy feel the comfort of life, instead of making him fell the fear that the others did. The father was exceptionally brave because of what he did during their stay in the camp. Who would be so daring like him? A true measure of one’s love to another is the way in which that person delivers it to the one he or she loves. In the movie, Guido risked it all just to protect his son. A lot of people today would also do the same just to protect their beloved. Love is a wonderful thing and it shows the real person inside you. All we have to do in order to do what you want or what you believe is true is to be true to yourself, and you’ll find out that you can be like what Guido was, a true person who did everything he can to save his son, and he did. A true person can do anything he desires because by being true, all the hindrances that you encounter will just be like the air: nothing.
Imperfect World
The church has been described as simul justus et peccatur which means, simultaneously redeemed and sinful. It was considered righteous and at the same time a sinner. The Bishops, the priests, the nuns, along with the members of the church are all part of this structure. They were made holy and were created according to the image and likeness of God. But we have to admit that this “image” seemed to be distorted and was made unclean. A person or a thing that did not meet certain conditions assigned by God was regarded unclean and to be unclean was a symbol for not being spiritually pure. Something like this should not be part of religious services because God set the conditions for things and people to be included in worshipping Him.
The film entitled The Crime of Padre Amaro depicts the flaws and limitations of the church most especially the expectations we attached to it. A young priest named Amaro ventured his way to a small town of Los Reyes to assist the old bishop, Father Benito with the church’s chores. While travelling, he met an incident leaving him nothing but his bag and some money on his pocket. This incident served as a warning that his stay on parish would not be as simple as it should be. Temptations overrule his virtues leading him to such unexpected acts. These series of tests started when he met Amelia, a religious and very pious girl who never misses to attend the church’s activities and rituals. She’s a type of girl whom can serve herself as a sacrifice to the Lord. But that description of seems to be erroneous as we can see on the succeeding scenes. While residing on the parish, Amaro has been suspicious of Father Benito’s affairs. And later he found out that the bishop has a secret relationship with Amelia’s mother, Sanjuanera. Not only that, he discovered the issue of corruption in the church and the region’s drug lord. Everything turned out complicated when he found out that another priest named Natalio was suspected that he has been assisting the guerrillas in the highlands. These priests mentioned were noted for their good deeds but in the end they all commit different “crimes”.
On the other hand, Father Amaro aggressively showed her love for Amelia. He even looked for a place for them to do their sexual desires which happens almost every night. This couple cannot control themselves when they are together. As Amelia finds herself falling for Amaro, she breaks off her relationship with Ruben, her boyfriend. Ruben responds by publishing a story which reveals the details of Benito's dealings with the drug dealers. Father Amaro tries to get rid of these issues but surprisingly, Amelia told him about her pregnancy. As things come to worse, he decided to have the child aborted. This has been the ultimate crime of Father Benito. It was not only offensive to the part of Amelia, but to God as well. Amelia died because of excessive loss of blood brought about by abortion. In the end of the story, Father Amaro finds himself hugging Amelia and regretting all things he had made.
What are some points we need to discuss in this flick? First is the issue on Celibacy. Catholic priests are called to be espoused or married to the Church itself, and espoused to God, without overwhelming, exclusive commitments interfering with the relationship. Celibacy was not required of popes, bishops, or priests in the early church. The movie is contradicting to the teachings of the church and this act is not new to us, Christians or non-Christians. Second, we have to admit that priests are also human beings. They too are capable of doing sins. They too, are tempted.
This movie serves as a wake up call for us all. We have to inculcate to our thought that the church, rather “our church” is not a perfect institution. The church is not there always to help us but it’s sometimes the church that needs our help. But our church has never been tired of loving us since it is, was, and always will be the medium of our spiritual needs.
The film entitled The Crime of Padre Amaro depicts the flaws and limitations of the church most especially the expectations we attached to it. A young priest named Amaro ventured his way to a small town of Los Reyes to assist the old bishop, Father Benito with the church’s chores. While travelling, he met an incident leaving him nothing but his bag and some money on his pocket. This incident served as a warning that his stay on parish would not be as simple as it should be. Temptations overrule his virtues leading him to such unexpected acts. These series of tests started when he met Amelia, a religious and very pious girl who never misses to attend the church’s activities and rituals. She’s a type of girl whom can serve herself as a sacrifice to the Lord. But that description of seems to be erroneous as we can see on the succeeding scenes. While residing on the parish, Amaro has been suspicious of Father Benito’s affairs. And later he found out that the bishop has a secret relationship with Amelia’s mother, Sanjuanera. Not only that, he discovered the issue of corruption in the church and the region’s drug lord. Everything turned out complicated when he found out that another priest named Natalio was suspected that he has been assisting the guerrillas in the highlands. These priests mentioned were noted for their good deeds but in the end they all commit different “crimes”.
On the other hand, Father Amaro aggressively showed her love for Amelia. He even looked for a place for them to do their sexual desires which happens almost every night. This couple cannot control themselves when they are together. As Amelia finds herself falling for Amaro, she breaks off her relationship with Ruben, her boyfriend. Ruben responds by publishing a story which reveals the details of Benito's dealings with the drug dealers. Father Amaro tries to get rid of these issues but surprisingly, Amelia told him about her pregnancy. As things come to worse, he decided to have the child aborted. This has been the ultimate crime of Father Benito. It was not only offensive to the part of Amelia, but to God as well. Amelia died because of excessive loss of blood brought about by abortion. In the end of the story, Father Amaro finds himself hugging Amelia and regretting all things he had made.
What are some points we need to discuss in this flick? First is the issue on Celibacy. Catholic priests are called to be espoused or married to the Church itself, and espoused to God, without overwhelming, exclusive commitments interfering with the relationship. Celibacy was not required of popes, bishops, or priests in the early church. The movie is contradicting to the teachings of the church and this act is not new to us, Christians or non-Christians. Second, we have to admit that priests are also human beings. They too are capable of doing sins. They too, are tempted.
This movie serves as a wake up call for us all. We have to inculcate to our thought that the church, rather “our church” is not a perfect institution. The church is not there always to help us but it’s sometimes the church that needs our help. But our church has never been tired of loving us since it is, was, and always will be the medium of our spiritual needs.
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