Critical Moviegoers

By Benjamín Nelson Valenzuela Salvatierra

Society has always witnessed fights between the good and the bad sides. Batman: The Dark Knight shows this struggle in an extended fight, not only between the Batman and the Joker, but it does also involve the whole city. Both of them represent the opposite for each other. Both of them seem to have some kind of connection, a sort of necessity. They are surely not complete without the other one. That is exactly what happens in real life too. There is no such thing as good, there is not a bad side. That is what you get in the two and a half hours of this movie, a lot of tension, a lot of evil, a lot of innocent people suffering the consequences, and yet one man who stood up against all the cruelty he found.

The movie is full of evil, obviously from the Joker; he manages to get the whole city into a fear state. He seems to be unpredictable and very capable. He is indeed a man of his word, as he himself states. He was an anarchist, who did not have any particular motivation, but to destroy. This is how the thing works sometimes. You do not even understand why someone uses all their abilities in causing damage to others. Throughout recent years, there are several examples of this madness in people. Serial killers are not just in the movies. They are these people who just enjoy doing what society finds cruel.

On the other hand, there is the Batman, leading all of those people who are against any kind of criminal actions. The life of all these people gets threatened, because of all of this sequence of events that the Joker (carefully) planned. Batman, as society itself, seems to be with his hands tied. Something similar happens nowadays, with this awful law system. Criminals get more benefits than innocent people. Innocent people get less and less guaranties of a safe life. Still, there is always this desire of fighting against the irregularities, criminals, and all of the wrong things that somehow can appear in your life, no matter how lucky you are.

This is not just a good movie, it is also a good example of how things work in real life. The script has a lot of symbolism. Well-made characters that the first time will make you feel thrilled, but then you will understand the message that this outstanding film will let you read. It shows you that hope is never to be lost. Batman himself says at the end of the movie “This city just showed you that it is full of people ready to believe in good”. Finally, you understand that those who fight against all of these wrong situations in our world are not those who show off. Real heroes do not need to be claimed as heroes. Their only reward will be the ability to do things right, to make things better.

By Claudia Paz Niño de Zepeda Alvear

Justice. What a beautiful and strange word. I am sure that while you are watching the news or reading the newspaper you have thought, at least once, about how unfair life can get, or about how injustice takes over daily life. But, have you ever thought about taking justice on your own hands? This is the main topic that the movie Kick-ass, released this year, takes into consideration for the development of the plot. This is the story of Dave Lizewski, a teenager who dreams about being a superhero, fighting against evil and having the attention and love of the girl he loves secretly. To achieve his objective, Dave decides to wear a green and yellow costume to hide his identity so he can go out every night, after school, to battle against criminals. He sees himself involved in a lot of dreadful situations because he lacks training and he does not know about weapons. Dave is a normal person who applies justice with his own methods. Is this the right path to take? Most of the times, I do not think so. I think that justice must be applied by a person who is not involved with the subject in discussion, but sometimes justice is not applied in a proper manner.

On one hand, I find Chilean justice very fascinating. This is not because I will suddenly decide to be a lawyer, but because I have seen in the news some very interesting law trials; for instance, some people are punished because they do not cut the grass outside their house, as it happened some years ago in Providencia, while other people, criminals who have stolen perhaps violently, are free to go out of jail two days after they are accused. Is justice well applied in such cases? I do not believe in that; I think that there are problems with laws that were written ages ago, which surface in what now are everyday cases and also, that there are some excellent lawyers, who are capable of saving the worst kind of criminals from jail. I think that both common sense and ethics are part of the game of justice.

On the other hand, there are difficult cases where a strong hand and a well organised mind are needed to take the best decision possible. Cases involving raping, murder, violation of children’s freedom and rights, etc, demand a clear opinion of somebody with power and wisdom. If this does not happen, if a judge does not have these qualities in him or her, the families involved with a case may take the worst decision ever: to take justice with their own hands, driven by blind rage and an indescribable lust for blood. Namely, this happened some months ago, here in Santiago, where people from certain neighborhood killed a man by hitting him hard, only because they thought he was looking at the girls who were playing in the street. He was in the wrong place, at the wrong time… and he died in the street, victim of the people who were looking for justice.

