Monthly Archives: helmikuu 2015

In 2008 Anthony Fabian directed the film Skin, which is the story of a black girl named Sandra Laing (Sophie Okonedo). Sandra was born in 1955 to white Afrikaner parents during the Apartheid in South Africa. Skin is based on the book ”When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race” of Judith Stone. The Apartheid was a system of racial segregation in South Africa from 1948 to 1991. During the 1950’s there were many new laws about the separation of white and colored people. Population Registration Act decided the definition of the race and registration of South Africans. The population was divided into white, black, colored and later Indian. Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act in 1949 forbade any kind of relationships between white and colored people. In the same year Group Areas Act defined different areas with races. In the movie the government gave a permission to destroy colored’s residential area to make it Afrikaner’s property. It made me feel so frustrated and sad. It’s wrong to define someone because the color of their skin, features of their face, social status, religion, background, gender or age. It isn’t right to mistreat people because the way they look. In the end we all bleed the same colour.

Skin is an extraordinary story about forgiveness, bitterness and survival. Sandra is normal young girl who doesn’t realize why she is so ordinary and why her skin color is different than her parents or big brother’s.  She struggles to adapt in white people’s world despite she is legally white. It must have been confusing to young girl to understand the people’s prejudices and humiliating eyes. When she was a child, her father adored her, but when she grew up he get bitter and bitter. He wanted Sandra to date a white Afrikaner, but she fell in love with a local vegetable seller, a black man named Petrus Zwane. Sandra’s father, Abraham (Sam Neill), got really upset when he found out that his daughter is dating a Kaffer (the word is used in South Africa to refer to a black person). The anger is touchable. It felt sad and absurd that she wasn’t allowed to be with a man she loved.

Eventually Sandra escaped with Petrus and got pregnant. She lost her bond with her parents because Abraham was too selfish and bitter to admit that his daughter is happy with a black man.  He decided not to remember Sandra as his child. From that day on, they didn’t see each other anymore. It took ten years from Abraham to regret what he had done. He didn’t get a chance to apologize because he died to a cancer, but I think that Sandra forgave her father in her heart. Skin was a brilliant movie about the meaning of the family and life. It doesn’t matter how many years you have been away from your family because those years won’t take your love away. Sandra got to see her mother, Sannie (Alice Krige), after 20 years apart. The scene was heart-warming. Sadness, suffering and longing were all gone. They had found each other again.

During the Apartheid white and colored had their own park benches, beaches and waiting rooms. A black person wasn’t allowed to sit or eat at same place where white people did. To Sandra Laing it was something else than just sitting in different chair or shopping in different stores than white. She was a survivor. She survived from a racial discrimination, fear and her husband’s abusing. Her story is here to remind us that we can cope with difficult situations and after all we can find happiness if we never give up.

Kanerva Kivistö 2B

The boy in the striped pyjamas is directed by Mark Herman (2008). The film based on the novel by John Boyne and it sets in the Second World War. The movie is about a 8-year-old boy named Bruno (Asa Butterfield) whose father Ralf (David Thewlis) is German soldier. One day the family must move to the country, next to the concentration camp. Bruno doesen’t like their new home because the place is boring and he has no friends. However there is a backyard where he is not allowed to go and of course he wants to take a look what there is. Bruno founds a garden shed. He sneaks off the window and goes to the camp and meet Shmuel (Jack Scanlon). Bruno doesen’t understand why is Shmuel in the camp. He visits to Shmuel every day and bring him some food, eventually he realizes that Shmuel is a Jew. Bruno’s mother Elsa (Vera Farmiga) can’t stands the events of the camp and she wants to move away with children. Bruno’s sister Gretel (Amber Beattie) is happy when she hears that they move closer their relatives and friends but Bruno is sad. He decides to meet Shmuel for the last time but then he finds out that Shmuel’s father is missing. Next day he comes again to the camp, digs under the fence and puts on the same outfit than all prisoners have. Now boys are ready to find Shmuel’s father. At the end of the movie Bruno and Shmuel and many other Jews die in the gas chamber.

I liked movie although it was really hard to watch but it felt real and it is sad that things what happened in the movie have been true. The atmosphere of the movie was oppressive and children’s innocence was touching. But the end was tragic, I just couldn’t help crying. The movie left me speechless and also a little angry. I just can’t undestand why people have been so stupid. I’m so happy that I can live in this world even if there are a lot of problems. Hopefully people have learned something from that time.

”When life gives you lemonade, make lemons. Life will be all like ’WHAAAT?’” – Phil Dunphy

There was a time when me and my family spent our nights scrolling down Netflix in hope of finding something decent to watch, but this one time there was a show that caught our eye. That show was Modern Family. From the first minutes I was completely hooked.

Modern Family is a situational comedy created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan. It centers around the lives of three families. Jay Pritchett is the father of Claire and Mitchell, who both have families on their own. Claire is married to Phil Dunphy and has three children, Mitchell has a daughter with his partner (and later on husband) Cameron. After Jay divorced his first wife, he married a much younger woman, Gloria, who has a son named Manny. Later Jay and Gloria also have a baby together. Are you confused already? Good.
We occasionally get a closer look of each family members thoughts through interviews in which they express their thoughts and motives. The show’s premise might sound a little clumsy, but trust me, it works.

