I just watched this movie on my hotel TV in the middle of the Australian outback while on vacation. It completely drew me in, even when I had the TV on mute. I watched the entire movie without really feeling anything but I was entranced and intrigued by the visuals and the plot line and the backgrounds of the characters ...
**SPOILER** So I would normally give it 6 out of 10, but then I learned that animals were actually truly harmed in the making of this film -- not something you hear about anymore, I think. (I wasn't too impressed either by the response of the production company when the film was protested: "we had permission to kill the bulls" and "the activists are just trying to get attention". Are we three-year-olds?) **SPOILER** The story was told so delicately in the film that I was surprised that Benigno's character actually was guilty of rape. I watched the whole conclusion of the film waiting to find out he was innocent and by the end I still wasn't convinced; it was only when I read the reviews that I realized that that really was the plot. The writing of this behavior for this character just didn't fit for me. It was completely not believable.
**SPOILER** Those things bothered me a little but it was tolerable. I was ready to go to sleep when I read some other reviewers rationalizing the rape of Alicia: it was in the name of love; he really loved her; he believed she loved him back; she was there naked in front of him everyday.
**SPOILER** Alicia was comatose. She could not speak or move. She had no voice, no say, in what she was experiencing. She couldn't tell Benigno if his breath smelled or if she liked his cologne; she couldn't tell him if she enjoyed his stories or if she found him self-obsessed and rambling; she couldn't tell him "I'm in love with you" or "I'm not ready to make love to you" or "Please put some clothes on me, you pervert!" As another reader said, one-sided love is not love. Benigno's love affair was a delusion that was fueled by the circumstance of coma, but that's no excuse for his behavior.
I want to make sure that its romance is removed for everyone reading this review: **SPOILER MAJOR SPOILERS** Imagine that you are a woman waking up from a coma. You are told that a year of your life has passed. That you were in a car accident and have very little chance of dancing again, something that was your life's passion. You have been caressed and fondled and had your body trespassed upon in innumerable ways, without your knowledge or permission, in the name of good medical care. You have been pregnant, in fact you have given birth, by a man who you did not love, someone who revolted and frightened you. This stuff is not romantic, it's rape.
So, now then, I'm going to submit this for review. Good night folks. I wish you all some wonderful movie-viewing in your future, and hopefully no more movies that paint rape in beautiful colors.
**SPOILER** So I would normally give it 6 out of 10, but then I learned that animals were actually truly harmed in the making of this film -- not something you hear about anymore, I think. (I wasn't too impressed either by the response of the production company when the film was protested: "we had permission to kill the bulls" and "the activists are just trying to get attention". Are we three-year-olds?) **SPOILER** The story was told so delicately in the film that I was surprised that Benigno's character actually was guilty of rape. I watched the whole conclusion of the film waiting to find out he was innocent and by the end I still wasn't convinced; it was only when I read the reviews that I realized that that really was the plot. The writing of this behavior for this character just didn't fit for me. It was completely not believable.
**SPOILER** Those things bothered me a little but it was tolerable. I was ready to go to sleep when I read some other reviewers rationalizing the rape of Alicia: it was in the name of love; he really loved her; he believed she loved him back; she was there naked in front of him everyday.
**SPOILER** Alicia was comatose. She could not speak or move. She had no voice, no say, in what she was experiencing. She couldn't tell Benigno if his breath smelled or if she liked his cologne; she couldn't tell him if she enjoyed his stories or if she found him self-obsessed and rambling; she couldn't tell him "I'm in love with you" or "I'm not ready to make love to you" or "Please put some clothes on me, you pervert!" As another reader said, one-sided love is not love. Benigno's love affair was a delusion that was fueled by the circumstance of coma, but that's no excuse for his behavior.
I want to make sure that its romance is removed for everyone reading this review: **SPOILER MAJOR SPOILERS** Imagine that you are a woman waking up from a coma. You are told that a year of your life has passed. That you were in a car accident and have very little chance of dancing again, something that was your life's passion. You have been caressed and fondled and had your body trespassed upon in innumerable ways, without your knowledge or permission, in the name of good medical care. You have been pregnant, in fact you have given birth, by a man who you did not love, someone who revolted and frightened you. This stuff is not romantic, it's rape.
So, now then, I'm going to submit this for review. Good night folks. I wish you all some wonderful movie-viewing in your future, and hopefully no more movies that paint rape in beautiful colors.