Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Los olvidados

Today was the second time I watched the film and I was surprised that I did not feel as sad as I did the first time. I remember being very moved by the hatred and anger that the children felt in the movie and also very uncomfortable with the blind beggar character because of the way he rejected the past of time and the changes of social dynamics. I didn’t feel anything of that this time. I am actually worried of being so far removed from the reality shown in the movie that I can not feel for the community represented in the movie anymore. I think that they have become “those people” and
I have just become an audience.

My reason for telling my feelings with respect to the movie is to point out that “Los olvidados”, whether a documentary or not, does pretend to raise awareness about what is going on in the slums of Mexico city and therefore he has an specific audience in mind. Such audience are those who do not live in poor neighborhoods or who don’t experience the lost of a son in a gang fight. “Los olvidados” does a good job documenting various issues in expanding cities like marginalization of peripheral areas, delinquency, youth crime and family violence. The story line is so dramatic and intense that it makes the actual facts taken from reality even more shocking. Luis Bunuel adds a lot of dramatic elements to the movie like close captions to the chickens, dreams, coincidences and symbols that add to the intensity of the emotions that the characters deal with and therefore allow the view to get to know them.

In contrast to Aguila o Sol, the orphans of this movie are not as lucky and they end up being killed or abandoned. The women of both films are both supportive instead of protagonist but in “Los olvidados” women are shown as vulnerable and blameful instead of ideal beings.

5 comments:

Jon said...

Cuidado... otra vez pusiste "Span404" en vez de "span404"...

Carolinitiquitica said...

No, yo coloque el labell en letras minusculas pero se convierte automaticamente a mayusculas despues de que lo oprimo "publish post"

elena said...

The fact that the second time you saw the film you were not as shocked as the first time might show what most people do when they are exposed to situations of social injustice repeatedly, especially if they haven't personally experienced the place or the situation. I think most people put up a personal barrier when they know that the shock/sadness is coming...maybe this is because they feel that they can't do anything about it.

Unknown said...

I agree that the movie uses the raw and intense images of the youth living in life of crime and the hard times that they endure so to get the message across. And I agree with the point you make on how the women in both films are protrayed that in Aguila o sol they are see to be very strong and in Los olvidados they are not. The men have a disrespect for them but also for each other.

Angell 安珏 said...

the second film stroke a sad chord more than did the first one to me, and maybe because it's based on true stories.