Kate Bennett wrote: > Yes, the way I saw it is 1) it was a coming of age movie 2) at the same time > it was about Luisa's choice & you know something more is going on with her > than just her marriage problems 3) the contrast between the poverty & > political vs the beauty of the beach & lifestyle of the fisherman & family
I totally did not pick up on something more with Luisa the first time around, other than her getting that test score on not being "a fully realized woman" in the magazine at the doctor's office. I thought she was just rejecting the bourgeouis life style. I didn't catch on there might be more with her until the scene at the jukebox when she danced back to the boys. The second time seeing the movie, I saw a whole lot more, including that she what I have been terming "what Tenoch and Julio ultimately wanted" a while before she did something about it. There were a number of references to that which I didn't catch the first time, especially in the scene of Luisa's manifesto. And the character of Luisa had, for me, a lot more depth when I saw it the second time, if only because knowing "the story" I could concentrate on what was happening on screen. The actress who played Luisa was magnificant. > I'm not sure if the boys ever discovered what they really wanted...it wasn't > clear to me (but I don't want to give the plot away here)...if I am > understanding what you mean... An see, this is one reason i am so keen on other people's opinions, because this is so questionable - again,. am I seeing that because of the prism of my life or not? When they wake up in the fishing village, it was clear to me that the night before was about much more than what we saw in the movie, and after that all joy, and the exuberence that drove the movie,was gone. That may (and this is a big "may") have something to do with the political level of the movie - when Mexico finally woke up and realized that they tossed the PRI out of power, which they did in the election that was mentioned in the closing scene, they woke up to the rightest Vincente Fox rather than the leftist government that they thought they would have. And as Fox is more on the side of the corporations which turned the nature preserve into a resort for the rich than the PRI was, there has to be a connection between Tenoch's and Julio's loss of joy and the political situation - I think. I am still working this out in my head, > Absolutely, & perhaps this is why it was so appealing, especially to men, > because it was so realistic about the way boys are > Again, why I think this movie is especially appealling to men. You think so? I think that the very accurate portrayal of young adult men would make a lot of men anxious since men generally don't handle scenes like the diving boards or the night in the fishing village all that well. > I said: > >>Also, the 2nd time I saw it, some woman was all disgusted, calling it a > porn > film, and I thought it was so far from porn as could be - but it was, shall > we > say, very visual. But that was essential to the reality the movie was > after.<< > Kate replied: > > She missed the whole point, too bad... exactly! I noticed in the paper today that the movie thatre is carrying it over for at least a 3rd week, which is almost (or totally) unprecedented for a so-called art film or foreign film to play out here for this long. The crowds were bigger the second time around that I saw it. I will probably see it a third time at the theatre, just to give a little box office support to them for carrying it over again. And I am wondering if this film has legs - is it getting great word of mouth from others besides me? Are the audiences growing? Vince
