FISH

Fish was directed by Shaun Escayg, who is a talented Trinidadian animator and filmmaker. Escayg animated the popular character Bumblebee, earning the respect and admiration of famed director Steven Spielberg during production of Transformers 3. Mr.Escayg has had an extensive career in commercials, documentaries and music videos. Fish was a semi-finalist in the 2012 Youtube Film Festival.

This 15 minute film was shot in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, where we see two homeless cousins, Fish and Sticky, desperately trying to survive by living on the streets and looking for shoppers in the market that they could easily steal from. This is a regular routine for these two men, finding easy prey and then cleverly escaping the local police. But in recent times, things have gotten harder, leaving the cousins even more desperate than before. One day their petty crime takes a dangerous turn, placing them in a deadly situation.

The film explores the criminal underworld in Trinidad and Tobago, where the director clearly captures the reality of the drug trade in the country and what can happen when people find themselves mixed up in that dreadful world. In this case, the poor, misguided cousins, driven by hunger and desperation, who gets themselves into a deadly situation when one of the men unwisely pockets money that he sees just laying around, money that belongs to a ruthless drug dealer.

The film is in English, but the characters mostly speak in broken Trinidadian dialect which definitely adds authenticity to the film. The film also contains a significant amount of profanity, making it an 18+ film. The extensive use of profanity heightens the criminal element of the film, enhancing the overall effect that the film has on the audience.

This film brings to mind another local film that was made in the Caribbean called The Harder They Come. The Harder They Come is the first film made by Jamaicans for Jamaicans. Jamaica is known for its beautiful beaches and tropical forests, however, The Harder They Come captures the true grim state of the country, something that the previous films made in the country choose to ignore.

Fish exposes the harsh realities of life for many living in the Caribbean, shocking a lot of people by the film's presentation of Trinidad. A presentation that was completely honest about the frightful and disturbing side of Trinidad, a side that people aren't accustomed to seeing. When people think of Trinidad, the things that comes to mind are simple...carnival, brilliant sun, clear blue skies, sandy beaches and blue waters, but this not all that makes up Trinidad, this twin nation is so much more. This film brings to the forefront, the reality of Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean. This reality has been unfortunately swept under the rug for far too long, it has been hidden by the commercial caribbean 's image of the "happiest people on earth" the people that "drink and party all day and night, with not a care in the world."  But this film is anything but happy, you instead see the true battle that people are forced into on a daily basis. The struggle of wanting a better life, the pure agony, pain, unhappiness and hardships that are faced by ordinary people on a daily basis and the consequences of decisions that people make, the things that people do just trying to survive the day.

In the film, we can't help but feel sympathy towards the main characters, Fish and Sticky. I'm sure many who saw this film can understand their plight, these two cousins don't steal because they want to, but because they have no other way. The shot where the men look across the water and at the city, you can tell that they, like everybody else wants a better life for themselves, one where what they have to eat won't just be a single shared pommecythere. Also, the title character, Fish, keeps trying his luck with lottery tickets, hoping that one day he would win his way out of the immense poverty that he's drowning in. Alot of people within Trinidad and Tobago live their lives this way, if you take a drive by any lottery booth, on any day, there are long lines, with people religiously buying lottery tickets, hoping that their luck would one day change.

Over the years Trinidad and Tobago has transformed, for better in some ways and for worst in others. When it comes to crime, the country has only gotten worse, due to poverty, a lot of people tend to fall through the cracks and find themselves involved in criminal activities. There has been an increase in crime in Trinidad & Tobago over the years, with mostly violent crimes taking place, while a lot of this is not talked about, it does not make the problem go away, it's still here, damaging the country and its citizens. Port-of-Spain is known for it's scenery and fusion of cultures, but over recent time, the city has struggled under the influence of violent crime, drug cartels have used the city as a transit point for their illegal misdoings.

This film gives Trinbagonians a voice, one that has been stolen from us too many times in the past, a voice to say that this twin island, much like the rest of the Caribbean, is not solely about drinking and dancing and partying on the beaches, there are so many important issues that need to be seen and heard. This film says to the audience that Trinidad and Tobago is so much more than just "a good time", we are people who have stories to tell, stories of real people and real situations.

In a Los Angeles Times Article, dated July 13th, 2012, filmmaker, Stefan Escayg said that he was criticized by tourism and government officials in Trinidad because of his movie. "They say I’m showing the country in not so good of a light,” he said. “And my answer is that I’m speaking for the people who probably don’t have the opportunity to speak for themselves.Crime and poverty is something we don’t like to talk about in the Caribbean; it’s swept under the rug with talk of parties and beaches. But I wanted to show what for many people is the real world.”

Mr. Escayg said that his inspirations for this film came from some great storytellers such as Paul Keens Douglas, Shadow, Peter Minshall and Jamaica's, Bob Marley. Also from his grandmother, Marjorie Hackett.

This film was very successful and goes to show that we should continue using talented local actors for our own films and most importantly, keep staying true to the story.

Trailer for Fish

Full Film : Fish

Trailer for The Harder They Come

DOUBLES WITH SLIGHT PEPPER

This Narrative Short was directed by Ian Harnarine and centers on Dhani, a young man struggling to support himself and his mother, Sumintra, by selling doubles near the busy market. Doubles is the street food of Trinbagonians, it's part of our culture and can be found nearly everywhere in the country, as it is a favorite of many. In the film, we see that selling doubles is the family business, passed down from generation to generation. But times have gotten harder and business is not the way it used to be, making things worse for the already struggling Dhani. One day, after years abroad in Canada, Dhani's estranged father, Ragbir, unexpectedly returns and tries to win back the family he left behind.  With the return of Ragbir, Sumintra sees an opportunity to get what they rightly deserve, the house. Dhani, knowing his father, thinks that he will never sign the house over to them, but shockingly, his father easily complies and gives them the house. We soon learn that Ragbir is fatally ill and is in dire need of a blood transfusion, with Dhani being the best candidate. When Dhani finds this out, it upsets him, making him feel like his father was just saying that he'll sign over the house to them because he needs Dhani's blood. This adds more damage to the already strained and crumbling relationship between father and son. The film takes place during the christmas season and on christmas eve night, Dhani and his family eat, drink and dance to parang music (Trini Christmas Music) like any other Trinbagonian family, only Ragbir gets ill and has to receive urgent medical attention. Dhani is then placed in a situation where he must decide if he will save his father's life despite the strong resentment that he can't seem to let go of.