The cast of Modern Family is full of amazing actors like Ty Burrell, Ed O’Neill, Eric Stonestreet and Sofia Vergara. The show may sound unoriginal at first, especially the Dunphy family reminds us of a typical sitcom family. The family seems to be full of stereotypes; the nagging mother (Claire), the dad who acts like a child (Phil), the nerdy daughter (Alex), the dumb but pretty daughter (Haley) and the son, who is not the brightest crayon in the box either (Luke). We have seen them all before, but when the character development marches on we will notice, that they don’t stay as two-dimensional caricatures.

The characters are the best part of the series. Everyone is sometimes, if not most of the time, likeable and every character has a different kind of relationship with each member of the extended family. The relationships are the other strong point; all three main couples are able to be sickeningly sweet. There are lots of fights in every relationship, but the main reason for that is the fact that in this show opposites have attracted a little too much.
Gloria is very hot-headed and passionate, whereas Jay is calm, stubborn and cranky. Phil loves a good laugh and wants to be a ”cool dad”, but Claire is very strict, obsessive and perfectionistic. Mitchell shares his sister’s perfectionism and is kind of a snob. He’s a no-nonsense kind of lawyer and a polar opposite for Cameron who is very theatrical and flamboyant farmboy.
Also non-romantic relationships are adorable. There is sibling rivalry, ”daddy issues” and absolutely fantastic friendships.

Some people have criticized Modern Family’s casting for being stunningly white. I agree that there certainly should be more people of colour, but otherwise I applaud some of the diversity of this show. It has a great portrayal for interracial and same-sex relationships.
Of course I still have to complain about a few things. One of the problems with the representation in this show is the lack of on-screen affection between Jay & Gloria and Mitchell & Cameron. Claire and Phil get to have full-blown make out sessions and open talks about their sex life, whereas Jay and Gloria have had only a couple of scenes like that. They have gotten better though. With Mitch and Cam it gets nearly absurd; four kisses within the whole series.
Still I’m happy that a mainstream comedy show like Modern Family has two gay characters in the main cast, since it’s really important for the LGBT+ community to be representated this way in television; as normal people who can love and raise children. Some gay teenagers have got the courage to come out to their families after watching Modern Family with them, so representation matters.

The humour is glorious, especially on the first season. There are running jokes, like Phil stumbling in the same loose step over and over and saying that he is going to fix it (but he never does), or that Mitchell is terrified of birds.
There is usually a pun or a culture reference in the episode title (few examples ”A Hard Jay’s Night”, ”Strangers on a Treadmill” and ”Run for Your Wife”). Jokes in the series sound entertainingly spontanious. I think the humour in this show is really genuine and fresh.

At the end of an episode there is often a clever and insightful life lesson. Instead of sticking some kind of message down your throat they really teach you something important. My favourite life lessons from Modern Family are probably ”People are who they are, give or take fifteen percent. That’s how much people can change if they really want to”, ”The dreamers need the realists to keep them from soaring too close to the sun. And the realists? Well, without the dreamers, they might not ever get off the ground” and ”Ninety percent of being a dad is just showing up”.
Modern Family goes through some important themes. It shows how important it is to be supported by your family and how everyone has the right to be weak sometimes. It teaches us about how people will usually be able to grow, at least a tiny bit. Modern Family makes you laugh but it will also bring tears to your eyes, especially when something the character’s feeling hits you a little too close to the home. Many fans were teary eyed when Phil cried about his memories with his mother when she had just died, or when Mitchell and Jay had a fight about Jay’s attitude towards Mitchell’s upcoming wedding, or when Alex cried from relief when somebody finally understood how much pressure she was putting on herself.
You get really attached to these characters. In a weird way they become a part of your family.

Frosen is Disney’s animated movie that released in 2013. It was rated as one of the best Disney movie ever made. It is a story about Queen Elisa ja her sister little sister Anna. In the film Elsa has special power that freezes her surrounding. The only problem comes along when her power goes out of control. When that happened at her coronation day she made an eternal winter accidentally, because she was upset with her sister. Elsa leaves to the mountains to be alone and to make sure that she can’t hurt anyone anymore. As that happens the adventure begins when Anna goes to find her sister from the mountains and try to convince her to come back home. On the road she meets a boy, trolls and a talking snowman Olaf, who doesn’t know a thing about summer.

The screenplay is really funny and intresting tp watch, but you can clearly see that it’s made with computer like every animated  film nowdays. The songs of the movie are capturing and easily be stucked in you’re head for days. Well at least that’s what happened to me. One of the lead singers Indina Menzel is multi-talented and hits spectacular notes in the song called ”Let it go” which is in my opinion the most famous song of the movie. One of my favourite character of the movie is Olaf, the talking snowman, who shares sweet love around him and entertains with his cute sayings like ”some people are worth melting for”.

