O Heroi - Maggie Varga

Watching Vitorio day-to-day live a post-war life was very depressing to me. He struggled for necessities and held on to the fact that he was a "war hero." He was stuck in his past, and he seemed to have slight post-traumatic stress disorder. He couldn't assimilate to life after the war. Instead of finding work, which I'm sure was difficult anyway due to that economy, he would go to the club and drink often. He seems a little irresponsible, and uses being a war hero as an excuse for his actions.

Once his prosthetic leg gets stolen, he seems to focus all of his attention to getting a new one or finding his old one. His leg represents his ability to live life no longer as a cripple,  which is his own personal freedom. This is similar to the mask in Black Girl and Mory's shoes in And So Angels Die. Freedom is tied to these items and once they are in the possession of the character, they feel their life has changed, when in reality they could control their own freedom. Diouana could have quit the job and returned home, but she let the family she was working for consume her. Similarly, Vitorio could have made the best of his situation and worked hard to get his life back in order, but he let the leg consume him.

In this film, there is an eerie background feeling of sadness or loss. Everyone, it seems, is looking for someone or something they have lost in the war. Whether it be personal items or children begging for their mothers via the television, it struck me hard how little these people have, mainly due to war. Judite has to resort to prostitution, which I'm sure she would not be doing if it wasn't for the poverty and war. On the other hand, in La Vie Est Belle, there is an atmosphere of hope and life after the war. Songs are sung and people just generally seem to be loving life. Although both settings are filled with poverty, the tones of the films are very different.

Throughout this class I think we've seen many films of people struggling. I've become much more aware of other cultures and the way they live. Before this class, I was very engrossed in my own life and the issues surrounding the U.S. only. Since most of these countries usually are low income, many are not presented in the news when crisis happens. Shocking images of other cultures have opened my eyes to more world issues.