This film was shot in various locations around Trinidad, such as San Fernando, Gasparillo and Sangre Grande. As said in my previous post, when people think of films showing the Caribbean, they instantly think of sandy beaches, clear blue skies, tall coconut trees, a bright, brilliant sun and blue waters,but this film shows nothing of the sort. Instead we are given a realistic view of a father and son relationship in contemporary Trinidad. The significantly different approach that this film takes is very refreshing as it uses our very own local actors, in addition to displaying the local culture and people of Trinidad and Tobago, something that we rarely see being done in cinemas. It's a film to certainly be proud of.

This film explores various themes such as the bonds within the family unit and the return of nationals to their homeland. The film focuses on the triangular relationship between Son, Mother and Father, where we are exposed to the scars that have been etched into Dhani's heart due to his father's abandonment and also the now mortally ill Ragbir. Dhani is a character that shelters a lot of responsibility, making him a very frustrated, pessimistic young man. The audience can feel Dhani's hatred towards Ragbir, but it is also obvious that while there is a lot of deep seated anger within the family, that does not mean that they don't still love one another, this love is just covered by layers upon layers of hurt and resentment. This resentment that Dhani holds within him seems to be doing more harm to himself than to anyone else.Then there is the eventual forgiveness and healing when Dhani finally reconciles with his father, but it comes at a great cost when we learn that Dhani's blood does not match, leaving Ragbir with a cloudy future.

The film also looks at the return of nationals to their homeland. This is something common in Trinidad, where a lot of times, people migrate to other countries, all in hope of saving up enough money to bring their family abroad to live, so that they can all have a better live. It is known that Canada has a large West Indian community. Many times though, the life that people expect when they go abroad, is not what really happens when they get there. As seen in the film, Ragbir envisioned life different for his family, he wanted to start a roti and doubles shop in Canada, one where all three of them would have worked and made money, but instead, when he came to Canada he found himself living in a basement apartment that he had to share with two other person, washing dishes in a cafeteria for a living. Ragbir was never able to make the money needed to bring his family to live abroad with him, he was unable to offer them the life he planned and because of this he had to leave them behind, resulting in his wife and son resenting him because they thought he has just moved on with his life, a better life and left them behind to suffer.

The film also looks at the doubles culture in Trinidad and Tobago, Doubles is a local delicacy in Trinidad and Tobago. It is a sandwich made with two bara (flat fried bread) filled with channa (curried chick peas), which is then topped with mango, shadon beni, cucumber, coconut, tamarind, and extra pepper sauce. This delicacy is the most popular fast food in Trinidad and Tobago and is something that is eaten anytime of the day or night as it can be found almost anywhere. It is seen in the film, that selling doubles is something which has been passed down from generation to generation in Dhani's family. This is a lot like what happens in Trinidad. In Trinidad, one of the most famous doubles vendors is Sauce Doubles in Curepe. Sauce's Doubles has transformed over time, with nearly his entire family now involved, making it the family business. 

Doubles with slight pepper was exceptionally done, bringing forward the culture and people of Trinidad and Tobago in ways that I have never seen before. Like the film Fish from my previous post, Doubles with slight pepper presents us with another example of why we should continue to use our very own local actors to produce films about Trinidad and the wider Caribbean, always staying true to the story, our story, the story that's worth telling. 

Trailer for Doubles with slight pepper

Full Film : Doubles with slight pepper

COWS WEARING GLASSES

'Cows wearing glasses'....yup you read correctly, that's the title..interesting choice don't you think?
The title instantly attracted my curiosity! Urging me to see what this film is all about. 

This 2014 comedy-drama was directed by Alex Santiago Pérez and is set in the region of Puerto Rico. The film is 93 minutes in length; the actors all speak in spanish but there is english subtitles. 

Marcelino, the protagonist of the film, is a bitter, eccentric old man, who teaches a Human Figure Class and is constantly seen as being insultive and brutally honest with his students; what you see is what you get with him. Marcelino refers to himself as a master painter and a line from the film which he said, that really stayed with me was, "in order to be an artist, you have to risk being honest at all times." Truthfulness is something that Marcelino strongly believes in and stands by.  

Finding out from multiple doctors that he's on the brink of losing his sight, Marcelino knows that he must get his affairs in order, mostly importantly his relationship with his daughter, Isabel. Isabel, a writer of self-help books wants absolutely nothing to do with her father and blames him for abandoning her as a child, for his drunken behaviour instilling so much fear in her as a little girl, and for beating her mother and being a horrible husband, all of which disrupted her life profoundly. 

Marcelino tries and tries to obtain forgiveness from his daughter, but to no avail. This film is a man's emotional journey to correct his many wrongs before the inevitable happens. 


I truly enjoyed the intimate story that this film shared with audiences. Overall the film seems to have been received very well here in Trinidad; I asked a couple people who saw the film to comment on whether they liked or disliked the film and nearly all the reviews were positive, applauding the director for a job well done, for a story that's so raw and realistic and last but not least for the actors who played their roles beautifully. 

Some of the comments given on the film were, 
"Oh man, this film was beautiful, sad but beautiful."

"The ending really got me! Such a tragic story."

"The actor who played the role of Marcelino did an exceptional job."

"My first Puerto Rican film and I loved it!"

"I feel the same way that the actor does about pigeons."
(For those of you who have not yet seen the film, Marcelino hated pigeons, considered them to be one of God's seven mistakes.

THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM

This 96 minutes long narrative feature was directed by Andrew Mudge and is set in Lesotho, South Africa and the USA. 