To summarise, justice is a serious issue that must not be taken lightly, all the facts must be considered and every hint of subjectivity must be left aside in order to achieve the best of judgments in a given situation. I think that justice must be applied seriously, knowing everything that is involved in the case to be able to take a good decision of punishment. By no means can justice be taken by your own hands, as Dave did in the movie Kick-ass. Feelings must not be mixed with concrete facts, as far as justice is concerned. But we must also pay attention to the measures that are taken; they are not always right for the case.

By Benjamín Nelson Valenzuela Salvatierra 

It was the most important awards’ night of the year. I had all my stuff ready to go to the red carpet and report for our blog to let you know what was going on over there. The theatre was full of people from all over the world. Journalists, actors, directors and producers from the business of entertaining met for about two hours. The show was about to begin and you would not believe me what happened if the news hadn’t shown it.

The photographers had been shooting at a certain spot more than usual and I tried to get closer. It was Megan Fox arguing with her date and the thing got really tough. The man was about to hit her when I stepped in to avoid it. I don’t even know how or why I did it. It was just something automatic. Everyone seemed pleased with what I did. The guards took the man away.

Finally, I decided to let the situation go with the flow. I just couldn’t do anything else. She grabbed my arm and made me walk the red carpet next to her. That was the closest I ever got to all the people we you and I admire, all in one place. I was amazed and I couldn’t believe what was happening. I ended up being Megan Fox’s date. That was definitively the best night of my life…If you know what I mean.

By Claudia Paz Niño de Zepeda Alvear

It was a long time ago, on a rather cold April afternoon, when I first met the Harry Potter books. I was only eleven, just like the protagonist, I had only read few pages and I was already unleashing my imagination, lost in the magic that was being described, fantasizing about becoming a witch and studying at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I found the plot of the first book so amazing and entertaining that I couldn’t wait to read the second one. I also loved the way in which J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter saga, described things like friendship, sacrifice and bravery. This book was opening a brand new world, right in front of me. All I had to do to get fully lost into that world was cross the barrier. And so I did.

But reality was quite different from the books and soon I realised that I couldn’t live inside my imagination forever. Real life was beginning to strike me with the fiercest ferocity that I’ve ever faced; my so called school friends didn’t understand the power this saga was having over me… Slowly, my teenager years were forcing me to abandon all I believed in so I could fit in the group of friends I had. I sadly gave up on talking to my friends about this magical world I was discovering book by book, but I never stopped reading, I only needed to keep it as the secret they didn’t need to know. My best kept secret, if you want to put it that way. Those were long years living a secret life, daydreaming of the day when I would finally be able to show my real feelings about the saga without being mercilessly bullied. I was getting weaker by this double life I was leading, but, at the same time, the adventures that Harry Potter lived and survived throughout the books were giving me the strength I needed to overcome these kinds of situations; he was a bullied boy too. Of course I was not fighting against the evilest wizard in history, but those were pretty bad times I was living.

The year I left school, I decided to give myself a gap year to figure out some things inside my head and some other things concerning my future. After a couple of rather awful situations and complicated endings with the people I met in school, I decided to be completely free from every chain that was keeping my secret hidden. After some time on my own, I joined a Harry Potter fan community here in Santiago. I must confess that the first few Saturdays were kind of awkward, it was hard for me to just let go all of the bad moments I had lived, but it was really relieved because here I found some truly good friends, who are just as Potter nerds as I am. These friends have been with me since the day we met and have never had prejudices about what I like or what makes me who I am, because we are very similar in the essentials – even if we’ve had our differences, just like any other group of people. Besides having met this great bunch of people, one of my deepest dreams has finally come true: I had the chance to meet one of the actors of the movies. What’s next? I don’t know, but I’m sure it will be something excellent.

