Film Review: Schindler's List

Schindler: Life over money

Schindler’s List is a 1993 movie biographical drama directed by Steven Spielberg. Based on a true story, the movie is about a Nazi businessman who saved more than a thousand Jews during the World War II.

The movie focused on what happened during the beginning of World War II in Krakow Ghetto, which is a German-initiated relocation of Polish Jews. Oskar Schindler, a Nazi businessman who saw an opportunity to gain money with the holocaust, started running a factory. He hired the Jews thinking that their rates are cheaper. However in 1942, all of the Jew workers were assigned to a concentration camp lead by an alcoholic commandant, Amon Goeth. He is always seen shooting people from his balcony. The film showed how the Nazis brutally treated the Jews: killing them whenever they commit mistakes, burning them on a train, they even killed women and children. Because of this, Schindler decided that instead of gaining more income, he helped the Jews by hiring all of them in exchange of all his money and jewelry. Schindler lost almost his entire fortune but saved 1,100 lives.

The film being shot mostly in black and white emphasized the setting, which was during the 1940s, The film, through the director’s style, demonstrated contrasts and ironies.

The movie, I my opinion, was both character and plot-driven. The film focused on Schindler’s character and also, focused on the events that happened during the war.

Overall, the movie was great. It was very moving and somehow realistic. It was also not boring.

Film Review: Sex and Lucia

Passion, Love, Sex and Lucia

Sex and Lucia is a Spanish drama film directed by Julio Medem. It stars Paz Vega(Lucia) and Trista Ulioa(her lover). The movie follows the tragic stories and events that relate all of the film’s characters.

Lucia was a young Madrid waitress who was devastated to hear of the death of her boyfriend Lorenzo. in order to escape from all the stress, she went to an island her dead lover often talked about. There she meets and befriends Carlos and Elena. Unknown to all of them, the three each had a connection to Lorenzo. A few years ago, Elena had a fling with Lorenzo on the same island on the beach. Nine months later, she bore his daughter, Luna. But unable to raise a child on her own, she let a Belen, a nurse, to take care of the child. In attempting to reconnect with the child he never knew, Lorenzo had a passionate affair with Belen, one which caused her to neglect Luna, with tragic results. As Lucia slowly learns these details, she recalls the book Lorenzo was writing just before his death, and soon realizes that the story that was supposed to be fiction were real.

The film was character-driven, for it focused in the life of Lucia and the lives of everyone surrounding her. As suggested by the film’s title, there is a great deal of ardent sexual content surrounding the love story of Lucia and Lorenzo. The movie attributes a highly non-linear story line with repeated references to the ocean and the beach.

Overall, the movie was good.

Film Review: The Piano

Music and passion through silence

The Piano is a drama movie directed by European director Jane Campion. It was shown in 1993 in New Zealand. The film depicts the story of a mute pianist and her daughter. It was set during the mid-19^th century.

The movie tells the story of Ada McGrath, a mute woman, whose father fixed her marriage to Alastair Stewart. She was shipped to New Zealand together with her young daughter Flora, Ada’s offspring with her teacher. The film then followed how Ada met Baines, a native and Alastair’s friend, and their relationship. Ada’s husband eventually finds out their hidden business and attempted to end it by cutting Ada’s index finger and killing Baines.

The film’s settings were mainly in the beach, forest, and the village. The weather was mostly cloudy, at times raining, which made the mood cold and gloomy. The movie was character-driven, having Ada and the people around her the main focus of the film.

The mise-en-scene was also done well. It used a natural set which made the movie natural and realistic. The set also helped emphasizing the characters’ personalities. The clothes were also appropriate to the movie’s theme. The actor’s performance were also commendable, especially the actress who portrayed Ada because it is hard to play a role of a deaf and mute woman.

The dominant leit motif was the beach. The symbolisms used were the piano, the axe, and Ada’s black dress. The piano was used to be Ada’s means of expression. The piano also symbolized her entire body and her sexuality. It was traded, just like what her father did to her. The axe, which was used to cut her finger, symbolized Alastair’s attempt to end her wife and Baines’ relationship.

Overall, the movie was okay.