The film opens with a beautiful scenic view of mountainous terrains set against an even more captivating and enchanting sky. The scenery then changes to a busy city; loud, dirty, anything but peaceful and here is where we are introduced to the character of Joseph. Joseph is an angry young man who hangs with the wrong crowd; smoking, drinking, partying and making mischief. Joseph barely goes to visit his old, sick father and when he finally does, he discovers that his father has died while he's been away. We learn that Joseph is actually his christian name, the name that is used from here onwards in the film is Atang, his African name. On learning of the death of his father and his father's wishes of being buried in his ancestral village of Lesotho, Atang reluctantly embarks on a journey that would change his life.

When Atang arrives at his homeland, he meets his childhood friend, Dineo, who is now a lovely, radiant school teacher. Atang falls in love with Dineo, and she becomes central to Atang's journey because through her, Atang takes notice of the true beauty and splendor of Lesotho, the people living, who have all known him when he was just a little boy, to the land he put behind him so long ago and to coming to terms with himself. Atang's journey is one of redemption and transforms him from an angry boy making trouble in the city, to a man of substance. 

I must say, this story was beautifully written and the cinematography was excellently done. I enjoyed the film from beginning to end, never was there a dull moment. Not only was the story well written, the actors all gave very convincing performances, portraying their roles exceptionally well.  In the film, Atang develops a special friendship with a young orphan boy and this relationship between Atang and this child really stood out to me. I believe that the role this child played in the film significantly added to the strong impact that the film had on audiences. This child's performance was fascinating, deservable of the highest praise. The film explores the people, their culture and the folklore of Lesotho, a place that is not widely known; pretty much forgotten, but without a doubt, deserves to be recognised and appreciated! There is an undeniable mystical quality about this place; the shots of the country's vast natural beauty captivate audiences, leaving everyone spellbound. I can tell that this film was given a lot of thought, it was genuinely touching and left viewers with a lot of positive life lessons. It's definitely a great family movie and I would advise anyone to see it. 

See the trailer for the film below :

SOMETHING DIFFERENT : The Great Gatsby Film Review (Collab with Chrissie Dalkan)

Hey everyone!

So I decided to do something a bit different with this post.
It's always good to mix things up a bit now and then...
I wanted to do a collab with one of my classmates Chrissie Dalkan, who's blog is based on books. 
For those of you who don't know, I'm a literature student, so Chrissie and I decided that I'll do a BOOK review for her blog on one of my favorites, The Great Gatsby, and that she would do a review on the FILM version of The Great Gatsby for my blog.

Here's Chrissie Dalkan's review..Enjoy!
Unlike a lot of movies made from books, The Great Gatsby movie is very similar to the original story, well at least this latest remake is. I would say this 2013 remake is the best of its six shabbiest on screen recreations. There are times when dialogue is taken directly from the book.

The Great Gatsby tells the story of millionaire Jay Gatsby and his neighbor Nick Carraway. Nick relates his wild encounter with Gatsby in the 1920s. The entire movie is woven around what it takes to achieve the American dream The style of the movie is as classic as the book (although it includes the use of 3-D), however, it is a movie that can drown you or lose you along the way, mostly because of the director Luhrmann’s frenzied, elaborate technique. On the other hand, this style is probably what makes the movie vibrant and alive. 

The thing about this movie is that you’ll love it if you like Luhrmann’s style, but you’ll hate it if you hate his style. He turns the story into an epic melodrama of real and unreal. For me, the movie was bittersweet, because although the storyline remains true, the theatrics and music make no sense. In this movie, the era is quite important to the story – F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby explores the Jazz Age or the 1920s, a time when jazz music represented a cultural movement. The era the story is set in is what influences the themes – decadence, resistance to change, social upheaval and rampant excess. It describes the ‘anything goes’ era that occurred in America after World War I. However, the Great Gatsby movie featured the sounds of Kanye West, Jay-Z, Fergie and Beyonce, amongst others. I heard pop and rap and a lot of other influences, when really, the entire story cannot be told properly without jazz! The entire story is written around the Jazz Era, without jazz, this story is nothing…for me, this was where it failed. 

What saved the movie for me is the superb casting; the actors/actresses, even those in the small roles, were perfect for their roles and really became the characters. Leonardo Di Caprio plays the role of Gatsby with such finesse as though he has indeed become the character. After seeing Di Caprio in this role, I can never imagine anyone else in this role. In the book, Gatsby is so mysterious, that you’d think it would be difficult to embody his character. But Di Caprio gets into Gatsby’s shoes and walks around in them – he makes Gatsby so comprehensible and real to me that although I prefer books to movies, I understood Gatsby’s character better from the movie than the book. Di Caprio shows that Gatsby is really acting the role of the man he wishes he was. We see the calculating gleam in his eyes, the deceptive nature and how pathetic he becomes when his dreams are shattered. Tobey Maguire’s impression of Nick Carraway is also very real – there is this deep melancholy that humanizes his character. Another perfect casting is Carrey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan. Carrey becomes Daisy – she is exactly as I imagined Daisy. Daisy is supposed to have an enchanting charm that Carrey replicates it to its fullest potential. She is flirty, beautiful, and lets her men speak for her. Her entire life falls around her and she just lets it. Of course, you’ll hate Daisy – her character is foolish but at the same time you can’t help but admire how well Carrey Mulligan plays the role. 

Therefore, I’d say, what saves this movie is the impeccable casting. However, the soundtracks for this movie do not do the story justice and in my opinion, neither did the director. Including modern hip-hop into a movie that is set right in the center of the Jazz era just undermines the entire storyline. And Luhrmann (the director) tends to dwell too much on creating grandiose landscapes and settings, rather than focusing on the meat of the story. 

