Schindler’s List by Steven Spielberg

This is both a compelling and cruel movie to watch. It depicts the truth of what lies in the past and the insanity of what people are willing to do in the mist of war; be it good or bad. This story is set on the days of World War 2 in the country of Germany where the heat of the action started. This story is about a person name Oskar Schindler whom is a german businessman trying to make money out of the war as a war profiteer.

The movie talks about the cruelty of the Nazi party in trying to build concentration camps and execute the Jewish people in this. Many were sent to the gas chambers or killed in the inferno during this period over 6 million killed as depicted at the end of the film. So the protagonist was a person of great heart where he sold most of his property to help liberate the Jews from the concentration camps by bribing the officials in the town. I was shocked and in awe that so many of Jewish people died during the war. This undeniably makes me to be relief to be living in this era of peace even though I am not a Jew

Gandhi by Richard Attenborough

                Personally, I am not a history person. When I learn that we will be watching this movie I was thinking this will be another boring show that might doze me off. However I was wrong. I actually like this movie despite there are moments that I feel like fast forward it. It depicted the life of Gandhi and his principal in aiding India to independent. Personally I appreciate Gandhi’s effort in running a non-violent campaign in both South Africa and India. People usually believed that those who are powerful will be able to control the others’. However, this is not necessary true. At least I don’t think it is. Taking revenge or beating people up might make them listen and obey you for a moment but it won’t last forever because violent is a form of impulsive behaviors. Hence, I think it is more important for one to calm them down and let people know they mean what they want.

                Besides, this movie reminds me of the psychological concepts I learnt in my social psychology and occupational psychology class. Before India obtain her independence, Muslims and Indians work together to protest and stand up to the British. However, once the decision of independence was made, the two ethnic groups form their own group and an in-group bias is observed.  The two ethnic groups started to bully people from their out-group and engaged in numerous violent acts. This irony does not happen only in the society but among the political leaders as well. Before the independence, all leaders can chat peacefully with each other. However, once the idea of independence is confirm, Jinnah the Muslim leader stand out to Gandhi and ask him regarding the division. I think it is very important for the leaders to sort the matter out themselves before they speak to the people. In this incident, Jinnah should sooth the Muslims down while he negotiates with the Gandhi and the other leader. Being as a political leader, one should always prioritize the welfare of his people be it Muslims or Indians as they are all part of India.

Departures by Yôjirô Takita

      I have to say this film makes me feel uneasy to watch yet satisfying in terms of emotions and sentimental values it portrayed. The director is intelligent to have put this film in a comical nature whereby they try to make instill values surrounding death to the general audience. He had put this film together beautifully as emotions technically surrounded the whole film.
      The film started off with the protagonist losing his job as a cellist because the orchestra got disbanded which showed sign of struggle with despairs in life. This soon followed his diligent effort in looking for jobs around his hometown sakata when he moved back. It brought back many memories of him from his childhood and the leaving of his father with the waitress. This showed a combination of hate and detest between father and soon. Soon follows the regrets of a son not taking care of his mother more before she passed away.
      Initially, he did not take fancy to the job he received because of the nature of the work and the inability to stand the reek of rotting bodies. This journey of his made me feel uneasy because of the nature of his work as well. I feel disgusted at it initially as the wife did and would not be able to tolerate him more and soon moved out the house. I actually understood the wife’s feeling and emotions because i also cannot tolerate the nature of his job if i were in her position. However, as the plot develops, I soon found the dignity in the job when he prepares his friend’s mother for burial which was quite unnerving yet graceful and pure. I truly don’t know the correct words to describe how the ritual affecting the way I viewed death.
      However, the most touching moment of the show was the climax where he was force to attend his own father’s funeral which he detest and doesn’t want to go initially. I understand his feelings then. Then, the most shocking part for me is when he found the stone in his father’s arm while preparing for a proper burial which was touching and loving at the same time. At the moment, I thought that family matters most and nothing even the shattering blow of death could keep families apart due to the memories we each keep inside ourselves. I truly understand the value of relationship and love through this movie.

Sybil by Daniel Petrie

                Sybil depicted a different identity disorder (DID) patient’s experience with her psychiatrist. It was based on Shirley Ardell Mason’s true story. This movie was quite interesting to me as I am very interested on DID ever since my abnormal psychology class. According to my lecturer, DID is a very rare disorder. It remain controversial in the field of psychology as many expert speculated that DID does not exist at all.  Hence I am glad that this movie actually provide me with a better view and understanding of DID.

                However, I find the movie to be a little confusing at times. There are 12 alters exist in Sybil excluding Sybil herself and the switch between each alters is too rapid. I had a hard time adjusting myself to each alters. I even dig out my phone to search for the synopsis of this movie hoping that it will give me some clue on the total number of alters. The interaction between little Sybil and her mother was quite distressing for me. Especially the last scene in the kitchen when the mother sexually abuses little Sybil and ties her on the piano. I was very shock because I never expected those things to happen, from a mother. It is then clear to me on why Sybil would have the characteristic of DID and the existence of Peggy.

                This movie again, reminded me on the role parents’ play in their children’s development. One might not be aware on what he/ she is doing but it could create a huge impact on the rest of other’s life. Bad experience with parents can lead to the development of various psychological diseases. It may take a while for one to mistreat a child but forever for the child to recover from the trauma. 

Parenthood by Ron Howard

      This movie clearly depicted the ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ in a family especially in the American setting. I clearly say that this is a heartwarming film where it touches many hearts and souls of those watching it. It started off with multitude problems in different families, 4 to be exact and how each of them has to deal with it. It was rather confusing at first where all the problems start popping out from each families and I really had a hard time following it. It got me agitated and restless as well as I watch the plot development.

