tsotsi

The movie Tsotsi was an AWESOME movie. The movie was by far the best movie we've seen in this class, and it even ranks as one of my favorite movies ever! I really can't tell you how much I liked this movie. Before watching the movie I had certain expectations about the movie being that it was African, and I'm African, but in the end the movie surpassed any expectation I had about the movie. Through the movie I was able to see different aspects of South African culture, such as the living arrangments of the majority of blacks. The blacks for the most part still lived in slums and small metal and cardboard shacks. However we were able to see the somewhat rich blacks who lived in the suburbs and had cars, but overall the former apartheid regime still had some remenants remaining in the South African regime. The movie also shows the crime and corruption found in South Africa and in a lot of African countries. Tsotsi (little thug) was a gangster who had a crew that would go around terrorizing different people in order to get money. Tsotsi also stole the car of the rich black people in the suburbs and he shoots the woman, all essentially for no reason, being that he doesn't even know how to drive. The aspect of not being educated is also found in the movie, being that Tsotsi and his friends were not formally educated.
The movie really is about the story of Tsotsi, a young man whose mother had a sickness, and he ran away due to his father being abusive. He then becomes independent and turns to the live of a gangster. He stills a car from a well off black family and crashes the car. In the car is a little baby, and he takes the baby and takes care of it. And in the end he returns the baby to the rightful owner after the lady in his neighborhood advise him to return the baby. After returning the baby he is then arrested and consequently goes to jail.
Similarities between my life and the movie is found in the fact that both the main character and myself are Africans, but differences include the fact that he is a ganster living by himself in Africa, while I live in the US and I'm not a ganster. Overall I loved the movie.

cinema paradiso

The movie Cinema Paradiso is an Italian film made in the year 1988 by Guiseppe Tornatore. Through the movie I was able to understand a little more about Italian culture. The movie wasn't very great, but still I learned a few things that I didn't know before about Italians. I am not sure whether this is true or not, but the movie showed that Italians are movie lovers, and that neighborhoods would often have movie theaters near by, even in the 1980's. Through the movie we also see that family is a keep aspect of the Italian culture. The Italians are a close knit people who are value friendship very much. Alfredo was essentally Salvatore's advisor and mentor, and throughout the movie their relationship gets stronger and stronger even when a fire occurs and causes Alfredo to go blind. Also we see the aspect of heroism in the fact that when everyone was leaving the scene where the fire was taking place, Salvatore steps up as a young kid and goes up to save his friend. Love is also always present in the Italian culture. We see when the Italians would meet and greet they would often kiss each other on the cheek, and Alfredo himself even wants to see his young friend succeed even if it meant that it'll be breaking his heart.
The movie essentially tells the story of Salvatore looking back on his life in a small village in Sicily and his life growing up and admiring film making/showing, along with the impact of his good friend Alfredo. Salvatore's father had died in World War two,and he never had a father figure except for Alfredo who teaches him about film showing. Alfredo advises Salvatore all throughout his life. Then Salvatore meets a young girl named Elena, but has to go off to war, and their relationship is strained because her father disapproves. After coming home from war, Alfredo tells Salvatore to leave the small village and pursue his dreams elsewhere, and to never look back or write back to his love ones in the village. Salvatore obeys, and never returns until now hearing about Alfredo's death.
Overall I wasn't a big fan of the movie, but it was definately better than the previous Italian movie we saw. Similarities between my life and the movie include the fact that I also like watching movies, and find it amusing relaxing and viewing movie with friends and family. Differences include the fact that I am Nigerian and not Italian, thus I cannot speak Italian. However cultural similarities are that love exist between me and family and those I consider friends. I also have a mentor just like Salvatore had a mentor in Alfredo.

The triplets of Belleville

The triplets of Belleville is a Belgium-France-Quebec coproduced movie, that is animated that tells the story of Madame Souza, an elderly woman who goes on a mission to rescue her grandson Champon, a French cyclist, who was taken by a French mafia for gambling purposes, and was then taken to the city of Belleville. The movie wasn't one of my favorites. There wasn't much dialogue that took place in the movie at all, which made the movie very boring and uninteresting.
However similarities can still be found between my life and the movie. First of all I like sports and exercising, thus I, just like Madame Souza's grandson both are very active. I am also not very talkative, just like Madame Souza, and I like to sing just like the triplets of Belleville. I also speak French, like the characters in the movie, the triplets of Belleville.
Differences include the fact that I am a guy, and not an old woman. I Also I do not live in France or around Belleville.
Overall the movie increased my knowledge of French culture, and made me ever more interested in the French culture.