However, in all honesty, (as I said at the beginning of my critique) the movie has been made six times and Luhrmann’s remake is possibly the best. The thing about The Great Gatsby is that although it makes a classic book, it may not ever make a great movie – so maybe it’s not Luhrmann’s fault. The book lacks any character for you to feel deeply about; Gatsby is delusional, Nick is passive and Daisy is spoilt and rich. When reading the book, one might pretend to be Nick and be fascinated by Daisy’s glamour and Gatsby’s wealth but on screen, that may be difficult to pull off. So I’ll cut director Luhrmann some slack. 

But I must say, in my opinion, no one has managed to retell The Great Gatsby on screen successfully yet. Maybe it’s just a story that shouldn't be retold or retouched. 

See below for the trailer for the film :

So hope you all enjoyed Chrissie's post,
Click here to see my review of the book version of The Great Gatsby on Chrissie's blog.
Also, click here to see more from Chrissie Dalkan.

FILMS DEALING WITH ISSUES ON SINGLE PARENTING #2 : PELO MALO

Hello again. 
So as promised, I will be continuing from my last post, reviewing films from the film festival that deals with single parenting and children from broken homes.

Hope you all read my last blog post on Behaviour by guest blogger Olivia Andrews.
If not, click here to go to post.

Now moving on, the next movie that I’ll be looking at is Pelo Malo.
I loved this movie, it raised so many issues on parenting, it was definitely worth watching. 

This 93 minute Narrative Feature was directed by Mariana Rondón. The film is a Venezuelan film and is in Spanish with English Subtitles.

The films tells the story of a young boy by the name of Junior, who lives in a small, old apartment with his mother, Marta. Fired from her job as a security guard, Marta becomes desperate and is seen everyday trying to meet her boss to get back her work. Junior, meanwhile, is obsessed with straightening his curly hair. Junior's fascination with straight hair irks his mother, where she begins to think that her son may be gay and even goes as far as taking her son to a doctor in a wave of homophobic panic. Junior's constant need to have straight hair strains the already fragile relationship between mother and son.

Like all children, Junior just wants love, attention and approval from his mother and well to have straight hair. I don't think the child is gay, he's just fascinated with having straight hair, that's all. He looks on at a good looking older boy in the neighbourhood and while Junior's mother and grandmother thinks it's because Junior is attracted to the boy, I believe Junior just wants to look and be like the boy. I can understand that the mother is frustrated as she leads a very hard life, one which single parents know all too well. But Marta goes about this whole parenting thing the wrong way, when she thinks she's helping Junior, she's actually doing more harm than good...and trust me she does a lot of harm to that child, not physically but mentally and emotionally.

As part of a collab with Olivia Andrews, and wanting to know first hand what single parents out there thought about this film and the issues that it raised, I conducted an interview with a single mother who saw this particular film. 
Here is the interview :
Questions asked:
1. How long have you been a single parent?
2. How many kids do you have?
3. Do you work? If yes, part time or full time?
4. Do you get help from anyone to take care of you child/children?
5. Which film from the trinidad+tobago film festival that pertains to single parenting did you see?
6. What were your views on the film?
7. What in the film stood out to you as a single parent?
8. What did you like about the film the most?
9. What did you dislike about the film the most?
10. Does the film relate to your own life as a single parent in any way? If so, how?
11. After looking at the film, together with your own experience as a single parent, what advice would you offer to other single parents out there?

Answers received :
1. 5 years
2. 2 kids
3. Yes I do, full time.
4. Yes my mother.
5. Pelo Malo
6. It was a really good film, glad that I got to see it, it raised a lot of issues on parenting and what children from broken homes go through.
7. What stood out to me the most in this film would have to be the way the mother in the film treated her son. As children normally do, they like to play with their mom’s hair and stuff like that, my son does it, in the movie, when the child tried to be close to his mother in any way, she would just push the child away, as if his touch burnt her or something. It was disgusting the way she treated that poor boy, all he wanted was her love and acceptance, but she deprived him of such, which led to him acting the way he did.
8. I loved how the film showed the mother’s struggle to find work and the things that she had to do to get a job, it’s a very real situation that women face on a daily basis, struggling to get a job to make ends meet.
9. Actually I didn't dislike anything, loved the entire film, very well done.
10. Yes it relates to my life in multiple way, firstly with the struggle for single moms to find and keep jobs while trying to raise their kids at the same time. Also it’s very difficult to see about two children and work full-time, I don't want to work full time because I wish I had more time with the kids but it’s not an option for me. I have to do what I’ve got to do because I have two growing kids to raise, so I often depend on my mother to help me take care of them. Sometimes I think, without her help, I really don’t know how I would cope. Single parenting is really not an easy task.
11. The advice that I would offer to single parents is that all children need is love, don’t substitute love with anything else, nothing will ever do the job as love would. I know it’s hard to find time in such a busy schedule but you have to make time for the kids, show them that you're there, even if they may not see you for most of the day, make some time, somewhere in the day to show them that you are there for them, there to listen about how their day was, what they liked, what they disliked, things like that. It’s really important that you do as it affects the child more than you could possibly imagine.


See below for the trailer for the film Pelo Malo :

FILMS DEALING WITH ISSUES ON SINGLE PARENTING #1: BEHAVIOR (Collab with Olivia Andrews)

Hey all! Today’s blog will be about films from the film festival that were based on single parenting and children from broken homes. 

One of the movies that were shown at the festival that dealt with single parenting was Behavior. For this, I asked fellow blogger Olivia Andrews, who’s blog is focused on single parenting, to review this particular movie for me from the perspective of a single parent herself.

Read Olivia's review below :
I love going to the movies, it is now something that I have passed on to my little girl, as she is quite the film bug who loves comedies and remembers very well. I loved the movies so much that when I was younger I decided to work for a while in the industry. I worked at MovieTowne for two years and would have seen the advent of the film festival.

Back then the movies were much cheaper, I would look at a film each day and was quite intrigued by them. I laughed when they laughed and cried when they did. My favorite film was one called “Rain”. In recent times and last year’s favorite “God loves the fighter” another one that I enjoyed from a while back was “Beast of the southern wilds” I love films where there is victory over the obstacles that we face, tales of struggles.