For me this movie is really sweet and good Disney movie. Pretty much everyone who has seen the film says that finally there is a princess movie that teaches girls they don’t need a boy or in this case a prince to save them and i agree to that. This time sisters save each other and they don’t need any man to help them. I also find it parable to real life when Elsa has a secret she can’t met anyone to know. In my opinion everyone has something so private that theydon’t want to or just simply can’t share it with others. Also everyone has something so unique like Elsa that nobody else has. I think this movie talks about letting those things go that keeps you reserved and just being yourself with every special power you have. Those two are the most important lessons of this movie. Becausethis is a childrens movie so there’s got to be a lessom or two.

In over all this movie is positive experience and great to watch with your friends or your family, expecially with youngest members of family.

Usually kidnapping thrillers start by filming a happy family dining in the kitchen table and soon their life will be shattered. Denis Villeneuve´s “Prisoners” (2013) does not start like that. In the first few minutes the father Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman), whom seems humorless and intense, lectures his son on how to always be prepared for the worst in life. There is always something to do in a tough situation. The dad has also collected a huge storage of canned food in the family´s basement just in case of catastrophe. It becomes clear to everyone that this man is not one you want to play with.

“Prisoners” deals with always topical genre but with a little twist. Two six-years-old suburban kids disappear and the only clue is a creepy RV, which had been seen parked in the neighborhood earlier. During the movie it really hits me: tens of thousands people disappear like this every day and practically no-one will never see them again. Keller’s daughter Anna is the other kidnapped girl and Keller becomes really aggressive due this situation and the mom becomes deeply depressed. Aspects of ”Prisoners” are effective, but for the most part it’s rather ridiculous, despite the fact that it clearly wants to be taken seriously. Acting is more or less aggravating and Hugh Jackman seems to try too hard to be concerned father in his leading role. His screaming through the film tells how weak this father is and that all he needs is something to make him feel powerful.

Investigating does not lead to anything because of  the RV owners mental abilities are more like toddlers. Alex is released due to lack of evidence and Dover takes matters to his own hands and kidnaps RV´s owner Alex (Paul Dano) and violates him several times. Jake Gyllenhaal, whom plays detective Loki, has internalized policeman habits super-well. Gyllenhaal has had many film festival nominees from this supporting actor role. Again a nice performance from Gyllenhaal. Dano is unfamiliar actor to me but he really made it interesting to see how the movie ends. To my surprise the ending was nothing to be expected and somehow it seemed like it ended a bit short and the viewer must guess how the story ends. The whole movie seemed to lose some of my interest because of the short ending. I waited over two hours and in a blink of an eye it was suddenly over. I was left cold.

Director Villeneuve gives a couple of truly suspenseful scenes. One is a chase through the nighttime back yards of the neighborhood after a candlelight vigil. By the time the viewer has almost forgotten this scenery, this mysterious man reveals to be part of this crazy revenge theory.

The movie didn´t seem to have too much music playing in any point but there certainly was noices making scenes more convincing and it worked well with the movie itself. Sondtrack fitted well to the movie.

After watching this movie I was amazed by the brilliant camerawork. It was obvious right  from the start that the camerawork was out of this world. The scenery is rather dark and it highlights this oppressive atmosphere and there are quite much close sceneries and interesting perspectives. When I heard that “Prisoners” had had Oscar nominee for it´s filming – I wasn´t surprised.

Without further do “Prisoners” is a great movie and it makes me think just how far we are willing to go to protect our family.

If I Stay (2014), is the drama movie directed by R.J. Cutler. It is based on the novel by Gayle Forman’s If I Stay for 2009. In the leading role of the film (Mia) is young and beautiful Chloë Grace Moretz. In the film as in real life, she is only 17 years old. Mia has boyfriend Adam who acts the role in Jamie Blackley. Mia and Adam are really different persons, but they have one thing what they both love the whole heart, music. Adam sings in the band and Mia plays a cello incredibly well. Music brought them together.

To sum up, the movie tells about young love, a passion for music, family and friendships, until happens a turning point, the car accident. The main character has to fight for life or death. As usual, this movie is not just waiting if Mia is going to wake up or not and relatives are crying beside her bed. It is much deeper and sensitive. Basically, Mia can choose if she wants to live or not. I think the movie is great done in all regions but especially while in a coma, Mia is outside the physical body, and she goes through her life and wonders if she should stay. After the accident her life wouldn’t be the same, so the decision is anything but easy. Adam is big part of her decision and by all means he is trying to make her stay. At the end of the movie, Adam’s scene next to Mia’s bed and at the same time Mia’s ”spirit” is looking at Adam is one of my favorite part of the movie. I bet many people can’t watch this scene without crying.

The movie is in all truth really touching and it is described so well. I think, young love power and passion for music just make this movie stole my heart. Of course respect to young actors who made the film so realistic. You must absolutely figure out by watching the movie whether if she stays.

The movie is quite new and that is why I want to write about it. I hope everyone who is interested in drama movies and little bit romantic will watch this someday. I can only recommend it.