On January 19, the Upper School gathered to celebrate the annual Multicultural Morning. After a brief introduction by Dr. Jeanette Hecker, students dispersed to watch the film of their choice. Six foreign films were offered, all with subtitles, ranging from animated to comedy to horror. Below are student reviews of each film.
La Promesa
By Jules Cantor ’11, Sports Section Editor
This Spanish thriller follows Gregoria (Carmen Maura), a deranged housewife who kills her husband and leaves for Galicia where she becomes a nanny for a wealthy family. Gregoria suffers from schizophrenia, leading her to believe that the little boy and her husband are both devils. She is determined to save the little boy from his satanic ways. Her unconscious craze causes her to transform from housewife to nanny to murderess. La Promesa is a story of religion, marital strife, and internal conflict, and was thrilling from start to finish.
I’m very glad I chose La Promesa for multicultural morning. It was certainly a gripping story and it offered perspective into some common social issues in Spain such as marital situations, class differences, and the prominence of religion and superstition. As opposed to the stereotypical view of Spain as a very touristy, lazy country with siestas and tapas abound, this movie showed a less traditional perspective. Watching La Promesa was not only worth it but also an enriching opportunity.
Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis
By Holly Dayton ’13, Contributor
Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis is the most watched film in French history – 20.5 million people viewed it in 23 weeks. And seeing it made me realize why so many French people must have recommended it to their friends. It’s a fun movie: serious at parts, laugh-out-loud funny at others, and carrying deep-down that classic moral, “don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Philippe Abrams (Kad Merad) is the manager of a post office who tries to get transferred to an office in the South of France to please his wife. His deception falls through, and Philippe is sent to the office up in Bergues, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region at the north of France. Even worse, he’s stuck in the coldest, nastiest city of France for two years! He leaves his wife and son at home in the south and travels alone up to the North. The ch’tis, or Frenchmen from the far North, speak an odd dialect of French that is impossible to understand at first, and Abrams’ first impression of his coworker at the post office, Antoine (Dany Boon), leaves him very nervous. However, his worst fears about the people and weather in Bergues turn out to be exaggerated, and he grows to love his friends in the post office and the town. But when he calls his wife, Julie, to tell her the good news, she refuses to believe that he could be enjoying himself and she forces him to tell her how horrid his life is. This leads to a long deception creating serious problems, but is eventually resolved happily.
Because the language moves so quickly, the puns and misunderstandings that are hilarious in French can go over the heads of the American audience with their eyes glued to the subtitles. This is a minor problem, and is really the implicit issue of watching any foreign film; that subtle verbal humor in one language often does not translate into another. On the whole, though, the movie was very enjoyable. I loved the musical scenes of Antoine playing the carillon, liked the drunk bicycle scene for its humor, and laughed uproariously at the deception scene in the old mine town of Bergues. Sadly I see few foreign films, but I am very glad I was able to view this one. It is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.
Shall We Dance
By Jordan Komnick ’11, Copy Editor
Shall We Dance is a Japanese movie about a stressed office worker who, while riding home on the train, sees a beautiful woman looking out the window of a dance studio. In order to meet her, he signs up for a ballroom dancing class at a studio, despite the aversion of Japanese society to the activity. He finds himself enjoying the sport of dancing, and grows close to the teachers and students at the studio, all while his wife is becoming suspicious of his unexplained absences and change in behavior.
Though the movie provides an interesting look into the culture and daily life of late-90s Japan, at times it suffers from mediocre acting and cinematography. In particular, the well-choreographed dance sequences didn’t have as much “pop” as similar scenes in other films. And while the plot seems interesting on paper, the film drags it out a little too long and the characters begin to wear out their welcome. Even if you are a fan of ballroom dancing, romantic drama, or both, there are better movies out there.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
By Emma Hoenemeyer ’14, Contributor
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon features two Chinese warriors, Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien, who go on a quest to seek the stolen Green Destiny, an extremely powerful and ancient sword. Although they’d never admit it, the two warriors have loved each other for many years. On their journey, they meet Jen Yu, the misguided daughter of an aristocrat. Jen Yu is a very talented and skilled young woman whose marriage is just on the horizon. The problem is that Jen Yu has never wanted to marry, even if it would bring more fame to her father’s house. Instead, her dream is to fight and be a warrior. So far, she’s been secretly trained in martial arts by a criminal, but, with the help of Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien, Jen Yu breaks away from her corrupted teacher and her family so that she can be free of the pressures of society.
I liked the fighting choreography of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon because it flowed so smoothly. It was just like dancing. I also enjoyed the scenery, especially during one scene that was made to look like it was filmed in the treetops of a forest. It was beautiful, and it made me wonder how they shot the scene. However, I didn’t like that the movie ended in tragedy. Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien didn’t admit that they loved each other until the very end of the movie. Shortly after they revealed their feelings, Li Mu Bai died and they never got to be together.
Persepolis
By Sabrina Finn ’11, Contributor
During Multicultural Morning, I chose to watch Persepolis, an animated French film about an Iranian girl’s life during the Islamic Revolution. Based on the graphic novel by the same name, the movie opens with 24-year-old Marjane Satrapi in an airport, remembering her attempts as a young child and even as a young woman to rebel against religious and societal conformities. Fearing arrest for her rebellious nature and outspoken attitude, her parents eventually sent her away to Austria and then France, where she lived in a French school and then on the streets. She returned to Iran to find an angry, violent leader had taken control of the country and was executing and punishing citizens for religious beliefs and “indecent actions.” Satrapi marries and enters a university, finally happy with her life again, until her friend dies trying to escape a roof-top chase. This is the final straw; she divorces her husband and leaves Iran, forbidden to return by her mother. In the last scene, she is 24 again. Her taxi driver asks her where she is from, and she pauses before proudly answering, “Iran.”
I liked this movie because it was true to the original story that Satrapi had written. It managed to capture both the terror
and beauty that she saw as a young child and then as an adult. An extremely important theme focused on by most of the emotional scenes was the idea of freedom and truth lost by the Iranian people. The characters also had different ideas about what should and shouldn’t be part of the government’s power, which caused some very real tension in the scenes. I thought the movie was interesting because the simplicity of the plot made it easy to see how any country could end up going downhill and how the characters could have been anyone in many different countries. Overall, there wasn’t much of the movie that I didn’t like and it ended up teaching me a lot about both Iran and the tragedy that was the basis for Persepolis.
Il Postino
By Alexis Victor ’11, Contributor
In Il Postino, a young Italian postman learns the meaning of poetry and “metafora” from the famous Cuban poet Pablo Neruda. The two men meet when the communist Neruda is exiled to a small Italian village and the postman Mario Ruoppolo has the honor of delivering the poet’s mail, which includes numerous love letters from his female fans. Neruda teaches the postman about poetry and love, and eventually they become great friends. However, they are separated after Neruda is allowed to return to Cuba and the two are left wondering if they will meet again in the future.
For American movie goers, this film allows for an easy transition from Italian to English and provides a light and humorous plot. Although it can be slow at times, Il Postino’s story of friendship and poetry can be appreciated by all cultures.