This year my favorite was of course the one that came out victorious, “Behavior.” This film told the story of a young man who lived with his mother who was a single parent and was on drugs. They shared a small two bedroom which they made work, He had to get a job as a dog walker and caretaker for a man who is suspected of being his father.

Sometimes all we need in life is a chance a to be who we are and really shine through. As parents we have to strive as hard as we can to provide for our children all of their needs, it is sad when children become the care takers of their parents because they do not have a chance to live their lives and be kids. Fortunately for this young man, the teacher saw potential in him no matter how much he messed up she was always there for him and in the end this is all he wanted; someone to be there for him.
The show was filled with single parents roughing it somehow in a new place. They all had to adjust, there was a man that was raising his daughter on his own and because they were from Palestine, they were often picked on, the teacher was also a single parent who had a daughter.

In the end what I learnt from this film is that only when you give up on a child is when they give up on themselves, sometimes the road is long and wary but we have to try and leap those hurdles. Of course there are going to be times when we may trip and fall but we must complete the race.

So readers, hope you enjoyed what Olivia had to say. I sure did, quite interesting and I would just like to thank Oliva Andrews for taking the time to do this review for me. 
If you would like to read more inspiring posts about coping as a single parents, click here to go to Olivia's blog!

Also, see below for the trailer for Behavior

Stay tuned for my next post discussing another film based on children and single parenting. 

Thanks for reading! 

CRITIQUE OF THE PAINTING THAT INSPIRED THE FILM "BELLE" (Collab with Donna Clark)

Hello everyone! =)

As mentioned before, I have been mandated by my lecturer to do collaborations with some of my fellow classmates.

Today I will be doing a collab with Donna Clark. Donna's blog captures her thoughts on creativity in and around us.

In this post, Donna will be using her excellent visual skills to critically analyze the painting which inspired the film BELLE, one of my favorite films at this year's T+T film festival.

For those of you who have not yet read my post on BELLE, click here to be directed to the post.

So with all of that said, here's Donna's critique..Enjoy!

The painting featured in the film “Belle” is very typical of the 18th century portraiture style where the landscape is featured in the background and the subjects are richly attired. The landscape in this instance is that of the Georgian city scape with the silhouette of St. Paul’s church.  The two women are the mixed race Dido and her cousin Elizabeth, the camaraderie between the two women is evident which was unusual for that time period since slavery was a part of the society.
The painting shows effective use of the complementary colours of red and green which helps to establish Elizabeth as the focal point due to the red hue of her dress. However the artist cleverly used the extended hand of Elizabeth to guide the viewer to Dido who is very animated in gesture and expression. The successful use of contrasting values helps to create balance in this composition since one can see the lighted Elizabeth against the dark background as compared to the dark skinned Dido silhouetted against a lighter background.
The technique of chiaroscuro is evident in the subtle value tones used in the background landscape and the skin of the women. The Baroque style lighting is seen in the highlighted areas of the rich silk of the women’s dresses. This style was very similar to the German Neoclassical painter, Johann Zoffany who was also a mastermind at creating conversational pieces since his subject matter was somewhat controversial, which is the case in this piece since it was unacceptable for the two women to be on equal footing in society. This painting however similar to Zoffany was not painted by him and the artist remains anonymous.
This painting like many of the 18th century paintings of Netherlands and France has hidden meanings that are symbolic of undercurrents in society such as the hint that slavery should end. It is in fact Dido’s great Uncle, Lord Mansfield, who as a Lord Chief Justice in 1772 gave a decision in favor of a slave. This case heralded the beginning of the abolition of the slave trade in 1807. The old saying of an image speaks a thousand words is well suited to apply to this painting of Belle and the conversation that the painting would cause is the script of the film entitled “Belle”.

1779 painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle (1761 - 1804) and her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray (1760 -1825) that inspired the film BELLE.

To read more from Donna Clark, click here to go to Donna's blog.

Thanks for reading! 

DIFRET (Collab with Yolanda Pesnell)

Hello Readers! I'm back and with something new!

My fellow classmate, Yolanda Pesnell and I have been mandated to collaborate on our blogs. So we joined forces and decided to swap and issue a blog on each other's topic. 

Yolanda's blog is based on Literature and exploring the world through text, so to switch things up a bit, she decided that she would watch a narrative feature from the 2014 trinidad+tobgao film festival and post a review, thereby exploring the world through film!

The film that Yolanda chose to watch was Diffret, below is her review. Enjoy!

FILM: DIFRET 

Type: Narrative Feature

Director: Zeresenay Berhane Mehari

Region: Ethiopia

Year: 2014

Time: 99 Minutes

Language: Amharic, English Subtitles

Rating: 14+

About difret :

This film is a true story about the abduction and rape of a 14 year old girl in a rural area in Southern Ethiopia. The story spans two years from 1996 to 1998 and documents the trial or as BBC News puts it the “Revenge of the abducted bride,” starring Aberash Bekele as Hirut in the film.

The Story :

Hirut was snatched by a group of men on her way home from school, beaten, taken to a deserted Hut and, later that evening, rapped by one of her abductors. The very next morning she was awakened by her abductor/rapist who entered the Hut and gave her a cup of coffee. After he left the barn, Hirut noticed a riffle in the corner of the Hut and saw an opportunity to escape. She took the riffle and quietly slipped out of the barn and began running. One of the men saw her and raised an alarm and they all chased and cornered her. She threatened to shoot if they came any closer. Her rapist disobeyed and she shot and killed him. The men were about to kill her when a passerby intervened and stopped them. She was taken to the police station where she was denied her right to medical attention. 

The men of the village met with the Elders to determine Hirut’s fate. In this meeting it was revealed that abduction was the traditional way of getting a Bride in that village when the father refuses to give consent. Those for Hirut’s abductor/rapist, Gemechu Kebede, believed that Hirut lacked respect for their tradition and believed that she should have been killed and buried alongside her abductor/rapist. However, the Elders decided that since Hirut was in police custody, judgment was out of their hands and instead exiled Hirut from the village. Her abductor’s father therefore vowed to avenge his son’s death. 

