El Viaje de Carol

In this movie, the main character, Carol, is a young girl whose mother is from Spain and her father is American.  She moves to Spain with her mother.  Many times in the movie, Carol fights against the conventionalisms in the new culture.  An example of this is when she continues to wear the types of clothes that she chooses, and doesn't change her style to that of the other kids around her.  She wears her "tom-boyish" attire, like her bib-overalls and keeps her hair cut short.

She insists on wearing a sailor outfit for her first communion instead of the outfits that the rest of the girls do.

Carol is very mature for her age and knows what she wants and how to get it.  She tends to use the "You promise?" and "On one condition…" approach to get her way, especially with her grandfather.  Carol was free-spirited and used to doing her own thing.  She wasn't going to let anyone change her or force her to do something she didn't want to do.  When she put her mind to something, she did it, like writing letters to her father so he wouldn't worry, or bringing Tomi home to meet her father, even though her grandfather told her it may be dangerous to do so.  I wonder if Carol felt any guilt when Tomi was killed. 

  

Volver

This film is considered a tribute to women and their resilience in the face of life's most outrageous tribulations.  Each woman portrayed in the movie was supporting herself without the help of a man.  Sole even had her own salon business out of her home.  They had many events in their life that would have made a lot of people breakdown, but they all seemed to just get stronger each time they went through another tough time in their lives.  Raimundo dealt with abuse as a child, then an abusive husband.  She mothered a child by her own father, and then had to deal with that child killing her husband.  Not only did Raimundo not seem to bat an eye at the murder, she easily was able to compose herself and cover it up.  The other women in the film also were strong-willed.  Raimundo's mother dealt with a cheating husband, and then lived her life in hiding after she killed him.  Raimundo and her mother were able to call a truce after many years of holding grudges.  Aunt Paula passed away and Augustina was diagnosed with cancer.  It seemed that all the women joined together and supported each other throughout their tragedies.

There were many superstitious beliefs in this movie.  Most apparent was the village people believing in the spirits and being convinced that Irene had come back from the dead to care for Paula.  Also, they cleaned the graves and even had their own graves before they were dead and kept those clean too.

Entre Nos

In the film Entre Nos, a young woman's husband abandons her and their two children a few weeks after they move to the United States.  He basically leaves her with nothing but an apartment on which he has not kept up with the rent payments, so she eventually loses that as well.  Once her husband leaves, Mariana shows what an extremely determined, hard-working, and courageous woman and mother she is.  She refuses to succumb to despair and disappointment.  She continues to care for her children, physically and emotionally, in the best way she is able.  The saddest part of the movie for me is when Mariana has to make the decision to get rid of the child she is pregnant with.  She couldn't have been in a more unfortunate situation, yet she pushes through and continues to keep her family together and provides for them as much as she can.  It is very inspiring to see how Mariana and her children pull together and collect cans to earn money to live.  Even more inspiring is that this is a true story.

In the United States, unfortunately, it is not uncommon for a father or husband to leave his family.  However, most American women are aware of the help that is provided by the government for single mothers so they are not forced to wander the streets and live homeless. 

The Official Story

At the beginning of the film, Alicia seems to live a pretty comfortable, carefree life.  That is until she starts to look into the idea that her adopted daughter may very well be a child of one of the many women who were murdered political prisoners.  Though Alicia's inquiry about Gaby's adoption is sparked by her own interest, she quickly begins to feel a sorrow and sympathy for the many women she discovers were tortured and may have lost their children.  She has a very hard time accepting that she may have been a part of this catastrophe, and she refuses to believe Roberto when he says it doesn't concern her.

When Alicia consistently presses her husband with questions about the details of the adoption, this shows how concerned she is with the situation and the possibility that Gaby is the daughter of one of the women that "disappeared".   Also, she shows her intrigue and concern surrounding the murders that are going on in Argentina that she been so naive to by how emotional she becomes in several different scenes.  At the end of the film, when Alicia leaves her husband and the keys in the door, it is inferred that she is not coming back.  This also is inferred when Gaby is shown in her grandmother's rocking chair, the same way Alicia had mentioned waiting for her parents  at her grandparents house when she was a little girl.  It makes the viewer wonder what ultimately is going to happen to Gaby.  Is Alicia going to come back for her daughter?  Will Gaby end up being left at her grandparent's house just like Alicia was?