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.

Run lola run

The movie run lola run, was a movie that I found very interesting. The movie essentially tells the story of a girl named Lola, and one very important day in her life, where her boyfriend Manni, who needs her help to get 100,000 marks in 20 minutes for a diamond peddler, who is his boss. Lola had forgot to pick him up after he had fulfilled the job, he decides to take the subway, but then when he sees the subway police, he leaves the train and forgets the money, which is then picked up by a homeless man. The movie is very interesting because it tells the story in 3 different versions, with each successive version getting better in a positive manner. The first run has Lola and Manni robbing a grocery store to get the cash, and then Lola being shot when they are caught by the police. The second run/story has Lola going to her father's bank and robbing the bank and taking the necessary amount needed, but then it ends with Manni getting ran over by an ambulance. The third and last run/story has Lola going to a nearby casino and winning 127,000 marks. The run also has the accident that causes her father's death, a father who didn't even care for his kids, and was having an affair with another woman. However it ends with Manni catching the homeless man and getting his money back, so that he can pay his boss, which he does, which leaves Manni and Lola with 127,000 marks to spend all to themselves. The movie shows how connected our world is, because the stores seen in the movie look just like the stores I can find next door. The bank is just like any other bank, and they even have a subway system. The western world is very much alike wherever you go, so there was alot of similarities between her life and mine, except for the fact that I don't have to worry about paying a diamond peddler.

Noi the Albino

The movie Noi the Albino, was a movie about an albino teenager, and his struggles in daily life. The movie takes place in present day Iceland. There is no serious plot to the movie, but its just about Noi's life, and what he faces daily. Noi isn't a very good student, and many times he finds himself in difficult situations, so at last he was expelled from school. Noi lives with his grandmother, but many times he is seen at his father's home. We never get to meet his mother, or know who she is. Noi has a girlfriend he's always hanging with, but when he tries to leave Iceland, she refuses to join him, and he is then sent to jail, but is then bailed out by his father. Cultural differences includes the relationship Noi has with his father. The relationship is more like a brotherly relationship, rather than a father to son relationship, being that they wrestle and play together. In the end of the movie a huge avanlanche occurs, and Noi's grandmother, father, and girlfriend die, leaving him all alone. The movie was funny, but I wasn't happy at the ending, or lack of a real plot throughtout the movie, however I did enjoy it. Lesson learn is that we never know what tomorrow brings, so we must always live the day as if its our last.

Persepolis Movie

The Persepolis movie is a movie 2007 French animated movie that speaks of a young Iranian girl, and her coming of age against the backdrop of the Iranian revolution. The young girl is named Marjane, and throughout her young life she faces many difficulties. Because of the Iranian revolution, she leaves her native country of Tehran at the age of nine. As a young girl, she had dreams of being like her idol, Bruce Lee, and she wished for a better society, and times in her native country, thus she and her middle class family supported the U.S. backed shan of Iran. Later on in the movie, the Iran war breaks out, and Marji sees her father threatened by the government, and the government bans many simple pleasures. As she grows up, her parents send her to Vienna Austria, as a way for her to stay out of trouble and to seek safety from the government being that she is outspoken against them. She goes to a christian public school, but however she faces lots of discrimination from the teachers, nuns, and students, and in essence feels isolated, and lonely. She is made fun of because she is Iranian, and doesn't make any friends. But she does fall in love with a ugly guy, who then cheats on her on her eighteenth birthday. She becomes homeless, and almost dies of bronchitus, and is then fully determined to return back to her homeland. Here she then begins enoying life once again, but finds out that the Iranian society is even worse than when she left. At the end of the movie however, Marji leaves the country for good, and her grandmother later dies. Similarities between the movie persepolis and my own life is that we have both faced the difficulty of standing up for what we saw was wrong and unjust. Also we both are immigrants in a different country, thus we have both faced discrimination and injustice from those around us. Differences however are that we both live in different eras, and she is Iranian, and I'm Nigerian. I saw from the movie, details of the Iranian war that I didn't know before, and I even saw aspects of Iranian culture that I didn't know before, along with the communists ideals of the Iranian past.

