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A special welcome to our incoming IB Grade X1 class, who are already working with teachers on our Pre- IB Introductory Course. ALL STU...
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Each Grade 11 Student will post 100-150 words as Personal Reflection inspired by their visit to the Art Exhibition. Our Central Knowledge ...
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Grade 11 TOK Class of Mr C will post a short paragraph as update of progress: What topic and page are you working on - What is the ...
Watching a film that centers around Pablo Neruda was especially interesting after having read about him and the influence he had while studying the novel "The House of the Spirits". Isabel Allende's uncle Salvador Allende who was the president of Chile was a close friend of Neruda. The novel opens with an epigraph of a few lines of his poetry which I would like to quote:
ReplyDelete"How much does a man live, after all?
Does he live a thousand days, or only one?
For a week, or for several centuries?
How long does a man spend dying?
What does it mean to say "For ever"?"
These enigmatic lines contrast with the love poems in the film.
One of the things I noticed in the film was that the friendship of Neruda and Mario is based on mutual respect and Neruda treats Mario as an equal despite his being illiterate.
When Neruda returns to Chile it is though all the colour drains away from the life of Mario. The beautiful landscape, was made even more glorious by the verse of the poet but once he leaves, it is almost as though it loses its extraordinary quality.
One thing I found interesting about the film was the combination of unexpected aftereffects of a peculiar relationship (resulting in a wedding), and the unexpected death of the quiet, solemn, passionate protagonist at the Communist rally. The film in its approach was not striking or startling, but the element of surprise was utilized more often for shifts in plot and character development. Mario's interpretation of the meaning of poetry (which is a very subjective topic to define) is also made evident in his recordings of the town and what it characterized. Acclaimed critic Roger Ebert has to say of "Il Postino",
ReplyDelete"The beauty of the film is in its quietness",
while USA Today states that "it's tough to imagine anyone not liking it".
I really liked the climax of the movie as the flashbacks combined with the emotions of Pablo Neruda, gave a good theatrical effect. The contrast between the simple living and the complex emotions in the film make it a great quiet and reflective watch.
ReplyDeletethanks for these meaningful and intelligent comments - don't forget to post a brief comment on the Matrix video clip too and thanks again.
ReplyDeleteIl-postino is a beautiful and a passionate story which centers around the life of a postman. I liked the way in which it depicts the different types of relationships the postman shares with the other characters of the story such as his father, his love, Beatrice and not to forget the 'poet of love', Pablo Nerudo. It is interesting how it touches the various aspects of our day to day life such as love, humor, politics, poetry etc.
ReplyDeletethanks for these comments and please remind your friends in the TOK FILM CLUB that I look forward to seeing all students post here and on the Matrix clip posted in the last few days.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Il Postino tells a story of a postman and a world-renown poet, set in a country that has a backdrop of conflicting political and social ideologies. I believe that this aspect has been well brought out in the movie. The combination of the past memories with the present that makes the story form very unusual. The presence of emotions is very alluring to the watcher as it brings them out in him/her as well.
ReplyDeleteIl postino is not the type of film i usually watch, but this movie really surprised me. what i especially liked about the film was the acting of Massimo Troisi who acted as the postman who managed to bring about a sort of natural awkwardness that one would expect to see in his character. Another interesting aspect of the film was that despite it falling into the genre of 'romantic comedy' it didn't have a perfect 'happily ever after' ending that one normally expects to see in movies of the genre.
ReplyDeletethanks everyone - these comments are thoughtful and insightful - I love Rahul's phrase 'natural awkwardness' about Troisi's portrait of the postman. It's worth reading the wikipedia page on the film for more info on him and his untimely death just after the movie was completed.
ReplyDelete