Film Review: Life is Beautiful

Humor amidst the holocaust

Life is Beautiful is a 1997 Italian movie directed by Roberto Benigni, who was also the lead character. It tells the story of a Jewish-Italian Guido Orifice’s love life and his life with his wife and son during the occupation of the German forces in Italy.

The film was set in 1930s Italy. It starts when Guido, who is a Jewish-Italian book keeper, courts and eventually marries a woman from a nearby city. The movie then followed their love story and later on, having their child. The story then made a transition from love story to the Holocaust. Together with other Jews, they were forced to stay and work in a concentration camp. Guido was separated from his wife while their son stayed with him. In an attempt to hold his family together and help his son survive the horrors of the holocaust, he imagined that all was just a game. This strategy was successful until the end of the occupation. Guido was killed while his family survived.

Though the film started off light, fun, and almost of a little substance, its second half really moved me. It was touching, inspiring, and bittersweet at the same time.

The movie was both plot and character-driven, for it focused about Guido’s life and the holocaust during the World War II. Overall, it was great. Compared to Spielberg’s Schindler’s List which was gory, bloody, and bold, the film showed the situation of the war in a more subtle, not violent manner. Some themes present in the film are innocence, which was evident when Guido kept his son away from the truth; and romance, which was Guido’s love story.

To sum it all up, the movie exceeded my expectations.

Film Review: The Crime of Padre Amaro

Padre Amaro: Love over celibacy

The film El Crimen del Padre Amaro(The Crime of Padre Amaro) is about the life and struggles of a newly ordained priest in a small Mexican town. The film stars Gael Garcia Bernal, Ana Claudia Talancon, and Sancho Gracia. The movie is based on a 1875 Portuguese novel by Eca de Queiroz.

Padre Amaro, who was a newly ordained priest, arrived in a small town to serve the local church. When he arrived there, he discovered the town’s secrets, especially about politics and the church. He finds out that Father Benito, the town’s priest, was having an affair with a restaurant owner and that Benito’s large hospital building was funded by a drug lord. The film also followed Amaro’s forbidden relationship with the daughter of the local restaurant owner, Amelia. Because of their hidden sexual relationship, Amelia eventually became pregnant. Thinking about his own reputation, Padre Amaro tried his best to abort their baby. During the process, Amelia had hemorrhage, which killed her and her child.

The film is character driven, for it followed the story of the main character. The story is quite good, because it has a clear beginning and an ending. The only criticism I have about the film is that it is somehow predictable.

The theme of the film is a mix of politics and the celibacy of the church. The director’s style is straightforward, which made the movie direct and heartfelt. There weren’t really a lot of vulgar sex scenes compared to films like Sex and Lucia and Swimming Pool, but the sex scenes shown had a great impact to the audience mainly because a priest was involved.

Some symbolisms were also used in the film. The screen between the priest and Amelia describes how they forcibly meet each other even though it is not allowed.

Overall, this movie is a must-watch, especially by the Catholics because it is a mind-opener that priests are also human beings and that humans commit sins.

Film Review: Cinema Paradiso

Memoirs of a Film-maker

Cinema Paradiso is an Italian drama film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. It was first released in 1988. The second version, which is the director’s cut, was released in 2002. The movie followed the life of a fictional Italian film director and how his past affected his present life.

The film was set during the 1980s in Rome, Italy. It started when Salvatore Di Vita, a famous film director, returns home on nignt, where her girldfriend tells him that someone named Alfredo has died. The movie then flashes back to Salvatore’s childhood in his homevillage of Giancaldo, Sicily. The rest of the film then took place shortly after World War II in the late 1940s.

Salvatore, known then with his nickname Toto, discovers his love for movies and spends his every free time at Cinema Paradiso, which is a local movie house. He then develops a friendship with the cinema’s projectionist, Alfredo. He often lets Toto watch movies in the projection booth. At first, Alfredo sees Toto as a pest but later on, teaches the kid how to operate the film projector.

The film then followed their friendship and how Alfredo taught Toto how to operate the film projector. Thre came also a time when Alfredo was replaced by the young Toto as the town’s projectionist because of a tragic incident that made him permanently blind. The film then followed how Toto grew up as a young adult, how he fell in love with a girl named Elena, their sad love story, and how Salvatore beecame a successful director.