Maria Full of Grace

Maria full of Grace was one of my favorite movies that we've watched this quarter. The movie itself speaks of a prevalent issue in today's society; the issue of drug trafficking, especially in the South American country of Colombia, a country known all around the world for this primary issue. The movie depicts the rural life of a seventeen year old girl named Maria Alvarez, who works at a flower shop, where she is poorly paid, and is treated like thrash by the owner. Maria is at a crossroad in her life, being that she is also having issues with her boyfriend, who doesn't seem to care to much for her. Along with the problem at her workplace, she finds life as being a struggle. She works because she is the only financial source for her very impoverished family, and she has to provide for not only herself and family, but also for her unemployed sister's baby. She also finds out that she is pregnant by her boyfriend, a guy who she really doesn't love. So with all of these problems, she decides to quit her job, and go searching for a new one, and with the help of a friend she meets at a party (Franklin), she becomes a "mule", smuggling cocaine. After recieving this job, and being told of the risks, along with the rewards, she is sent to New York, along with her bestfriend who also becomes a mule (Blanca), and another woman named Lucy. She swallows 63 pellets. After arriving at the airport, she is detained and was almost caught, but because she was pregnant they couldn't risk hurting the baby with x-rays. She is sent on her way, but one issue occurs when Lucy's pellets bust in her body, and she dies, sending Lucy and Blanca on their way to escape. In the end however Lucy and Blanca recieve the money, but lose a friend, and then have to tell Lucy's family of the loss.

Similarities between the movie and my life is found in the ages of the main character and myself. We are both in our late teens, and seem to have to much time on our hands, but still find that we also have to many problems to deal with. The kindness of her heart is also a similarity. However, differences include our living circumstances, and in what country we live in.

Shall we dance

Shall We Dance is a 1996 movie made in Japan, about a middle aged man who lives a boring life filled with insignificance, finally meeting something that interests him, which is ballroom dancing. On his way home from work, the main character Shohei Sugiyama spots a beautiful woman, Tamako Tamura who he is instantly attracted to. He then decides a couple days later to go and enter the building where the dancing lessons were taking place. This action he had to do in secret because being noticed by others entering into a dance hall was seen as something embarassing for a man. Anyways he keeps going and taking dance lessons, and he recovers from his depression and finds a life of fulfillment. He was also attracted to his younger dancing instructor, who he later becomes dance partners with. Through dancing we see that the main character Shohei becomes a happier person, with less stress in his life, and more enjoyment. Culturally we see that the Japanese are less emotional the Americans, and tend to feel more embarrassed when it comes to close body dancing. Another difference is the language barrier, but besides that there really isn't much of a difference.
The movie was kinda slow, but i really liked the character of Mr. Aoiki who was pretty funny

Please Vote For Me

The movie Please Vote For Me is a documentary by Chinese director Weijun Chen in the year 2007. The film documents the experiment of democracy in a Chinese classroom. Being that China is a communist country, the kids involved along with their parents, haven't actually had the experience of being democratic, so they each go about gaining support in their own different manners. The film follows the election of a classroom monitor in the third grade class at Evergreen Primary school in China. The movie itself is thought provoking, and very funny. Being able to see the reactions of the kids during the electoral process, and following the electoral process was pretty funny. There were three candidates, two boys and one female. The candidates were Cheng Cheng, a boy who wanted to be classroom monitor for the sake of just having the experience, Xu Xaiofei, the lone female of the group, who fought hard and seemed to me like the best cadidate of the three, and lastly Luo Lei, the former classroom monitor known many times for beating other students and having strict rules. In the end Luo wins the election, not really because he had a nice agenda, but mostly because he bribed the students at the end of the elections. Overall we see the benefits of democracy through the film, being that everyone's voice was heard, but we also we the failures of democracy, being that people could still be influenced by bribes. Cultural differences between this movie and my life are immense. I We don't have elections for classroom monitors, and I don't speak Chinese. However we do have elections for class counsil, and other different school organizations.