To: Dominique Andreu Cooper
From: Joaquín Eguren Álvarez
Date: 16 November 2010
Subject: Chilean movies that should be exhibited by “Cine Móvil INJUV” (Mobile Film INJUV).


Introduction

This report is written to analyse and illustrate what Chilean Movies could be exhibited by your national program “Cine Móvil INJUV”. The program is focused on bringing Chilean films to children, who do not have enough money to pay for their tickets. It is completely free and it goes over the country. I have called “Chile Films” to check the availability of the movies, and when they can hand them to your team in case you agree with my selection.

Chilean movies to exhibit

You might think that in Chile, few movies have been produced or are rich in good content. First of all, I would like to mention that the Chilean film industry starts in 1924-1925 with “Un grito en el mar”, and with “El Husar de la Muerte”, both directed by Pedro Sienna. Since then, many movies, directors and actors have been appearing in local Cinemas. However, I have made a selection of what movies are appropriate for children. In addition, the choosing has been made based on two points; first, the message that the movie can convey, and second its relation with the history of our country. In my opinion, these are the movies that should be displayed by your program:

1. City of Photographers: is a documentary by Sebastián Moreno, which shows us the power of photography. It is located during Pinochet’s dictatorship, and is the result of the union of many photographers, who did not want to be mere spectators of the Chilean military repression, so they decided that taking pictures was a way to be free, it was a way to show the world what was going on in Chile. Soldiers had their weapons, photographers had their cameras. This movie can be used as an example for children to illustrate that we do not have to be indifferent to the problems of our country, no matter what they do; they will always be able to fight against oppression and inequality. Moreover, it tells you about the history of our country, especially about one period which is barely discussed within schools and families.

2. XS-La peor talla (The worst joke or the worst size): written by Gonzalo Maza y Luis Ponce, it tells the story of a normal school. Victor Camus is a typical guy whose best friend is Jalil. “El máquina” is the bully, and Pamela, the girl that everyone wants to date. They live their lives independently, but then, tension starts to increase and so do problems, based on a little commentary about “El máquina”. This movie deals with the so-called “bullying”. It could be used to exemplify how a little commentary can take people into deep states of desperation and sadness.


Conclusion

I would not hesitate to recommend both movies to your program. I would like to add, that extra handouts could be used after watching the movie, in order to create a comfortable atmosphere for children to reflect. Finally, there is no doubt that these two movies can be easily understood by children, they can also convey historical facts of our country and at the same time teach children how important it is to respect each other.

By Joaquín Antonio Eguren Álvarez

It is an interesting topic, isn’t it? Well, you might think that economy is boring and if economy is boring for you, you won’t be very excited to read this article, but let me ask you something, do you know how economy works? Have you ever wondered how our world is being run?  Two very complex questions to answer. It seems that nobody wants to answer them. You never see people on television explaining what economy is, the only thing you see, is some numbers and statistics, which decide whether our country is doing well or not. What would you say if I told you that there is a terrific documentary, which will explain you, how our economic world works? It seems that someone wants to keep reading.

Zeitgeist is a german word, which means “the spirit of the time”, and is also the name of the documentary that I’ve just introduced. Directed by Peter Joseph, it is concerned with a topic which is always important but never discussed: global economy.  By watching this documentary, you’ll realise that understanding economy is not as complicated as we are used to thinking. You’ll also realise that many of our beliefs, are fake, some of them are based on corrupt institutions, which at the same, are being controlled by a group of men, who are supposed to be the world’s owners. The men behind the curtain. In addition, themes such as: religion, democracy, freedom, war against terrorism, economy and imperialism, are also debated and argued by well-known political scientists and historians. I am quite sure that after seeing Zeitgeist, your entire world will turn around three hundred and sixty degrees.

