Tsotsi

Tsoti is a crime leader and gang member in Johannesburg. He steals the car of a woman and when helooks in the back seat he realizes that there is a baby. The baby forms a quick bond to the killer and the audience sees the change in the protagonist.

I would highly reccomend this film, while it is a dark film, it is interesting to see the culture of South Africa. It is a unique country that continues to deal with the seperation between the rich and the poor or the black and the white.

Tsotsi lives in slums in a small part of Johannesburg. Unfortunately they live a difficult life which leads to an increased risk in crime . When he feels seperated from his family he turns to the gang as his family.

In the US we live much easier and simpler lives than the characters of Tsosti and I think we need to make more of an effort to help other countries that are working to become more developed. It is sad to see the living conditions of other countries and how in the US we waste the most basic resources that people all over the world would die to have. I reccomend this film to anyone, it is important to be aware of other countries and their difficulties and work to try to help them.

Nuovo cinema Paradiso

This film was produced in 1990 and takes place in Italy. The film features a young boy who is in love with films and appreciates every aspect of the film industry. The person in charge of running the cinema takes him on as a student and teaches him everything about films. It is an excellent film that shows the culture of a remote Italian village.

The film was exceptional and I enjoyed the light heartedness of the film. The small boy is easy to make a cultural connection with because of his passion for films. I have an extreme passion for running and I could connect with the protagonist about a strong passion for something and the appreciation of it.

In Italy the Roman Catholic Church is the ruler of the land and makes the laws in the city. The laws are created around religion and respecting the Catholic traditions are very important. In the beginning of the film we see how viewing kissing in films is not tolerated and it is cut out. It was interesting to see how a religion can control so much of a society.

In the US we claim that there is a seperration between church and state, however, religion plays a critical role in our government system as well. When morals are discussed while developing laws, the politicans always refer to the Bible when they question their decisions. It is was interesting to see how the Italian community was far mroe reserved than our society. In modern times, televsion shows have become a lot more inappropriate than they used to be. It was interesting to see how films have revolved over the years and the role of religion in a society.

The Host

The Host is a thriller/horror film that takes place in South Korea. In the film a monster is created in the Hahn River and begins to kill people. When a young girl is sperated from her father by the beast, the family works to get her back. However, at the end of the film they discover that she had been killed by the beast itself. But the family takes in an orphan and begins to repiece itself back together.

This film was based off of the idea of the Us dropping a toix chemical into the river where it poisoned many people. When the US no longer can deal with the situation they release the toxic chemical agent yellow to get rid of the growing opposition. The film was based off the United State's involvement in South Korean affairs.

The film was interesting to see how the history between the US and South Korea has affected their current relationship. There was a strong cultural connection made during the film. In their culture family is very important and appreciating the elders of the household is also imporant. In our society, the youth is worshiped instead of the elders.

This film taught me to respect my elders and it taught me more about the Asian culture. I did not know a lot about the culture before watching this film.

Napolean Dynamite

"Just follow your heart. That's what I do."
-Napolean Dynamite


The film Napolean Dynamite was a comical film about a boy in the suburbs of the United States who does not fit in with his classmates until Pedro arrives. The two become instantly good friends and develop a strong connection and Napolean encourages Pedro to run for president. Throughout the film, we see the characters develop and build a strong bond amongst one another.

I thought that the film was extremely funny, because the sense of humor represented in the film was similar to my sense of humor.

There was a major difference in the lifestyle of Napolean's and that of the Twin Cities. We live in a city with stores, and the famous Mississippi River. Napolean lives in a small remote town where everyone dresses the same and their is not a variety of culture or activites. While I could not make a strong connection with the main character, I enjoyed the humor of the film and I appreciated Napoleans efforts to befriend the "new kid" in school.

Les Triplettes de Bellevilles

Les Triplettes de Belleville is about a young boy who develops a passion for bicycle racing and his grandmother becomes his trainer. During the Tour de France, he is kidnapped and the grandmother goes on a hunt for he young cyclist. The grandmother soon discovers that he has been captured by the French Mafia and goes to extensive lengths to free him.