The Betrayal

The documentary The Betrayal is a documentary about the life of a boy named Thavisouk Phrasavath and his family struggle. The movie takes place over a span of twenty years, and we see the drastic changes the family goes through, and the heartache moving from Laos to New York takes has on the family. The film documents their trip from Laos to New York. Thavi's father fought along side U.S. forces when the U.S. had bases in Laos when they were fighting in eastern Europe. However when the U.S. forces left Laos, Thavi's dad and his whole family were seen as threats and traitors, and thus they had to find a way to leave their homeland, and in so doing came to the U.S. because they felt they'll be well received. But when they came to the U.S. they had to leave two of their children still in Laos, and when coming to the U.S Thavi started getting into trouble and became affiliate with Asian gangs. Then their father calls them and visits them for a week, and then reveals that he can't stay because he had married another woman, and had other children. This revelation then tears Thavi apart. In the end, I see alot of different cultural differences between me and Thavi, being that he is Hmong, he does many things connected to the Hmong culture that I don't know of. However we both grew up in a urban setting, and were both immigrants to the United States, with traditional families.

Gran Turino

The movie Gran Turino was a fantastic movie. The movie was about a former war veteran who gets to know more about his neighbors and their culture. Clint Eastwood plays the role of Walt, the next door neighbor to a hmong family. Walt as a strained relationship with his family and two sons, and is alone after the death of his wife. He then becomes friends, with his neighbors, after Thoa, his neighbor tries and steals his Gran Turino. After the unsuccessful attempt by Thao, along with Walt helping save Thoa's sister from the hands of a couple punks, the Asian family and Walt become friends, even through their cultural differences, and all that comes with that. Walt helps Thoa get a job, and gives him his tools, along with his Gran Turino. So because Thoa didn't finish his initiation which was to steal the Gran Turino, the Hmong gang then decided to rape his sister, and to all around mess with him. This then causes havoc throughout the whole neighborhood, because they shoot up Thao's house, and as a result Walt goes to the gangsters house and gets shot while pulling out a lighter.

Overall we see the cultural aspects of the Hmong. They believe the soul resides on the head, and they eat different things from someone like me, who is African. The Hmong also have a family shamen.

Like Stars on Earth

Like Stars on Earth is an inspirational movie about a dyslexic 9 year old boy, and the trouble he has in school and in general. We are shown his journey from insignificance into significance. The movie essentially tells us that everyone is special in their own kind of way, and that we should respect everyone we meant and see, even if they have disabilities or are different. Ishaan, the main character of the movie, causes alot of trouble at school, and even at home, because he can't read, and thus can't really participate in the day to day things other kids his age participate in. So because of his dyslexia and the troubles that cause him, he sent to a boarding school. His parents essentially had no choice. They tried and did everything they could do in their power to try and educate him to be as normal as other children. Ishaan's older brother was more successful in school, and it astonished them that Ishaan wasn't. They thought that Ishaan was lazy and stupid, but when a substitute art teacher came to the bording school Ishaan was in, his fortunes changed. The new teacher Ram, had experienced in helping and taking care of kids who had disabilities, so Ishaans case wasn't new to him. Ram then helped Ishaan improve in school, and gained the attention of his parents by telling them about Ishaan's disabilities.
I can't say that I can really relate to the movie, but I must say that just like Ishaan, I've faced difficulties in school, and with the help of different teachers, i was able to success. Overall I must say that I have been fortunate in terms of my education, and I'm not as artistic as Ishaan. I really like the movie, and I thought it was very inspirational.

Chak De India

The movie Chak De India was a magnificent movie. I loved it! The word Chak De India itself means Go! And when they say Chak De India, they mean Go India. The movie was like many sports movies, with a coach coming in to revive a team that is seen as weak or down trodden. The movie itself brings us into the lives of numerous Indian women hockey players, along with their problems. The girls themselves are the best field hockey players in the whole of India, and they are brought to play for Kabir Khan, the ousted and shameful captain of the former mens India hockey team. Khan was the former captain of the mens Indian hockey team and was one of the greatest players in the history of India, but because he missed the penalty, and shook hands with a Pakistan player in an act of good sportmanship, he was seen as a traitor. Khan went into hiding for seven years, but came back to redeem is image and restore his name to the Indian people. He came back with the attitude of changing the Indian players minds. He wanted to instill in them the attitude of sportmanship and team work. Stating that talent was everything but that teamwork was the most important. He had a difficult challenge, being that the women weren't very good, and they're were from all over the country. The movie shows us that India is a very diverse country. One in which people are of different skin colors and backgrounds. Cultural differences include that they played field hockey, a sort of sport that I've never before seen. The movie was very inspirational, the girls started off the world championship with a lost to Australia, and they were seen as underdogs, but the rose up and in the end defeated Australia, the former world champions. Overall I really liked the movie.