The Host

The Host was a movie made in Korea, about a sea monster from the Han river. The movie was a comedy but also a horror movie, which was pretty cool. The family portrayed in the movie find themselves in a difficult situation, when Hyun-Seo is taken by the sea monster, and then the family goes on the journey of trying to find her and get her back to safety. In the beginning of the movie, we see an American scientist telling is Korean assistant to pour 200 bottles of Formaldehyde down a drain which essentially goes into the Han river. The assistant was reluctant to do the deed, but still does it. A few years later different people encounter the sea creature but nothing happens, but then nothing happens. We meet Gang-du, and his father, who own a nearby snack shop by the Han river. Gang-du is Hyun-Seo father, and she also lives with the two. Then one day the monster rises up out of the water and comes after the people. Then through the chaos, Gang0du tries to get his daughter, but falls, and after falling he loses her and picks up another girl, He realizes that he picked up a girl that wasn't his daughter, but he realizes too late and then the monster takes HYun-Seo. The family searches all over to try and find her but to no avail. Hyun-Seo actually was still alive, and would use the dead people's cell phones who were there with her in the monster's den. So she was able to contact her family, and the use that to locate her. They then search, and find her location, and in the end they don't save her, but save the other kid who was about to be eaten by the monster. They then join together and kill the monster.
Overall I'll say that I liked the movie, but it could have been better. Similarities between my life and the movie isn't many. However I would say that I like snacks and food, just like the characters in the movie. Differences include the language barrier, and the fact that I would never go chasing any monster no matter the circumstances.

Napoleon Dynamite

The movie Napoleon Dynamite is a movie about a high school student living in Idaho with his grandmother and thirty two year old, older brother Kip. The movie was a hit sensation when it came out, but I was really never a huge fan of it. The movie is pretty much based on Napolean's life, and his experiences in highschool, being bullied, his friends, etc. Napolean's grandmother breaks her coccyx in a bike accident and because she feels as if Napolean and his older brother can't watch themselves, she calls their uncle rico, who is a man stuck in the year 1982. He thinks he's really cool, and even tries flirting with the highschool students. Kip chats alot on the internet, and near the end one the movie we meet his girlfriend who he met online, Lafawnda, who is black. Uncle Rico tries and sells herbal breast increasing pills to many of Napoleon's school mates. Pedro, Napoleon's best friend, then decides to run for class president, starting the whole, vote for Pedro debacle. Anyways he runs against Summer, a very popular caucasian girl in the school. However the movie turns out to finish well for everyone involved. Pedro wins the presidency, Kip and his girlfriend leave together, and grandma fully recovers.
Overall I didn't really like the movie, however there were some similarities between the movie and my life. The fact being that I am also still in highschool, just like Napoleon, and that I also have older brothers. However I do not really fit the bill of someone like Napoleon.

Fargo

The Movie Fargo was a movie made in 1996 made and produced by the Coen brothers of Minnesota. The movie mains character is Frances McDormand who is the pregnant police officers who investigates a series of murders. The car salesmans Jerry is in serious financial troubl and thus travels to Fargo North Dakota and hires two kidnappers to come and kidnap his wife. The kidnappers who then receive a new car and half of the ransom he would recieve for the kidnapping of his wife, which was 80k dollars.

The movie has a lot of connections to my life. Being that it takes place in Minnesota, and especially in cities that I know of, such as Minneapolis, St. Paul, etc. However the accents that the people had was comical, being that not all Minnesotans speak in that manner. Also I have never taken part in a murder attempt, neither have I witness or investigated one. Overall I found the movie hilarious, and would recommend it to any one else, especially Minnesotans, so they can see how their are portrayed in the media. Its also funny because the Coen brothers are from Minnesota, but they still made a movie making fun of Minnesotans.

The son's room

The movie the son's room is a movie about an Italian family and the way they cope with the loss of their dear son. It is a 2001 film directed by Nanni Moretti, and it depicts the psychological effects on a family and their life after the death of their son Andrea. Giovanni the father was a therapist who would listen to other people's concerns and problems, and would then try to help them with suggestions. The movie however was a very boring and uninteresting movie which had a plot that really dumb. Personally I did not like the movie, and found it too be one of the worst movies I've ever had to watch. The movie had Giovanni counseling people with all sorts of problems. One guy had the problem of trying to figure out his sexual orientation, another guy had the problem of being diagnosed with cancer, but the cancer was going to be easily cured, but it still worried him. Overall comparing my life along with the movie I see that I have absolutely nothing in common with the people. Except for the fact that I am about the same age as Andrea, and I play sports and like running, just like Andrea and his father Giovanni. Through this movie I found out that Italians really have a close knit family. They are always there to support each other and have each others back.