All in all, I highly recommend you to keep doing research about this movie after watching it. If you never asked about this, if you never wanted to be involved in this, that must change, and the best way to do it, is being aware of what it is and how it works. Zeitgeist, a word that you will probably never forget.

By Joaquín Antonio Eguren Álvarez

Have you ever thought of how important our sun is? I’m pretty sure you have done it. Let’s suppose that one day, in a nearer future, the sun starts giving up its energy. It is quite obvious that it would have a devastating effect on the Earth. The most part of human vegetation would die; they wouldn’t be able to make photosynthesis. Temperatures would decrease to -323 K and suddenly everything would start coming to pieces. I think you will agree that, this will happen in maybe two thousand more years, which is exactly where our movie begins. Do you want to be a hero? This is definitely your chance.

“Sunshine” is a futuristic movie, which tells the story of a group of astronauts, who are sent to re-ignite the dying sun. 7 years before, the “Icarus I” was sent to revive the sun, but unfortunately the mission failed. So, here we find the plot of this story, when the “Icarus II” is sent to space as the last hope of humanity. Of course, it won’t be easy, they will have to face several troubles, some of them will be coexistence problems and some of them will be technical problems of the spacecraft. While you are watching the movie, you will realise that it is not the typical futuristic movie in which the American save the world, no. Here we find that the crew is composed of several characters that come from countries such as: the UK, China, the U.S.A, Russia, etc. Moreover, what it really gives a realistic effect to this movie, it is music. In many scenes we can appreciate how its sound track takes you into space and gives a realistic feeling of being on board the “Icarus II”. In addition, it creates a perfect atmosphere for reflection, a moment to be in peace and start wondering about life while you are watching the outstanding images of space.

All in all, if you always wanted to be an astronaut, but then when you grow up, you realized how hard was to become a cosmonaut, this is a movie which will bring back all your hidden emotions of travelling to space, and it will make you part of the Icarus’ crew. To make a long story short, excellent soundtrack, incredible effects and a well-developed plot are the constituents of Sunshine, a marvellous journey to space in a complex mission. Would you be the fifth crew member?

By Benjamín Nelson Valenzuela Salvatierra

The Prestige is a story about two men who were making their way into a competitive business. The difficult business of being a magician, or more accurately, an illusionist. This is mainly what moves the plot in The Prestige. There is a big rivalry, between these two former magician’s assistants. There is too much ambition from both of these young hard-working, but not equally talented magicians. It is an interesting plot, a well done script, and the excellent performances by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale makes this movie a great choice. The remarkable direction by Christopher Nolan (Inception, Memento, The Dark Knight) and his characteristic darkened environments, are also good reasons to watch this movie.

The rivalry gets out of control and both of them lose their minds trying to achieve the best of the shows. There is also a mixture of love, death, unfaithfulness, and lies all over the movie that can confuse you, because you know these men are not reliable. They’re illusionists, they like to play with you, they use love to make you believe something that it is not really true. It’s just part of their job. Once they get to the ultimate illusion, the stages turn into a battlefield. Innocents will be the ones who will lose the most in this battle. They took really high costs in their way to prove themselves as the best magician.

Borden (Bale) and Angier (Jackman) will deal with their issues throughout the entire movie. You will have to deal with your concentration in order to follow them every step of the way. You wouldn’t like to be fooled, attention and full concentration is needed. So, when they ask “Are you watching closely?” they cannot make you play the fool. Remember “the secret impresses no one. The trick you use it for is everything”. Take a good chair and sit back as you watch this movie, you might be fooled more than once.

By Claudia Paz Niño de Zepeda Alvear.