Mongolian Ping Pong

Mongolian Ping Pong the movie is a movie about a young Mongolian boy would finds a ping pong by a small water source and goes on a search to discover what it is, and why he has it. The boy and his family lives on a large grassland far away from the city. He finds the ball and later finds out that the ball is the national ball of China. The movie itself gives and shows us background about the Mongolian people. We see the family structure of the Mongolians, with three generations alive and healthy living in the same hut. There living situation is humbling compared to where I live. However we see that the family enjoys life and our happy with what they have. We also see western influences upon the lives of the family members with the father acquiring a television and coffee to drink in the mornings. The family also builds a new more western abode at the end of the movie, to the displeasure of the grandmother, who was used to the former living situation of her family and culture. Overall I wasn't a fan of the movie, because it really didn't appeal to me, also it was very slow and lacked a true plot. It was just a story of a boy finding a ball and essentially doing nothing with it but calling it a shining pearl to the amazement of his friends. However through it all I guess I did get to see how some Mongolians live, or at least how they are portrait. The people in the movie rarely showed any emotions, I don't understand why, maybe its the Mongolian culture or maybe its just how the actors act.
I guess I'm not a fan of Mongolian films, but like with anything in life, its great to get different perspective and see different cultures.

Flirting

The movie FLIRTING was a movie that I really found amusing. The movie was surprisingly good. The relationship between Thadie Newton and the other main character was pretty cool. The two were instantly attracted to each other and weren't embarrassed although it was a biracial relationship. Nicole Kidman played her role very well, as the popular girl in the school full of rich kids. The daring relationship between Thandie Newton and Noah Taylor flourished even among the restriction of having both boys and girls being separated. I also found that the side story of Thandie Newton's father interesing because the producers were able to incorporate factual events (Idi Amin's regime and reign in Uganda) into a fictual story. The story itself is different from my life because the kids in the movie went to a boarding school and were rich. However there were also some similarities. Such similarities include being in a highschool and being teenagers.

The movie The Story of the Weeping Camel is an intersting film that occurs in modern day Mongolia. The story documents a young camel and its mother and the Mongolian culture and way of life. The movie focuses on a white bactrian camel that was born and then consequently rejected by its mother. A nomadic family in the Gobi desert then tries and save the camels life. With the mother of the rare camel refusing to feed it milk after her remarkably difficult labor, the nomadic family tries and gets the help of lamas to perform a ritual with bread. However the ritual performed by the lamas does not fulfill its purpose, which was to rekindle peace between the rejected camel and its mother. The natives then send two young boys to go and locate a indeginous violinist to come and reconcile the relationship between the mother and her baby, which the violinist was successful at doing. The movie showed me that no matter how different the culture I or anyone else lives in, love is always an international language. Although we may bicker and fight, love can still exist through reconciliation. The people in the movie were indeginous Mongolians, however that didn't stop them from showing their emotions, so we should never stop ourselves from showing emotions either, especially when they are good emotions such as love

Rabbit Proof Fence

The Rabbit Proof Fence movie is a movie made in Australia in 2002, based on the novel Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Garimara. It is a movie based on the true story of aboriginal girls who ran away from their native settlement. The film essentially follows the two girls 9 week journey as walk 1500 miles along the Australian Rabbit Proof Fence to their native settlement at a town called Jigalong. The girls escape from servitude is an inspirational story we could all learn from. Australia itself is a country found in the southern hemisphere right by the country of New Zealand. It is a prosperous country with many different cultures, and many different animals that only exist in that area.
Response: After waatching the movie, rabbit proof fence, I must say that the movie actually was much better than I thought. The story was very intringing. I was touched that the two sisters along with their cousin were able to escape the westernize settlement to be able to go back to their native settlement. Although their cousin was caught, the three girls showed tremendous courage and strength, along with determination because they wanted to go back home.