EL Viaje de Carol

El Viaje de Carol

I am glad that we chose to watch this film without sub-titles because it made us truly watch it and go by feelings and emotions not just words.
Carol is a beautiful young girl from the United States going to visit her mother’s home in Spain. When Carol and her mom stepped off of the train I got the impression that it was the first time that she had ever met her mother’s family. She was hesitant at first but seemed to warm up quickly, especially to her grandfather. It was on the trip to her grandfather’s that we witnessed the first time that her American background influenced her actions. When the three boys shot the bird with their slingshot killing it, she threw something at them. She did not even hesitate in her actions, she just instinctively threw the object at them and after seeing the other young girls in the village where they lived none of them would have even considered such an act.
I think Carol’s appearance was another way her American background influenced her. She wore overalls most of the time and even when she was in a dress it did not seem to suit her. From the very beginning I thought she seemed like a tomboy. The other girls we met were always in dresses and probably never wore pants.
You asked the question about how she fights against conventionalisms found in this new culture. The biggest one that comes to mind is the unconventional deal that she made with the priest when studying for her first communion. I do not think Catholicism was something that she wanted to participate in but was being made to do so by her mother’s family. She made a deal to be able to wear what she wanted during the first communion. When the scene starts we see all the children at the altar waiting to be served. When they travel down the row of children we see the girls in their beautiful dresses and the boys in their white sailor like uniforms. When the scene stops at Carol, there she is dressed like one of the guys. I think the most ironic part is that when it came her turn to receive the wafer, sirens sounded and she never had to partake.
Carol was only 12 years old and in a short time she had to grow up very fast. She lost her mother and was left with family that she barely even knew. Her father that she adored was away fighting in the war. She had to pay someone just to get letters to him. When her dad finally does comes for her, he ends up having to run for his life to keep from being captured or even killed. And lastly she met and lost her first love, Tomi. He was killed trying to save her father from the Franco regime. No child should have to go through so much so fast!

Volver

Volver is a film that shows us the lives of a group of women and how their lives are intertwined. There are a few men in the film but only in small roles with the exception of two of them. Their roles are small but extremely important to the telling of the story. The first is Raimunda’s father, we never even meet him except to see his head stone at the beginning, and the other is Paco, Raimunda’s dead beat husband. It is because of these two men that the women are all drawn together in the same circle. It takes almost the entire film to truly find out about the tribulations that these women have faced and overcome.
When we meet Paco for the first time we are shown the scum that he really is. He literally looks up his daughter’s skirt, more than once, when she sits down in the chair. We do not know it at the time but we soon find out, after Paula stabs him to death because he tried to sexually molest her, that he is really not her father. Next we find out that Raimunda and Sole’s father cheated on their mother all the time. Besides cheating on his wife, we also find out that he was also a child molester. He sexually molested Raimunda and got her pregnant. Raimunda and Sole’s father met his demise at the hands of his wife, Irene. She found him in bed with Agustina’s mother and set the hut on fire, killing them both. Everyone thought it was Irene in the hut with him so instead of turning herself in she went into hiding, ending up taking care of her ailing sister. Once all of these stories come out we see how these women showed their resilience by overcoming some of life’s most hideous tribulations to become strong, beautiful, courageous women. You would have to be strong to be reminded daily that your daughter was born from being sexually molested by your own father. It also shows Raimunda’s strength to give her daughter unconditional love. She proved that love by taking care of the situation surrounding the death of Paco. The only problem I have with the film is that we applaud these women for who they are and for what they had the strength to do but in actuality they committed crimes themselves.
To me the superstitions portrayed in this film can easily be explained. The East winds were thought to make people crazy. Aunt Paula was a victim of these winds or was she? Everyone thought she was crazy because she spoke of Irene in the present when she was supposed to have been dead for the past three years. We find out that she was not crazy, Irene was alive and living with her cooking and caring for her. Agustina believed in ghost which came out when she was telling all the women how it was the ghost of Irene that let her know that Paula had died. She believed in ghost so much that she wanted Raimunda to try and contact her dead mother and ask her if she knew what happened to her mother that just up and disappeared three years prior. We know now that Irene was not a ghost and she ended up caring for Agustina who was dying from cancer. Maybe this was to be her penitence for killing Agustina’s mother along with her cheating husband.

Guantanamera

Guantanamera
The first aspect of the Cuban culture that we see in the film is the music. It is a fun song with a salsa beat, easy to dance to. The way that they use the song to tell the story throughout the film is great.
The next glimpse of the Cuban culture we experience is family. I wrote my essay about being part of a Hispanic family and this film show the family and the bonds that they have. The relationship between Gina and her aunt is more like a mother and daughter, in the Hispanic culture family is family it really does not matter whether you are an aunt, uncle, mother, or father. You are all very close and take care of each other. Even if you look at the relationship between Gina and Adolfo she takes his abuse for such a long time because the husband is considered the head of the household.
Next we experience the way the culture deals with the death of loved ones. It is not the usual custom in the United States but it seems to be the custom in Cuba that you are buried in the area from where you were born. We see how family members are treated, needing tickets to get food after a loved one dies. In the United States it is pretty normal to have a full spread of food for family and friends after the services are held. It was actually sad to see that the families were so desperate for food that they tried for several days to get food after the death of their loved one.
We also see the foods of the culture. Bananas seem to be very abundant and are used to help smuggle illegal contraband to Havana. Coffee is also very popular. In the United States it is also popular but I do not think that it is as popular as it is in Cuba. In some cafes it is the only drink served besides water.
I enjoyed this film and seeing the Cuban culture through the journey to get Yoyita, Gina’s aunt, back to Havana for a proper burial. It was also great to see Gina come out of her shell and become a strong women and finally find true love. I am a sucker for happy endings!