Hirut’s case attracted the attention of a women’s advocate lawyer, Meaza Ashinafi, who persevered in spite of meeting many stumbling blocks, the most persistent of which was the traditional practice of marriage by abduction. Hirut was eventually acquitted in 1998 on the grounds of self-defense, but felt hopeless for fear that her little sister, two years her junior who was pulled out of school for fear that she too would be abducted and suffer the same fate.

Comments on Cinematography :

The story was a traditional one and the images reflected just that. The lighting was or looked natural and the houses, offices, buildings and the standard of living and dress styles of the actors sold the image of a rural community. So for me this was great! There was no question, no confusion as to whether the film reflected Hollywood or a rural area in Ethiopia. To add to this, the positioning, colour and size of the subtitles were perfect, making it quite easy to follow the speech of the actors. One thumbs down for me, was the movement of the camera whenever there were running scenes or fast paced movement in the film. But given all my likes, I’m sure that I have already convinced you that overall this film was great!

There is so much to learn from Literature, whether it’s a book, a film or even music, there is always something else to explore and share. 

This was an awesome experience! 

So I hope you all enjoyed Yolanda's review, I surely did. 

I just want to thank Yolanda for taking the time to go see one of the films at the festival and providing for us readers, an excellent review!

To see more from Yolanda Pesnell, click here  to check out her blog. You'll love it!

TRAILER FOR DIFRET

OF GOOD REPORT

This Narrative Feature was directed Jahmil XT Qubeka and is set in South Africa.
The running time for the film is 109 minutes.

Banned on the first day of the Durban International Film Festival for featuring an underage character having a sexual relationship with an adult, which many constitute as child pornography, this film tells the story of Parker, a travelling substitute teacher, who moves to a rural town to begin his job as a new teacher at a local school. The first impression of Parker is that of a well mannered man but this is all a facade as Parker is not who he seems. It doesn't take long for him to strikes up an affair with a 16 year old student, Nolitha. Soon the obsessive madness that Parker has inside of him, surfaces, showing the bloody psychopath that he really is.

Shot in shades of black and white, this is a modern film noir. The fact that Parker barely utters a word throughout the movie increases the already overflowing creepiness of this film and the music just adds to this...so yea it’s pretty unsettling. The shots go back and forth between past and present, enthralling the audience and taking us on a disturbing journey into the mind of a mentally unstable young man.

The movie has a substantial amount of sexual violence, forcing viewers out of their comfort zones and into the cold, grim world that is being portrayed on the screen. In the film we see the theme of misplaced trust, where men take advantage of young girls.

This film has been the subject of much debate and controversy since it’s release. Clearly we can see why. Nevertheless, the film was well done, definitely worth watching. I love films that challenge norms and breaks boundaries and this is exactly what this film has done. I must applaud Jahmil XT Qubeka for being brave enough to produce such a film because I’m quite sure he knew the implications that a film like this would bring forth.

Trailer for the film :

THE GERMAN DOCTOR

This thriller was directed by Lucía Puenzo and is set in Argentina. The running time for this film is 94 minutes.

The film was inspired by true events and takes place in Patagonia, 1960, where a German doctor becomes the first guest at a hotel that an Argentinean family have just inherited.

What the family don’t know is that this man has a deadly secret, he is the former Nazi officer Josef Mengele, one of World War II’s most dangerous Nazi criminals, also known as the “Angel of Death.” Without any knowledge of who this man truly is, Eva, Enzo and their three children, welcome this man into their home, entrusting their young daughter, Lilith, to his care.

All the while, Israeli agents are desperately looking for this man to bring him to justice for the awful, horrendous things that he's done.

Based on filmmaker Lucía Puenzo's (XXY) fifth novel, the story follows Josef Mengele, the "Angel of Death," a German SS officer and a physician at the Auschwitz concentration camp, in the years he spent "hiding", along with many other Nazi's, in South America following his escape from Germany.

This story with its historical foundation was brilliantly done, fictionalizing the Post World War II life of Josef Mengele. In the film we see Josef’s obsession with genetic experimentation, as he makes drawings of what he considers the "perfect species", tall, blond hair, blue eyes. Lilith is the one who captures Mengele interest the most. She is taunted in school and is all too eager to let Mengele help her. Mengele is also seen treating Eva, who is pregnant with twins, something that arouses Mengele’s interest.

The scenery of the beautiful Argentinian mountains work well to contradict the ghastly and demented story that’s taking place. The build up of the film was cleverly done, and added to the overall atmospheric suspense and building tension.

This film is unnerving on so many levels, but I love it. It’s definitely a must see!!

Trailer for the film :

HAITI BRIDE

This 2014 Narrative was directed by Robert Yao Ramesar. The film was shot in the region of Haiti and is 65 minutes in length.

The film centers around Marie-Thérèse, who leaves Haiti to go live in New York with her family when Jean-Bertrand Aristide is thrown out of power. Years later, Paul, a fellow Haitian shows up in New York and falls in love with Marie-Thérèse. Paul wants to live in New York but Marie wants to go back to Haiti, they eventually agree on having the wedding in Haiti. When they go back to Haiti to get married, the date and time of the wedding coincide with the 2011 earthquake that shook the nation. The earthquake causes a lot more than physical damage as it separates the lovers without either one of them knowing if the other is alive. A year later, they meet again, rekindling their love and their wish to be married. The plot takes an interesting twist and leaves audiences baffled and at times very much confused at the way things turn out.

The director of this film, Mr. Robert Yao Ramesar is one of Trinidad and Tobago’s leading filmmakers. This is the first film of his that I've ever seen; I have always heard high praises about him so I was really looking forward to seeing his work.

A lot takes place in the film through innuendo and suggestion. At times I thought the film became a bit too confusing to keep up with, I got lost a couple of times and there were parts where everything seemed to be all over the place. It was obvious from the start, that the film was shot with a very low budget. Overall the film was not what I expected, I have to admit that I expected more from Yao Ramesar after everything that I've heard about him and the type of films that he’s known for producing. Although I must commend his creativity, his use of symbolism throughout the film was beautiful done.