This movie was an interesting representation of the French culture. It is a silent film and it was interesting to see how important the Tour de France is to the people of France. The producers use dull colors to reflect the emotions of the young boy who was abandoned by his parents and taken in by his grandmother. It shows how difficult his life has been before he found his passion for bicycling.

The French Mafia are an important factor in the film, while me may only have believed that the mafia existed in Italy, it continued into France. We just had presentations in History class about gang violence and how gang violence had been increasing recently. Watching this movie made a strong cultural connection between France and the United States. While we believe the French to be to some degree rude, after watching this film it changed my opinion. I could relate to the character who has a passion for a sport like myself.

Fargo

Fargo is a film that was released in 1996 and was produced by the Coen brothers. The film is about a man living in Minnesota named Jerry who is facing financial difficulties and goes to extreme measures to make some extra money. As he works with a couple of criminals to give them a stolen vehicle, his family is put in danger at the expense of his dangerous decisions.

The Coen brothers created a comical thriller and make jokes about the Minnesota culture. They exaggerate the Minnesota accent and the idea of Minnesota nice.

The end of the film was sad, because many innocent people were murdered in the plot, but it was interesting to see how people perceive the "typical" Minnesotan.

The characters live simple lives, but it was interesting to see the Northern area of Minnesota and the difference in their accents and personalities.

The Son's Room

This is a film that takes place in Italy. It shows a family and their greivences after the death of their son. The film primarily focused on the family and not so much the culture of Italy, but it was a touching film to watch. The family was easy to connect with.

In the introduction of the film, we see the life of a psychologist who spends a lot of his time with his patients and his family. However, one afternoon when he chooses to go help one of his patients instead of spending time with his son, the son tragically dies while scuba diving.

The film has beautiful landscape scenes and uses simplistic music to reflect the emotions of the characters who have just lost a member of the family. In the end, the family connects with a friend of their son's and they start to feel less sad about the loss of their son. It was an emotional film that was set in Italy.

Noi the Albino

Noi the Albino takes place in Sweden in the dead of winter. Sweden is a cold nordic country with a socialist government. Noi is a young teenager who wants to break free of the country's small town and move to a warmer place. As the audience is introduced to the character, we discover that Noi is very intelligent. He later meets a girl, however, in the end of the film there is a deadly avalanche that kills his entire family.

Noi the Albino is an extrememly dark film, it takes place in the dead of winter. The colors of the film are dull to reflect the emotions of the characters and the dull season. The dull brown colors are used to make a connection with the audience and Noi who is very depressed by the nordic country where he lives.

Their culture is somewhat similar to ours. There was a strong connection between Minnesota and the nordic country because both places experience cold winters and depressed times due to the surrounding snow.

It was a depressing film, however, it was interesting to see the impact of the effect of dull colors used in the film's production.

Noi the Albino Research

This is a film about a young teenage boy whom is seventeen years old. He lives in a cold nordic country where he dreams of escaping. A girl arrives in his town and he envisions leaving the small twon with her to start a warmer life in a warmer place in Hawaii.

Persepolis Reflection

Persepolis was a film produced in France about the Iranian Revolution that was occuring at the same tim as the Cold War. The protagonist, a young girl, sees how her family suffers during the Iranian Cold War and is sent off to a boarding school in France to get a safer childhood and a better education.

This film was an accurate description of the Iranian Revolution and gave an excellent perspective on another culture in the Middle East. Before she escapes war torn Iran, more rules are put in place for all of the citizens of Iran. Women and girls are forced to wear their headscarfs and cover most of their bodies. The government strongly believes in absolute control over women and all citizens. They put in place a dictatorship where any opposition was murdered for their political beliefs against the government.

Run Lola Run

Run Lola Run is a German thriller produced in 1998. It is about a young women that must raise a large sum of money to give to a rober. If she does not raise enough money then he will break into a store and steal the money himself. Then she has to raise 100000DM in twenty minutes. Suspense and fate are two major components to the film that contribute to the intense structure of the film.

I would highly reccomend this film, because it does an excellent job of demonstrating the idea of fate in our lives. In the film it shoes three different conclusions of a difficult situation and how small things affected each situtation. It was interesting to see the significance of fate in our lives.

