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?
Magee, I agree with you in that Alicia’s lifestyle was pretty carefree before learning about her daughter’s possible background. Alicia and her husband attended fancy dinners and her biggest concern initially seem to simply be her snippy friend who calls her names. I too see throughout the film that Alicia has great sympathy for the abuse that so many women experienced. She even tries to get Roberto to understand the loss they must be experiencing when she asks him at the end of the film “How does it feel to not knowing where your child is?” I like that you pointed out that Alicia had left her keys in the door when she left Roberto after being assaulted that night. I missed the fact that she left her keys, but I would have to agree that this symbolizes to the viewer that she will not be returning. I mentioned the final scene with Gaby in the rocking chair in my blog too, but I had never thought about Gaby being left there. I assumed that she would either continue living with Alicia or be given to Sara. For what reason do you think that Alicia may simply leave her with her adoptive grandparents? Could it be that Alicia doesn’t feel she deserves Gaby but doesn’t know whether or not to give her to the woman who claims to be her grandmother?
ReplyDelete- Erin Chuhak
Erin,
ReplyDeleteI guess the end of the movie just left anything possible regarding where Gaby would end up. I was thinking that because Alicia was left with her grandparents that it may be what would happen to Gaby as well. I do think that Alicia probably did question whether or not it was right for her to have Gaby, given the likely circumstances under which she was adopted, but I don't think that Alicia would necessarily want Gaby to live with Sara, whether or not she was actually her biological grandmother; mainly because Gaby is very innocent in the whole situation and wouldn't understand how or why Sara was suddenly a part of her life. I would imagine that Alicia would want to make sure that Gaby's life was not unraveled due to the utter carelessness of those around her.
Maggie