Guantanamera

Guantanamera
The first aspect of the Cuban culture that we see in the film is the music. It is a fun song with a salsa beat, easy to dance to. The way that they use the song to tell the story throughout the film is great.
The next glimpse of the Cuban culture we experience is family. I wrote my essay about being part of a Hispanic family and this film show the family and the bonds that they have. The relationship between Gina and her aunt is more like a mother and daughter, in the Hispanic culture family is family it really does not matter whether you are an aunt, uncle, mother, or father. You are all very close and take care of each other. Even if you look at the relationship between Gina and Adolfo she takes his abuse for such a long time because the husband is considered the head of the household.
Next we experience the way the culture deals with the death of loved ones. It is not the usual custom in the United States but it seems to be the custom in Cuba that you are buried in the area from where you were born. We see how family members are treated, needing tickets to get food after a loved one dies. In the United States it is pretty normal to have a full spread of food for family and friends after the services are held. It was actually sad to see that the families were so desperate for food that they tried for several days to get food after the death of their loved one.
We also see the foods of the culture. Bananas seem to be very abundant and are used to help smuggle illegal contraband to Havana. Coffee is also very popular. In the United States it is also popular but I do not think that it is as popular as it is in Cuba. In some cafes it is the only drink served besides water.
I enjoyed this film and seeing the Cuban culture through the journey to get Yoyita, Gina’s aunt, back to Havana for a proper burial. It was also great to see Gina come out of her shell and become a strong women and finally find true love. I am a sucker for happy endings!

The Official Story

I had mixed emotions after viewing this film. Yes it was very good film but I was torn between Alicia finding out the truth behind Gaby’s adoption and thinking that she should have left well enough alone. I know the actual story is fictional but in reality it was telling the story of hundreds maybe even thousands. There are a lot of Alicia’s out there that adopted the children taken illegally and a lot of Gaby’s that will never know their real parents due to the military takeover in Argentina.
The film is about a women’s journey in searching for the truth behind the adoption of her beautiful daughter. Alicia is married to Roberto and after trying to have a child for years they end up adopting Gaby. The one condition of the adoption is that Alicia can never ask about it. Roberto on the other hand knows all the details. They are an affluent couple and have provided Gaby with a loving home. Things change for this family in a short amount of time.
Alicia teaches history and from the start she lets the students know that she teaches straight from the book and does not put up with any nonsense. The students on the other hand think the book was written by murderers and let her know it. One day she comes in and finds pictures all over the board depicting missing and or murdered women and children. She has one of the students remove the pictures but instead of throwing them away she keeps them.
We also meet Alicia’s childhood friend Ana that had been away for quite a while. When we first meet Ana there is a group of old friends having dinner and afterwards Ana ends up back at Alicia’s. The two are drinking, laughing and having a good time when Alicia asks Ana why she just disappeared. I do not think Alicia was prepared for the answer that she got. Ana told her about being held captive and tortured by the military. She described what she in detail she had endured and also what she saw. She told Alicia about seeing pregnant women and then later seeing them without their babies, sometimes she never saw them again. I think it was at this point that Alicia really started to question the details of Gaby’s adoption.
During the quest for answers Alicia finds out details about Roberto that she never knew. He was part of the military junta. This comes out when she will not stop asking questions and the adoption. After Alicia brings a women to their home that could possibly be Gaby’s biological grandmother, he goes ballistic and after throwing the women out he physically assaults Alicia by ramming her head in the wall and slamming her hand several times in the door. Alicia is begging him to stop and when he does the phone rings and it is Gaby wanting to say goodnight and sing them the song that she has learned. Roberto talks to Gaby and listens to her song but Alicia is upset and can’t talk to her daughter, maybe she is upset about what just happened or maybe she is upset about finally learning the truth about the adoption. Whatever the reason Alicia hugs Roberto then leaves.
This film is full of hope and hopelessness. You feel the hopelessness when watching the demonstrators looking for their missing loved one. Theirs is of hope, the hope of finding them alive and well. The hopelessness is in knowing that they will never be found because they have been murdered. The hope that comes out of all of this is Gaby. She represents hope for all the families of those that have missing loved ones. I think that Alicia and Roberto love Gaby with all their hearts but with the way Alicia left I feel like the chance of their marriage staying together is hopeless.
I mentioned earlier in my blog that maybe Alicia should leave well enough alone. I have to think that if I adopted I would want to know everything that I could about birth parents so that I could share this with my child later on. I am reminded of the old saying that “the truth shall set you free”. I hope Alicia felt this way after her quest for the truth was over.