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Come See the Paradise (1990)
Unnecessary parts to the plot
This movie tells a story that often many Americans do not recall. When we think of camps, we usually think about how Americans were heroes who liberated Nazi camps during the second World War. However, this story lets you observe the many aspects of Japanese internment and how many American citizens were imprisoned by the way that they looked rather than for having committed a crime.
I find the first half an hour or so unnecessary. You are introduced to a Japanese family and their business, and Dennis Quaid's character. His character is actually pretty unnecessary in the movie. He does not really contribute anything to the plot besides being married to a japanese girl. Of course, this was rather odd at the time since the Japanese were considered the enemy, but that is pretty much it in my opinion. The movie could have retold the exact same story and saved us about 45 minutes in telling us about Japanese internment without the use of his character. THis is not to say the movie is bad, but it is pretty long for no reason other than to include an american that you are supposed to be inclined into liking.
As If I Am Not There (2010)
Survival
One of the main depictions of this film is the struggle of a young woman to survive encampment during the Bosnian war. The Yugoslav state suffered and became divided as Croats declared independence and the Serbians tried to claim what they thought was theirs. THe result was the encampment of Bosnians including the Main character Samira.
Samira is a very interesting character to say the least. Although one might think that Samira is selfish because she cares only about her survival because she sleeps with the Serbian captain running the camp, I believe there is a dual nature in our protagonist. Firstly, I think humans innately want to survive. I think its part of our nature and is why we have lasted thousands of years. Samira engages in survival sex even if it involves sleeping with a Serbian causing so much death and destruction. Even so, I think that the second part of Samira's nature is that she cares for others even if she does not want to. When she got gathered from the village, all she asked was who was to teach the children if she was gone. At the camp, one of the first things she does is help a sick man and give her bread to a hungry child. While engaging in the survival sex, she brings the other women food even if they call her out for holding onto her identity and also for seeing the captain. She takes care of the little girl after she was raped. At the very end of the movie, when she realizes she has a baby, she tries to abandon it. Emphasis on the "tries." She just couldn't. The final scene includes her coming back and breastfeeding the child as she cries. So even when trying to be selfish and abandon the product of a rape, she simply cannot help but to be there for the innocent.
That is the resilience of a lot of the women of the concentration camps. Many were raped and tortured. THere is not much to say for Bosniak men in the film since they were basically all killed, but this film portrays the strength of women in troubling times.
La vita è bella (1997)
Impactful movie. Perfect name.
I absolutely loved this movie. I recently saw this film and at first you I did not think of it as a holocaust film. If you cut the movie in half, the first half could be its own short Romantic Comedy, and the second half would be a dark movie with a comedic approach.
Roberto Benigni is an amazing actor and director. His character was highly likable and was very quick thinking. The film's title really makes me think of Guido (Benigni) because throughout the film all he ever cared about was living life based around love. His wife loved him so much that she also got on the train to the concentration camp. He loved her so much that he did things that would have guaranteed his death (and ultimately did) just to prove to her that he only thought of her. He kept his child safe from the brutal reality he was living in. The scene where Guido carries his son through the misty camp night makes me super sad because of the huge pile of bodies that Guido almost runs into. For the first time, his face showed fear and shock which seemed like a defeat for the lovable character. In the end, he marches in a goofy manner for his son to see. This can only make you cry since both the viewer and Guido himself know his death is coming. Ultimately, I actually enjoy the somewhat comedic approach Benigni took when producing this film because it does not undermine the holocaust, but rather it provides viewers with a perspective that provides hope and love that really make you value life much more. I completely believe the title of this film is accurate, and viewing of this film will certainly make you feel that Life is Beautiful.