It was a thriller, because each ending to the film was drastically different and you see how handling a situation in a better fashion can entirely change the outcome. It caused me to be mroe aware of my everyday decisions and the consequences of everything. I appreciated the film.

The music was also and extremely important factor in the film. The music created an emotional connection to the characters as they panicked but in the end figured out a solution to their issue. The music was a constant techno beat and kept you on the edge of your seat as you waited for the ending of their critical situation.

Dark colors are also used to represent the dark attitude towards the film and the emotions of the characters. They both are in critical situations trying to save one another, it adds a hint of sadness and anger in the film and makes you just as anxious as the characters.

Maria Full of Grace Reflection

Maria Full of Grace was a film about a young pregnant Columbian girl who finds herself looking for money and becomes a drug mule. She travels to New York where she sees all of the opportunities her baby would have if she continued to live there. After facing several unexpected circumstances, she chooses to remain in New York.

This film reflects the cultural differences between the United States and Columbia. In Columbia, they lack the educational opportunities that children in the United States take for granted. While many children in the united states attend school daily, Maria is forced to work in a floral factory where she unfortunately is treated unfairly. Her future does not include college or time for explorationm but continuous working to support her family. She is paid minimum wage at her job, and the only opportunity she has to make more money is to become a drug mule. It is sad to see how people in Clumbia have so little opportunities and have to make such great sacrifices to support their families.

Their health care system is much different as well. While in New York she decides to go to the doctor to get an update about her baby. In comparison to Columbia, she did not have the resources to go to the doctor for a check up. Since Maria did not have the opportunity to continue with her education she is forced to work a low income job, only to later to have to give the money to her sister.

Persepolis Film Research

Persepolis was a recent film released in 2007 in France. The film takes place in 1970's Iran where the protagonist sees her country and family change after the Iran Revolution in 1979. The new Iranian representative is more repressive than ever. The Islamic Fundamentalists are drastically changing her country and culture. Through the eyes of a young Iranian girl, the audience sees her preception of a difficult transformation taking place in her home country. She eventually is sent away to Vienna to study and live a better life, however, when she returns she has come to the realization that she and Iran have changed too much and she feels uncomfortable in the country.

Maria Full of Grace Research

Maria Full of Grace was released in 2004 in Clumbia. It is about a film about a Columbian pregnant teen and works hard to support her family in the floriculture business. After being fired, she risks her life to smuggle cocaine into New York in roder to start a new life. However, unexpected events occur that the young seventeen year old is not prepared for.

The film introduces the audience to Columbian culture, and the rising drug issues within the country. Columbia has long been battling the war against drugs, the US has put ina significant amount of effort into the drug battle. However, as Columbia works with the US to develop the Columbian Plan, their efforts are disregarded as drug lords continue to fight against the governments.

Shall We Dance? Reflection

This film was about a Japanese man with a loving wife and a teenage daughter. He has a nice home and job, however, he is not satisfied and bored with his lifestyle. He finds inspiration while riding on the monorail when he sees a beautiful young woman standing in a dance studio. He ventures to the dance studio and takes beginner lessons where he finds a passion for the art of dance. As he becomes more involved with his dancing, his wife develops suspicion into his life assuming that he is having an affair. To her surprise later, she finds him dancing in a competition. The dancing reunites the couple after he tells her about his passion for dance.

This film demonstrates the culture of the Japanese. They work many hours in the country, and most transportation in the city is the train or the monorail. The Japanese culture is not all that different from the lifestyle of the Americans. They have the same goals: to start a family and have a house and successful job. Once these goals are obtained, their lives remain unfulfilled until they find a hobby to give them a new passion.

Shall we Dance? research

This film is about a Japanese man who cannot find happiness in his life and is inspired to begin dance lessons when he sees a beautiful woman in the window of the dance studio. He works hard to be a proficient dancer and enters a dance competition, unfortunately this comes at the cost of his marriage which begins to deteriorate until the end of the film.

In this film, it will accurately depict the everyday society of the Japanese and their culture and customs.