     This movie teaches us values as parents, on how to admire and respect them for all the hardship they have gone through when they were raising a family of similar background. It goes beyond to show that the power of love and how strong it would be to hold everything together. I find that the bonds shared between parents and children in the movie so deep and meaningful. It is to the extent that parents will always support their children and their actions in life as well as guiding them. For example, the father of Larry (youngest son of the family), despite how ignorance he is on his debts owed due to gambling, he still supported his son to fly off to another place even taking care of Larry’s son named Cool.

     At the same time, the movie also depicts a darker role of things. The movie showed that everyone has to take up responsibility of his or her actions and once made, it cannot be reversed. For example, having a baby in the family, without family planning etc. It also depicts the impulsivity of teenagers and also the fragility of children. It shows how much of an influence that the parents have on their child. It goes beyond to show that over-controlling or over-exerting control over the children development can result in disastrous effects.

     Conclusively, this show is a must watch for those who are interested in starting a family as it gives the viewers a sneak peak of what is to come. Though not entirely same, it’s similar with variations of intensity. =)

The Fisher King by Terry Gilliam

This is a marvelous and entertaining movie to watch and especially when we are psychology student to be able to see such a combination of disorders in a movie. The cast of the movie did a great job in depicting roles of depression, schizophrenia and avoidant personality disorder to a near pathological extent.

The story starts off by revealing the protagonist role as a DJ (Jack) in a local radio station who dismisses a caller whom just got rejected by a girl. This eventually led to a mass murder in a local restaurant in Manhattan whom Jack soon found out from the local news. It is also inspiring how much ones’ action could make a difference in so many people lives. Well, inarguably every action is like a domino effect especially the heavier weighted ones. This lead Jack into a depression cause he felt he was partly responsible, whereby soon he quitted his job and the show was fast forward ahead for three years.

After three years, Jack is still in depression and is living with his girlfriend Anne, working her video rental store as a part-timer. He soon develops suicidal ideation and eventually decided to end his life in the local pier where Parry saved him. According to Parry’s landlord, Parry went into catatonic state and woke up with delusions and hallucinations of him being in a quest of recovering the Holy Grail. The killing of his wife in the mass murder three years ago preceded and leads him to this state. Jacks feel responsible for this and decided to help him to regain back his life and also himself along the way. From this we can depict that Jack is trying to mend his guilt by helping Parry by hooking him up with Lydia, Parry’s crush. Unfortunately, Parry was forced to confront his darkest fear that is a visual hallucination of a Red Knight when he saw a banner near Lydia’s house.

Parry tries to escape from the red knight and was beaten up by a group of gangster and went back into a catatonic state, which Jack feels guilty about. What I found in this was a very touching as Jack eventually treated Parry as a close friend and has a very strong willed in helping him to recover. He could have ignored Parry and continue with his new DJ life. Jack eventually stole the Holy Grail from Upper East Side of Manhattan and cured Parry of his catatonic state. Soon after, Lydia got together with Parry and Jack with Anne. The movie ends with both of them being nude watching clouds. This I am not sure what the movie is trying to portray but my best guess would be they are trying to tell us the sincerity and purity of the bonds of friendship that they share for each other. (Or they are both insane?  =/)

What I found in this movie was an interesting mix of events that lead to another and how it would shape out in the future. I feel as though it was trying to teach us the importance and significance of an action on the other person’s life. Besides that, I have a mix feeling of sadness and happiness as watch the events unfolds throughout the show. This is a good show and I recommend it to everyone. Kudos to Robbin Williams’ acting!

The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan, The Castle by Rob Sitch

VS

Last week’s film class is slightly different from the usual. Two movies were shown to us and there are VERY different from each other. One is a comedy (The Castle) whereas the other is a, horror movie (The Sixth Sense) per say. As a horror movie lover, I enjoy the moment when I hold my breath feeling nervous and feel my intense heartbeat when something is going to be revealed. The Sixth Sense is slightly different from the horror movie that I watched previously. It was quite bland for me as I was anticipating some horrible ghost scene that was shown in most of the horror movie in Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong. I was ready to be scared. However, besides than some scary scenes that were shown in the beginning and the middle of the movie, everything resembles a psychological movie to me. That said, I appreciated the twist in the story. It was indeed shocked and sad to found out that the Psychologist that the boy was seeing is dead. Everything in the movie blends in perfectly with the new fact that was introduced except for one scene I am confused about. The scene where Dr. Malcolm is talking to Cole in his office, Dr. Malcolm’s secretary called him and asked him to answer a phone call. If Dr. Malcolm is dead, no one is supposed to be able to see and talk to him besides than Cole. Hence I find this to be one of the loopholes to the story or there are other details that I have miss out that could explain this confusion.

The Castle is a very simple movie; it focuses on Darryl’s family and their attempted to protect their home. Unlike other comedy, The Castle did not add in hilarious act to make their audiences laugh, what make my day is Darryl family member’s optimism and their lame jokes/speeches. I enjoyed watching this movie despite some of the times I were speechless about the character’s action and speech. I like how the Kerrigan family communicates to each other, simple yet warm. Even though they might seems to be too innocent and naïf in handling the court case I am surprised by their determinant. Their courage reminds me of how I behave in the normal life. I am totally different from Darryl’s father. I tend to give up things too easily without even trying because I am afraid of the failure that I might face. Hence, besides than entertaining, this movie inspires me to put some thought on my worries. Is there a necessity to worry too much on things that is yet to happen? Instead of hiding away from the problem, why not approaches it in a positive way? Darryl’s father will not be able to keep his house if he just sit and hope things will turn out the way he wanted.