After the showing of the film, Yao Ramesar was available for a question and answer session. He commented that if the audience found themselves confused after the film, that was the way he intended it. He also shone light on the fact that a lot of funding for the film had to be done out of his own finances, so sometimes, some of the shots were taken using cell phones. He explained that shooting in Haiti proved to be very difficult, as a lot of things he had to do alone. It is known though, that Yao shoots his narrative feature films with a very small crew, sometimes as small as two persons, for financial reasons I suppose. Overall the film took a lot from him and was very rough on his body physically. In the end he tried his best to be as honest as he could to the people of Haiti, to the devastation and destruction that they faced and to depicting it all on film; the film was inspired by the everyday lives of people living in Haiti.

The film while disappointing at some points, has a lot of promise and when you really take the time to look at the kind of effort that Mr.Yao put into making this film, it’s truly remarkable how dedicated he is, something I can't help but admire.

So while I did not like the film as much as I thought I would have, I definitely respect and appreciate what Yao represents and what he’s trying to do. For that very reason I would recommend the film to anyone and ask that you not judge the film without understanding Yao’s journey and what he was really trying to do.

Trailer for the film :

Follow up post to OMAR : My interpretation..

Hey guys and girls! 

So I'm back and as promised this post will be about my interpretation of what I think really happened in the film OMAR.

So here goes : 

At the beginning of the film the audience is given a slight idea that Amjad may have feelings for Nadia, but from close observation Amjad must have known Omar and Nadia were together. I believe Amjad was the traitor all along!  When Agent Rami said he knew everything, I'm quite sure he was getting this "everything" from Amjad. Amjad working as an informant could have been the reason he was so hesitant to shoot the Israeli soldier in the beginning. Also while Omar was in prison, Agent Rami filled Omar's head with the idea that Nadia was keeping secrets. I honestly think poor Nadia had no secrets, she was never even pregnant for Amjad, or else it would have been the very first thing she would have apologized to Omar about when she spoke to him for the first time in over two years and remember, she did say the baby was not premature. She kept saying she knew he was angry with her for doubting that he was loyal to his country and his cause..so all this time, that's why this poor girl thought he wanted nothing to do with her. Their living situation is nothing like ours, she can't just pick up the phone and call him and ask why he's angry, the only way they can communicate is when Omar climbs over the wall, which he did not do for two years. And she did try to communicate via a letter to Omar, but he refused to take the letter because he thought she had betrayed him. So feeling as though Omar wanted nothing to do with her, Nadia accepted Amjad's proposal. 

Therefore plotting all of this between Omar and Nadia were easy to accomplish for Agent Rami and Amjad. I really do believe Amjad and Agent Rami were in cahoots all along and planned everything, with killing Tarek being the finale of their great scheme. Amjad therefore fulfilled his part as a spy, proved his loyalty to Agent Rami by killing Tarek and even got the girl for himself.

I do believe that this film definitely kept with the whole Romeo and Juliet idea, where Omar and Nadia were unfortunately star-crossed. Yes the audience knew they were doomed from the start, but you could not help but hope that they would somehow and someday get their happy ending. Concerning the end of the film where Omar kills Rami, I highly doubt Omar's going to get away with it as there were two other Israeli soldiers on the scene. Omar will probably be killed by the Israeli soldiers or thrown back in jail a third time and maybe this time forever. Such a sad ending, really and truly unfortunate; but this is the reality of what people in these regions go through behind those tall, threatening walls. 

It seems that everyone betrays Omar and on either side of the wall there was no one he could really put his trust in. The separation wall makes the important aspects of life, like intimacy, connection, loyalty and love impossible, thus making it easy for betrayal to take root and cause havoc. In war-torn environments, betrayal is a necessity and with Omar having such an innocent, open, kind and loving personality, although these qualities make him a great person, they make him an easy target for people like Agent Rami to use and abuse. 

For those of you who read my post on the film "BELLE", there is a certain quote I heard in that film that stuck in my mind and when I was looking at "OMAR" this quote seemed so relevant. Its a quote that was said by Lord Mansfield to John Davinier, which says, "The world is a devastating place, you must learn to protect your emotions if you wish to prevent matters of law and love from devastating you." It is of my opinion that this particular quote fits in so well with OMAR, as OMAR shows us that the world is indeed a highly destructive place and to prevent issues of betrayal, one must tightly guard and secure their emotions so that they don't end up in the same disastrous situation that the character Omar was unfortunately left in.

Director Hany Abu-Assad did a phenomenal job in showing us how oppressed the Palestinians are, the fine line existing between love and politics for people living in these war-torn atmospheres, how much more than physical separation the wall brings forth and the ceaseless and unnecessary suffering that is brought about by all of this. It hurts my heart to see so much death and destruction, we really do need more love in this world! This film was definitely an eye-opener for me and really impacted my thoughts on this whole Palestine and Israel situation.

Leave a comment below and let me know how this film affected your view of this never ending war between Palestine and Israel.

For those of you who have not yet read my post on the film Belle, click on the link below and it will take you to the post http://steffyr7.blogspot.com/2014/10/belle.html

Thanks for reading! 

OMAR

Omar climbing the wall

OMAR is a 2013 Palestinian thriller directed by Hany Abu-Assad. This film is a present-day film and considering everything that is going on between Palestine and Israel, Omar definitely has international appeal and I can honestly admit that from all the films seen at this year's festival, without a doubt, this one was my personal best. From the very start of the film there is action, and this action continues throughout the film, never having a dull moment.

This powerful thriller centers on the eponymous Palestinian character Omar. Omar is a young baker who frequently climbs the wall separating Israel and the West Bank (Palestine). On the other side, Omar's childhood friends Tarek and Amjad are awaiting him, along with Tarek's sister and Omar's love interest Nadia. 