The entirety of the story is laudable. The flashbacks and the constant use of montage made the film easy to understand. I think that the film’s theme is love. Not love for a human being, but for cinema. From the title itself, the movie tries to emphasize Salvatore’s love of movies and how it becomes a paradise to him. There was also some sex included in the film. But unlike movies like Sex and Lucia, Swimming Pool, and the Dreamers, the sex scenes are not that many. I think there were only three.

There were also some symbolisms found in the film. First are the rusty anchors by the seashore. It somehow symbolizes Toto’s life in his hometown. Similar to the nature of anchors that prevents ships from moving forward, it symbolize him being prevented from reaching his potentials in being a film-maker. Another symbolism was the demolition of the Cinema Paradiso. It signified the end of a chapter in the lives of the people related to the cinema, including Salvatore’s.

Overall, I think it is a great movie to watch. It is interesting, quirky, and inspiring. It somehow inspired me to love my craft and reach for my dreams. Although the movie is very long, I still had fun watching it.

Film Review: The Dreamers

How sexy it is to be young

The movie The Dreamers is a European film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. It is based on his own novel The Holy Innocents. The movie follows the story of an American University student in Paris who is a film enthusiast and how he met a peculiar twin who later on, became entangled in a carnal conflict.

Matthew, a young American exchange student, came to Paris to study French. He is a big fan of the French films, constantly mentioning his adoration of the Cinematheque Francaise. In an event, he met Isabelle and Theo, French twins who are also huge movie lovers. They eventually became close friends. As their friendship progresses, Matthew discovered the sibling's incestuous acts and later on gets involved to these. Over time, he become in love to the siblings, sharing carnal intercourse and secluding themselves from reality. At the end of the movie, their seclusion from reality also ended.

The film is set in 1968 Paris France, where student riots are blatant.

One of the symbolism I observed used in the film was the televisions displayed in a tv shop. During the scene where Matthew and Isabelle are kissing in front of the shop's window, we see that they were just ignoring what is shown in the televisions: another riot in progress, which was present during their time. The televisions playing this scene symbolizes the realities that the three of them are distancing from.

For me, the film's emphasis on the character's innocence made the film unique and commendable. The innocence is evident on the games they play (guessing the name of the movie they are acting), and their conversations and actions reflecting the films they love to watch. The editing is also great. The plot is somehow flawlessly put together.

The performances of the actors were also commendable. They all portrayed their characters well, especially Eva Green, the actress who played Isabelle.

Overall, the film is great, though obviously it is not for everyone because of its sexual content.

Film Review: Billy Elliot

Never judge a book by its cover

Billy Elliot is a British drama film directed by Stephen Daldry. The movie is set in a fictional town Everington during the 1984-1985 UK miner's strike. It follows the life of an 11 year old boy who instead of participating in boxing classes, became fascinated in ballet.

Billy Elliot, the protagonist of the film, lives with his widowed father, Jackie, his older brother Tony, and his grandmother. Both Billy's father and brother are coal miners out on strike. Jackie takes Billy to learn boxing, but Billy disliked the sport. He then saw a ballet class and became fascinated to it. He secretly took the lessons with the help of Georgia, his dance teacher. The film then goes through Billy's journey in learning ballet. He was supposed to audition for a ballet scholarship when Tony, who is a miner on strike, got arrested. He was about to quit his dreams when his father knew how talented Billy is. The moment Jackie saw Billy dancing in the gym during Christmas, he did everything to realize his son's dream. Billy then auditioned to the ballet school and later on, he was accepted. The film ended in a recital with an old Billy as the lead.

The film's plot is well-connected. The composition of the story is somehow chronological, where everything happens in the right order.

The movie's main conflict is that Billy gets torn with his father's expectations from him and his love of ballet.

The use of music also goes well with the scenes. When the scene is sad, the music is also sad. But when the scene is happy, like when Billy is dancing, the music is up beat and therefore, making the mood alive.

I think the main theme of the film is about dreams can come true, you just have to do everything to make I work. Another theme I think is also in the film is that there is a special talent hidden inside of us. We just have to wait for the right time for it to manifest.

Overall, I really liked the film. It is the best I've seen so far. I sincerely recommend this to everyone. It is not violent, there's not too much flesh exposure, and the best of all, Billy Elliot is inspiring.