Reflection on The Return

                The film The Return that we viewed last week in film class was a very different type of movie from what I would typically watch. I feel like the main reason for this was because it was such an open-ended movie, and as we discussed the film after watching it in class this became very apparent. Everyone had a his or her own opinion on a number of aspects of the movie, but the main subject everyone seemed to want to talk about was the father in the movie. After watching The Return and listening to various opinions/ideas on the subject, I believe that the father in the film was returning from some criminal background of some sort, and was trying to reconnect with his kids and get them to understand his past. I feel this is supported by his attitude towards the older brother, his longing for respect from the two boys, and his behavior of trying to hide something from his sons.

                After thinking back about the film The Return I came to a realization that I had not thought of immediately after watching it. Throughout the film the father tried several times to win the “approval” I guess you could say, of his older son, Andrei, and didn’t seem to care too much about what his younger son, Ivan, thought of him. He always seemed to be very concerned that Andrei was satisfied, while he was almost acting the opposite way about Ivan, such as when they were eating for the first time in the diner. I then began to wonder if the father believed that once he had won over Andrei he felt that Ivan would immediately follow in his older brothers’ footsteps. This would make sense, being that we were shown a couple circumstances throughout the movie in which Ivan wanted to be just like his big brother, such as in the opening scene when they were all jumping into the water. It’s very common that boys want to be just like the older male figures in their lives, and since their father had not been around, Ivan had Andrei to look up to.

                We were shown from almost the beginning when the family was having dinner together right after the father returned that he wanted to earn the respect from his boys. This became even more apparent as their trip progressed. He insisted that Ivan answer him with “Yes, Dad.” or “No, Dad.” and so on. He was very strict with them when it came to rules and regulations, and in many cultures people see setting boundaries for children and having the children follow them as a way to enforce respect between the children and their elders.

                In my third point is where I come to touch on why I believe the father is hiding some sort of criminal background. It may be a stretch, I’ll admit, but I feel it is one of the only reasons he could just come back into their lives with no explanations and expect to be treated as nothing had ever changed between them. He easily could have threatened their mother without anyone knowing, and then just like that he’d have free reign to do with the boys as he pleased.  He obviously had connections with various groups of people, as we saw when he was talking to the men on the boats at the dock. He also seemed to always be hiding something or not giving the boys all the details they asked of him, which is just another reason I feel he was a shady character and I didn’t trust him.

                These ideas could be right, and they easily could be completely off the charts wrong, but I feel that is an important point of an open-ended film such as this.  

Brokeback Mountain

After viewing Brokeback Mountain  this past week, which I chose to watch after we did not have class Tuesday, September 14, I had very mixed feelings. When I felt this way upon watching the film I chose to go to our film class’s website and read up on  film in the articles posted. After reading Harry M. “Benshoff’s article, “Brokering Brokeback Mountain- A Local Reception Study,” I felt as though I somehow understood the film  not only better, but on a deeper level, and from there I was able to form opinions. Overall, I completely agreed with Benshoff’s article reviewing Brokeback Mountain, especially on three of the topics he discussed: the irony of the film, the wilderness versus the “closet” of homosexuality, and the idea of treating homosexuality as a disease.

                Benshoff made several valid points in his article that helped me to understand the irony in the film. In the beginning of Brokeback Mountain before we see either of the characters with a homosexual personality, the men are pictured in wide open, mountain-side settings, that would typically be thought to be a “manly” atmosphere.  When thinking back on the film after hearing of the “ironic” theme, it also clicked that in general the whole movie as a whole seemed to be this way, being that it was about two hardcore, cowboy-type men starting a relationship in the wilderness while they were onsite for work. This idea continues further when they continue to return to the vast openness of the mountains for some twenty years later to continue to pursue their secret relationship.

                Going along with the topic of the open wilderness, it took me reading Benshoff’s article to understand the idea of using the wilderness in Brokeback Mountain in comparison with “the closet” of homosexuality. After I read the article and went back and viewed a couple of the scenes of the movie, I find it to be incredibly interesting, especially since I found it to be so understated. I liked that this analogy wasn’t so “in your face” through the film, and I appreciated it so much more once I was able to go back and look for it. As Benshoff pointed out, this idea came together in the end when we see that Ennis keeps “Jack” in a closet in his trailer with a photograph of Brokeback Mountain.

                The third and final idea that really hit me while reading Benshoff’s review of the film was mainly so interested to me because I was quite excited upon reading it due to the fact that it had crossed my mind a few times when I initially watched the movie.  It was no secret throughout the film that the common people in the towns where the men were leading their lives found the idea of homosexuality to be like a disease, and were appalled by even assuming that it could be true. This stems back to when Ennis told Jack the story of his father when he was a young boy, and as Benshoff pointed out, it was “confirmed,” so to say, when he heard of Jack’s death from Lureen when she told him that Jack had died from a “tragic human condition”

               

reflection on the film Hero

Thus far in our Eng 282 Film Studies class, Hero was by far my favorite. After reflecting on the film for a day or so it is clear to me that this was for many reasons. Before watching the movie in class, I admit, I had originally racked up a list of reasons of why I wouldn't like Hero. Being that the film was set in a different country and based on a completely different culture, it was obviously not going to be in English, and I had prepared myself to not be able to easily follow along. I also was apprehensive about it being a martial arts film, and was worried that overall it was simply going to be too much for me to follow; I was quickly surprised to realize my suspicions were not the case at all. Despite my prior judgments of the movie, I found the film to be very easy to become engaged in. This was mainly due to three reasons: the special effects, the intensity, and the outcome that was not expected.


Personally, I give most of the credit of why I was able to enjoy Hero to the outstanding special effects throughout the film. I feel as though without the special effects, I would have dwelled too much on the film being a different language and trying to keep up with the subtitles. However, the special effects caused me to just go with the film and really be able to enjoy it. The fighting scenes within the movie, most of which were where we saw the special effects in their glory, didn’t even require subtitles because the sword fighting and swift movements of the characters spoke for themselves, which was a huge aid in being able to easily follow along. This would not have been possible without the special effects.

As briefly mentioned earlier, I also believe that the intensity of the film is a great aspect and reason as to why I enjoyed the film so much. It could be possible that this has to due with the special effects as well, but I considered the intensity of the film so high because it kept me “on my toes.” It flowed very well, and even in the scenes where there was not a lot of action going on, I still found myself very into what was going on because I was engaged in keeping up with the story. I feel that the way the story was told aided to the intensity of the film because it was going back and forth between the past and the present time.

The way that the movie ended, to me, seemed to be a surprise ending. Although looking back it makes sense, but leading up to it I feel it was expected that the king would have been killed. I also feel that the way the movie ended gave a great theme to the movie, that being about the importance of following a leaders judgment and being for people to realize the importance of peace, and honoring the people who give up their lives to keep and promote peace.