After watching the film I still have the same response
walking away. I thought the suicide did not have the proper build up to it. Now
I do understand that it was made in the 60's and it was very controversial, I
just felt that if it had more of a build up, like an extra 15 minutes just
helping us the viewers get more attached it would have hit us harder. As well I
am not sure if I am the only one who was upset about this, but I felt that
Diouna was a bit of a brat. Her back in South Africa she just seemed spoiled,
like here jumping on top of the wall that she was told not to. It would be the
equivalent today of jumping on a monument we have here. I just didn't get the
point of it and it made her seem spoiled and bratty in all situations. So from
what I saw I just didn't like her as a character.
When it
came to the mask in the film, I felt the mask was like a peace offering. That
she gave it to her employers as a sign of peace and friendship, but then her
employers did not treat her like a person, but basically a slave with ALL the
work she had to do. So in the end when she took back the mask and killed
herself it made the mask symbolic so that after she passed and the employers
handled the situation, they would be left with the memory of HER mask. This I think
was very effective from a film point of view when you have the kid chasing the
man back to the airplane with the mask. All in all though the film was good, I
just felt it needed an extra 15 minutes to truly get across it point and cause
an impact.
Chris, we all definitely agree that suicide was not the answer to the way Diouana was treated. I see what you mean by Diouana seeming a little bratty but I think it really symbolized her freedom. She did not listen to her boyfriend saying no, because she made her own decisions. She could have also said no to her employers but she did not feel free to do so. I agree with what you said about the little boy and the mask.
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