From left to right : Tarek, Amjad and Omar

The film has elements of Shakespearean tragedy as Omar and Nadia can be easily identified as a modern day Romeo and Juliet. 

Nadia & Omar

In the film, on more than one occasion, it is seen how harshly the Palestinians are treated by the Israelis. After years of being dominated and unfairly treated by the Israelis, the Palestinians are now rebelling and we see this when Omar is humiliated by some Israeli soldiers which causes him to encourage Tarek and Amjad to hasten their planned attack on the Israelis. Later one night, the trio sets out to shoot and kill a Israeli soldier and although Amjad is the one who pulls the trigger, it's as if they all did it. 

Omar being humiliated by the Israeli officers

Omar, Amjad and Tarek spying on the Israelis right before shooting one of the soldiers. 

After killing the soldier, the Israelis are now on the hunt for the persons responsible. Eventually Omar is captured, mercilessly and barbarically beaten, tortured and eventually coerced into making a confession by an Israeli agent named Rami. This puts Omar in a position where he must either co-operate with the enemy and turn in his friends or rot in jail for the rest of his life. This exact situation is what many Palestinians are faced with as thousands of men, women and children are thrown into jail, abused in many ways and left to rot without any sort of proper court trial. The Palestinians are so oppressed by the Israeli government, they are confined by a threatening wall separating them not just physically from each other but mentally and emotionally and the results of this are devastating. The Israeli military are on the prowl night and day and they control and manipulate the lives of the Palestinians. 

Out of desperation and his need to see Nadia, Omar agrees to comply with Agent Rami's request to co-operate with the Israelis and bring in Tarek who is the ring leader of these freedom fighters. Upon release, Omar's loyalty to his friends is questioned but he shows them that he has no intention of doing what the Israelis asked and instead plans an ill-conceived ambush which ends with him back in jail. Omar can't stand being in jail and begs Agent Rami to give him another chance to set things right. After much begging, he is given this chance but with less liberties as before. Being released from jail a second times increases everyone's suspicion that Omar may indeed be a traitor, even Nadia starts questioning him. But while Nadia is questioning Omar's loyalty to his country, Omar is questioning Nadia's faithfulness to him, as he is made to believe that she is hiding secrets from him; all of this puts a lot of strain on their relationship and things begin to fall apart. It is discovered that someone among them is indeed a traitor which was the reason why the ambush had failed. Paranoia and betrayal are significant themes running throughout this film as everyone begins questioning the other. This very paranoia is what inspired director Hany Abu-Assad's idea of this story. While making one of his other films he always felt as if someone was spying on him and this nagging feeling never went away, so he channeled the feeling into his next film, which became Omar. Paranoia is a big issue among the Palestinians and although it is not openly discussed it is always there, as anyone could be a double agent, making trust an enormous issue. 

Tension keeps building in the film as pressure is placed on Omar to deliver Tarek or be thrown back in jail, at the same time Omar is suspecting that Amjad and Nadia are having a secret affair. Eventually Amjad confesses that he got Nadia pregnant. After Omar releases his anger, hurt and disappointment on Amjad's face, he agrees to go with Amjad to tell Tarek the news and promises to help Amjad and Nadia as he still loves and cares for her dearly. When Tarek is told the news about Nadia, he gets into a scuffle with Amjad and Tarek is accidentally shot by Amjad (or was it an accident?) With Tarek now being dead, Omar does not have to return to prison and gives Amjad money to marry Nadia, never wanting to have anything to do with both of them ever again. 

Amjad (left) & Omar (right)

Tarek dies after scuffle with Amjad

Two years pass and Omar is visited by Agent Rami saying that he has another task for Omar and if he refuses he will see to it that Nadia pays. Omar goes to climb the wall for the first time in over two years to go see Amjad but he struggles to climb the wall where before he did it so easily. But you see, this time everything is different, every time Omar tries to climb he falls back down and this scene is so significant as it shows the internal conflicts, torture and endless frustration that Omar is facing after everything that had happened. 

Omar going to climb the wall for the first time in two years

He eventually gets across the wall and goes to Amjad and Nadia's home to meet Amjad but ends up meeting Nadia. Nadia is there with her two children and Omar and her finally talk. She profusely apologizes for doubting his loyalty to his country two years ago...which is strange to me because I would have thought that the first thing she would apologize for would be about being unfaithful to him when they had something so special. But she brought up nothing of the sort, which started to really get my attention. She even questioned why he didn't ask for her hand in marriage and this question in particular really got me thinking. I mean, why would she ask such a question if she knew that it was known to Omar that she was unfaithful and got pregnant for Amjad, while at the same time her and Omar were both planning a life together? It seemed unbelievable and shameful that she would even ask such a question. Then Omar asked if the child was born prematurely and the question appeared to be strange to her, as she didn't seem to understand why he would ask that. Nonetheless her face was completely honest when she answered and said that the child was NOT premature. It was as if Omar had the air knocked out of his body as her response brought with it the realization of what really went on back then and how much his life has been toyed with. 

Omar calls Agent Rami and tells him that he will do as he asked but he wants a gun in return. Rami complies and brings the gun for Omar, Omar asks Rami to show him how to operate the gun and when Rami gives Omar the gun to try, the audience is in no way prepared for what happens next. Omar turns the gun on Rami and with the most frightening anger on his face, he shoots Rami in the face killing him. And just like that the film ends!!!!

Agent Rami (left) teaching Omar (right) how to use the gun

Omar taking his revenge

Well at this point I could not have been more confused about what I just saw. The ending took a completely shocking turn, in no way did I expect this to happen. The film was so open ended that it was not until I was on my way home from watching the film, after really thinking and analysing the movie over and over and over in my head that I came up with what I believe really happened....

So what I'm going to do is attach the trailer and full movie for OMAR here. I invite you all to watch the movie and leave a comment giving me your interpretation of what you think really happened.

I will do a follow up post with my interpretation of what I think took place, so look out for that next ok. But for now, I would love to hear from all of you. So with all of that said, let's begin! =)

Trailer for the film

Full movie!