In this film I thought the hot climate culture was very evident. The relationships were all so passionate. Yoyita's reunion with Candido , even after 50 years the passion remains. As Candido is pledging his eternal love to Yoyita she dies in his arms. He's devastated and thinks about all they could have had if he would have had the courage to travel to Havana many years ago and pursue his dream like Yoyita did. Aldolfo was the typical Machismo character he was loud ,dictatorial, cold,cruel you name it that was him. He managed to keep Gina under his thumb. Like so many of the movies Gina was submissive,wearing the clothes he liked and keeping her hair up. Finally she broke free from him and dared to buy the dress she wanted in order to look good forMariano, she let her hair down and stood up to Adolfo. Mariano had a woman at every stop. Fidelity does not seem to be a mainstay in this culture.
Aldolfo wanted to regain his lost power, he wanted to leave behind his work as a funeral director. His plan was to transport the bodies via a caravan system ,changing vehicles in every town . He cared little about the deceased, he wanted to remain within his timeframe no matter what. At one point he crammed two caskets into one vehicle even though they barely fit. In the end he ended up mixing the bodies up ,the shock killed Candido.
Food or lack thereof was evident. Everywhere they traveled they were buying /smuggling food. Bananas/rum/coffee were bought with dollars, no one would take Cuban money. Poverty and shortages in Cuba were apparent. Ramon blessed his truck with the smoke from a Havana cigar-witchcraft.
As the movie progressed I enjoyed watching Gina break free from Adolfo's hold on her and become her own woman. She found the courage to follow her dreams one of which was Mariano. He also seemed to change when he met Gina again he attempted to break up with the many women he had in every town. A good film I enjoyed it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with your assessment of the movie. Hot climate cultures are definately very interesting. I cannot imagine being madly and passionately in love with someone after being apart for fifty years. Perhaps because of their lack of drive (go get it done) attitude in hot climates they are more able to devote their whole selves to love. I am glad that Gina finally stood up to Adolfo. I for one am tired of viewing these movies where the woman is a weakling. I would like to see a movie where the woman is confident, proud, and doesn't take any crap from the man. Perhaps this is just a cold climate attitude. As I look back on the movies we have watched I am not so sure that this class has helped my understanding of the spanish culture so much as give me more sterotypes of them. I continue to work towards a better understanding.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Lisa. I agree with your posting about the film. There was an awful lot of smuggling going on, and people traveling about like they were in Motorcycle Diaries.
ReplyDeleteI think that the films in this class have given me a perspective of the Hispanc culture. I for one have never had a Hispanic patient before, but I will know that if I have a female patient, more than likely, the husband will be making the decisions, or the wife will look to the husband to make the decisions. I am sure that there will be lots of family members coming to see the patient, including extended relatives, since this is part of their culture, to stick together. Also, when I was doing my first essay, I did mine on Hispanic food. This will also help to know what kind of diet they like and do not like.
This assessment was very accurate. I have had very few hispanic patients, but the idea of hot climate cultures also influences many cultures.
ReplyDeleteI have taken care of Arabic and Asian patients, and they also have similar influences.