By Benjamín Nelson Valenzuela Salvatierra

There are movies that you can watch just to have a good time, maybe some laughter. There are other movies that will take you deeply into some sort of reflexive thoughts. It might depend on your mood, to decide what you prefer to watch, but let me tell you about a good movie for those moments when you feel like thinking a little. The 25th Hour is one of those movies that will surely make you think about your own life. Indeed, it will make you think about human relationships. Edward Norton is on the verge of becoming an academy-winner from my point of view, especially with this kind of performance. Here, playing a drug dealer, he is caught by the police, being sentenced to 7 years of prison. The story follows with the last day of this drug dealer as a free man.

Throughout the story, you realize that this particular drug dealer was not someone that you could accuse of being a bad man, he had made mistakes (a lot), but then again, he was not the kind of man full of evil. Monty (Norton) was actually part of the high-school’s basketball team. The problem was that he started to sell marihuana to some students. Later, he enjoyed the easy money so much, that he couldn’t stop his wrong ways. Monty recognizes, in one of the greatest scenes of the movie, that he had it all to succeed. He knew his life was promising, and yet he blew it all. Moreover, his high-school friends were not the kind of friends you would call best friend forever. They were more like the kind of classmate you have been in touch with, but not necessarily a legit friend. They also recognize they were not acting right, when they witnessed Monty taking bad decisions over and over again.

Finally, as he approaches to his deadline, he and his own process take more importance, he decides that he can’t look good when entering prison and makes his own friend beat him. Somehow, it was a desperate move, but he thought it could help. In the end, another great scene happens. His father is the man who does the narration in the ending now. He builds a life to his own son, in order to avoid prison. No detail is left behind and everything seems to work out quite good. Again, an outstanding ending for this movie, that makes you feel in the mood to rethink some things. The movie ends with an outstanding script. “It all came so close to never happening. This life came so close to never happening.”

Dear readers,

I am here writing to all of you who love to watch movies. As we all do in this blog. Here I intend to make you realize the importance of our own cinema industry.

I think that we are always complaining that Chilean movies are redundant in their thematic. Indeed, we are really good when it comes to complaints, not so good when it comes to real support. Honestly, Chilean movies have been improving over the years, and it is already a good time for us to compensate that improvement. It must be a little annoying to see how popular a foreign movie becomes in just a week, when you are a filmmaker that does not receive that kind of attention from your own people.

We have to give some recognition to the people behind the scenes of the movies that are made here. There have been several initiatives to make the industry grow, and yet we do not seem to take them seriously. Instead, there you are going to the movies that are being the focus of attention, not because of a good plot, but because the most famous actors are in it.

I have already presented my reasons. You are now the one who has to decide the next time you go to the movies. Hopefully, you will take this into account. I am really interested in watching good movies as I am sure you all are. All we have to do is help a little in order to allow them to make a do job.

Yours sincerely,
Benjamín Valenzuela, a movie lover.

Dear Critical Moviegoers writers,

My name is Amanda Bennett and I have been following your blog for quite some time already. I have noticed that all the movies you have picked are focused on teenagers, young adults and adults. But what happens with movies for children? These are important movies that you are leaving behind. I think it would be very important to add texts related to these kinds of movies, so your target audience would be wider. Also, it would be very beneficiary for you.

I think that, as university writers, you should not be closing your discussions up to certain topics just because of the age of your audience. I think that you are not taking children or parents into consideration when you choose the movies you write about. This is very disappointing because this is a great blog to be shared with the whole family.

Moreover, as future teachers, you should be able to connect with all kinds of people, no matter how old they are, using a language that can be understood without sacrificing the quality of your lexicon. For this reason, it would be helpful for you to take movies for children seriously, as I have seen that you connect well enough with teenagers and adults. Your big flaw has been to leave boys and girls out of your sight.

It has been a pleasure for me to read your texts; I think that movies are a topic that can be as varied as you want it to be, there is always a certain movie that lets you debate about the topic you want to discuss. But I think that movies for children must not be left aside because they convey powerful messages with simple language, something that could be useful for you, as pedagogy students. As a future mother, I would like my children to be taught by teachers who can bond with students of all ages, not only teenagers.

Yours truly,
Amanda Bennett.