Please Vote for me Reflection

This film was released a couple of years ago in China. In this third grade classroom the teacher used an interactive activity to demonstrate democracy to her class. Three promising classroom monitors were elected as candidates and they worked on their campaign strategies and participated in debates in order to become elected as class monitor. Each candidate experienced difficulties, however, they worked hard to prove their leadership to their peers. In the end of the documentary, Luo Lei was elected for the class monitor.

This film was interesting, because it reflected how a communist country responded to democracy. Watching the film made me think on the politics of democracy and the pros and cons of this type of government. There is a big difference between the Chinese lifestyle and American lifestyle. All Chinese are treated equally and their strengths are determined by the government. Their parents are far more competitive in this film than one would have anticipated. The parents worked just as hard as their children to have their kids be successful in the election. Due to the communist government in the country and the overwhelming amount of people in the Chinese population, each child must be better and smarter to make an impression to be more successful. In American, each person is in charge of their intelligence and future.

Their representation of democracy successfully demonstrated how a democratic society can be unfair. The candidates had help from their parents and bribed the other kids to vote for them by giving gifts and free trips on the monorail. Unfortunately due to this bribery factor, it gave some of the candidates a advantage that not all candidates could offer.

Watching this film, makes one think about a communist society and its positive and negative effects. There is a harsh stereotype of communism government, that it is a suppressing regime, however, it is a myth. A communist government makes sense for China with its high population. While communism gives less freedom to its community it is not as harsh a government as believed.

Please Vote for Me, is a documentary that takes place in China, which is a strictly communist country. In this third grade class, the teacher uses an activity to demonstrate democracy by having the children vote for a class monitor. The third grade candidates endure the same process as a democratic election would and at the end of the film, a class monitor is chosen.

When Chairman Mao was elected to presidency in China, he worked to bring China communism. China went through the Great Leap forward where the country was moderneized in order for their economy to imporve. However, during this process millions of chinese were killed. In order to improve the country, Mao felt the need to enfore a Cultureal Revolution where all "old" materials were destroyed and burnd in the country as a renewing for the country. Any opponent Mao discovered was executed and thousands of people were executed during this process.

The Betrayal Reflection

The Betrayal follows a family whose life has been thrown into chaos during the war with vietnam and the Americans. The family is forced to emigrate after their father who is highly involved in the military becomes a prisoner of the new regime. The family is sponsored to come to the United States and live in New York. However, their lives become increasingly difficult when the childern become involved with gangs and the father returns only to tell his family that he has a new family in Florida 15 years later. This powerful film demonstrates the difficultes refugees face when they are forced to leave their native countries.

The Laotian people are very clam people and believe in the strength of wisdom to aid them in difficult times. There is a single powerful connection that I can make with this film and that is the determination of the young male. He risks his life to escape the new regime who view his as a threat to the nation and security. He works hard to keep his family together and does not become involved with gangs and eventually marries and returns to his native lands. His determination and motivation is inspiring and I learned a lot from his experience. He listened to his grandmother in always rememebering the past regardless of the certain circumstances. While he faces many obstacles in coming to another country and not being ablt to speak Enlgish, he learns. Their life in Laos is far more simplisitic and they have different values in their culture. Raising a family and repsecting your family is important and is a characterisitic that my family also values.

This film causes the viewer to look at their own decisions and their relationships with their family. Family is very important, because without family and help you have nothing. Seeing how the American tore this family apart unintentionally is distrubing on many levels as the Americans are more focused on themselves than the other people in the countries where war had erupted.

Betrayal Research

The Betrayal was relased in 2008 and documented the lives of a Laotian family who are refugees in America after leaving Laos during the war.

This critical documentary shows how war had destroyed a family and their culture. It shows how the Americans did not take into consideration the repricutions of their actions after recruiting Laotian people to fight against their country's government.

Laos is a country located in Southeast Asia and declared its independence from France in 1945. However, by 1950 France had repositioned its control and stated that Laos was an "associated state" within the French Union. Laos has a long history of involved foreign countries and slowly they were drawn into the difficulties and war with North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Their intereference with the War cased the U.S. to become invovled with the country in order to prevent a communist governement from taking control. While the U.S. fought to maintain peace and democracy in Southeast Asia, their efforts were useless when a civil war developed in Laos and a communist government was established.