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Tuesday, December 27, 2022

63.Film and Life

 I  am very selective  in  watching films. This is particularly so during Film Festivals.  As a principle, I  view only  three  films  on a  single day  and in extreme cases  view four with  a  gap for rest between films.

 Normally,  I choose  the films to watch by reading the  Handbook supplied prior to the Film Festival.  The one which  concluded recently (27th International Film Festival of Kerala 9-16 Dec 2022) was no different.

 The first film I chose to view was Life in Silence.(La Vida En El Silencio) Mexico/2022/Colour/125’/Spanish

Director and Screenplay: Rodrigo Arnaz

 


Sometimes  films are chosen  based on earlier reviews  which I have  read,  awards won previously,  and of course the  name of the Director.  In this case however it was the summary which  lured me to watch the film. The summary in the Handbook reads:

 “A young musician who is a single parent battles everyday to communicate with  his autistic son through music, until one day the kid’s  mother  shows up after eight years of absence, only to reveal  that he is not the kid’s biological father.”

 I must  admit  that  it was my   background in Education as a discipline  and  the  relationship between  music  and communication which  made me  choose the film for viewing.  But  after watching the film, I found that the summary  did not  capture  the  essence of the film so  I thought  I should write  about it. So here goes:

 A  devout  father  patiently  looks after  his  autistic  son  who  only communicates  by  uttering the sound “aaannnnn” in a high pitch voice. For the father, each day is a struggle in trying to  bathe/dress  and feed the boy. The child is sent to a special school where lucky for  the father,  an understanding  Special Education teacher  takes  care of the  child. 

 


There is one  scene in which  the  father  meets  an old  lady who adores  the  child and father.  I guess it is either the man’s mother or  elderly aunt (?) The father asks   :  Don’t  you think that my son  sees me only as  a robot that feeds  him every day? To this the elderly lady who is very understanding by nature,  replies  that  even though the boy doesn’t talk  he  feels  everything!

The father is a musician but does not have a steady job. He  plays  live music in several restaurants to earn a living. But unable to pay  for the tuition fee, the son is kicked out of school.

 One  day  while  feeling low, the father  plays on the piano an adored possession which he has in his home.  The son is  rarely receptive to music, and on that particular day the child  seats  himself beside his father and  plays  just  one  key ‘G’ continuously at  regular  intervals.  This the father notices  and  tries to catch  the boy’s  attention by  playing other  keys  during the intervals thereby  creating a musical note. But  sadly for the boy,  the  sound it produces when he  presses the key or  utters ‘aaannnnn’ is the sole thing that matters. The  rest for  the father and the viewer  is  nothing but ‘silence’.

 So  what is the message of the film?  The father was  trying to add  interesting  aspects of  life  for the boy when  it  remains  silent even though the father’s own life is full of silence  as he has to take care of an autistic child  after  being ditched by  his wife.

 Perhaps the  film  was  indirectly  giving the message  that  it up to us to add variety to  a life in silence. As an extension I would like to add that the  Smart Phone we all have  access to and without which it is hard to live is like  the piano that provides  music.  When one  opens ones  Facebook page  one gets  addicted to it . But the Smart Phone also has other apps,  for news, for games,  for learning a new language, for entertainment and what not…If one discreetly chooses the different apps (Keys for Piano) one gets  a variety of  input!  But it is  up to  individuals to choose how to add variety to the  input  available on ones  Smart Phone…In short one has to choose  discreetly.

 The child acted  so well  and deserves an award.  The  message of the film  thrilled me… Hope you  too will like the film.  Do watch the  official trailer to get a feel of the film:



  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvJcY38-rwk&ab_channel=PrimeVideoM%C3%A9xico