An old English proverb states that the eyes are the window to the soul. In the film The Secret in Their Eyes (2009), directed by Juan José Campanella, this premise holds some truth. Set in the late 1970’s in Argentina, the crime thriller treats the start and end of the rape and murder case of Liliana Coloto, a 23-year-old schoolteacher. It simultaneously portrays the romance between a retired justice agent, Benjamín Espósito, and a new judge hailing from Cornell, Irene Menéndez-Hastings. In trying to write his first novel, Benjamín helps bring the case to a close after 25 years. The symbolic use of Benjamín’s rival, Romano, the color red, and doors enable character enhancement and further development of the plot. To begin, Romano, Benjamín’s rival symbolizes the corruption present within the Argentinean judicial system. In attempting to quickly close Liliana Coloto’s case, he frames two innocent laborers and orders that they be beaten (Campanella, The Secret in Their Eyes). Romano believes himself above the law and perpetuates a cycle of injustice and violence throughout the film. S...
The story begins with Andreas attending a political demonstration against Pilate. He is imprisoned by the Romans, suspected for having ties with the terrorists Bannus and Barabbas. Andreas must choose between being persecuted and imprisoned or gather information about the rising Jewish movements that threaten Roman control over the lands. Forced by Pilate, Andreas has to go undercover, but afraid that he might betray the Jewish people he gives irrelevant evidence to the Romans, and they believed him regardless of his unreliable infor...
In Fritz Lang’s M, mise en scène is employed to evoke the theme of Machiavellian theory, the characterization of wavering faith in crisis and the tone of impatient anger and fear. As the following analysis of the scene where the mobsters strategize on how to track down M demonstrates, the great light fixture in the center of the room, in conjunction with the mobsters themselves and their meeting room, is used to accentuate the notion of vigilante justice and expediency that circumventing the law provides while also highlighting the paradox of criminals attempting to serve justice.
The book isn't just about the cold working of a criminal empire. Boxer tells his story with unexpected sensitivity and a Chicano brand of optimism. The man is highly charismatic. Yet, there is a dark side shown that is absolutely sobering. It's the part of him that is a frighteningly intelligent and ruthless. He shows us a man who can find dark humor in a jailhouse murder.
Montresor, fifty years after it happened, confesses to the murder of his foe, Fortunato. He justifies his actions by saying that Fortunato caused him a thousand injuries and therefore is seeking revenge.... ... middle of paper ... ... He tempts her by offering to give her independence from them, saying he is her lover, playing into her weakness of men.
History usually forces itself into the present in Juan Jose Campanella’s film “El Secreto De Sus Ojos” (The Secret in Their Eyes). Although it was filmed in 2009, the story is an attempted memorization of the violent reality in 1970-1980s Argentina, an era in which the country was rapidly sinking into military rule-ship. Campanella offers flashbacks into Argentina’s dark days, a period where violence homicide, rape and injustices ruled. Through memory, the film narrate a era in which it was impossible to be an innocent person as the innocents were falsely accused, tortured and even murdered for crimes they never committed, all these for the whims of those in power. Even though, the film is set in the 1970s, it does not call immediate attention to the animosity, the hopeless feeling and the constant struggle between the desire to forget vs. the attempts to remember the chaos and confusion of these years. However, through the use of memory Campanella allow the views to portray an almost perfect picture of what happened in Argentina.
In “The Fortune Teller,” the author, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, uses symbolism to prove to one that an affair is not worth a person’s life. He uses the letter to symbolize hate between Villela and Camillo regarding the affair. This very ambiguous letter has terrified Camillo and put an end to his life. The letter enhances the theme of the short story by showing the anger and hate that Villela now had for Camillo. This hate is a focal point in the short story that leads to ending the affair along with Camillo and Rita’s life. Ultimately, the affair caused a large amount of tension between the three. However, the author was successful in grabbing the reader’s attention with the letter as the turning point of the short story.
In “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of the Amontillado’ Montresor and the unknown narrator are both murders through their confessions they reveal both their similarities and differences. The unknown narrator is trying to convince the auditor of his sanity while Montresor is attempting to convince the auditor of justifiable revenge. It is through these confessions they are trying to convince the auditor of their humanity and of their innocence through the justification of these horrible acts (Dern 53).
Just as the Olympics were held in Brazil, we heard on the news the constant increase of violence in children, and the even higher increment in the organized crime events in this country. But few of us understand the cold, horrific, and the traumatic experience of living surrounded by violent children in organized crime gangs, as well as the characters of City of God. The director of the movie Fernando Meirelles purposely shows us the way in which young children in Brazil learn to become violent at a young age, eventually still young get involved in organized crime gangs and their drug business, as well as in the gangs’ battles over territory and power. The director succeeded in presenting his point of view by using a different variety of movie
...tity, Molina when he finds someone who accepts his true identity. In both cases, they find the affirmation that was previously denied to them as a result of an oppressive society. The death here is a death of the self, the repressed self.
Through the course of the novel, pride remains a key element in Don Santiago, but somewhere vision is lost and is blurred by the pestering war that raises emotion to take control of his actions. A reasonable man can do many things, but Don Santiago’s reason is blinded by rage directed at people whom he knows little to nothing of. Letting pride take the best of him, he alone is the cause for the fall of his family.
Amongst other things, “The Dead Man” is a story of political ambition, and personal pride which ends up being the downfall of our protagonist. Benjamin Otalora, the Argentinean Buenos Aires hoodlum turned Uruguayan gaucho, is ambitious and most of all brave. However, he is also reckless and lacks any kind of discretion whatsoever. His physical daring is un-complimented by any higher meaning or purpose. He doesn’t save Azevedo Bandeira, the mobster boss, in the knife fight because of any morals or virtues he believes in, but simply because he was drawn “to the sheer taste of danger.” Otalora’s braveness is also completely selfish. It is a raw, violent, braveness that ultimately blinds him to the reality to which he becomes self-aware in the last moments of his life; he is a man who is completely oblivious to forces outside himself. Otalora’s uncontrolled ambition and unchecked bravery disallows him the ability to calmly make calculations, to make the most intelligent choices, to think things through; all essentials in leadership and especially in ultimately coordinating a power grab from someone the likes of Azevedo.
[Note: In this written work Antonio thinks of himself as an innocent person and believes that the world is doing wrong to him .He also believes that his rights have been snatched from him and no one in this world is more miserable and sympathy deserving than him.]
Isabella is strong and feisty and Miguel is protective of Isabella. Ramon is pushed around, but the scene reveals his anger issues when he pushes the boy into the path of the bus. This foreshadows more violence to come.
The first character introduced by Leone to the audience is Colonel Douglas Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef), “a retired soldier and bounty hunter motivated not only by profit but also the thirst for revenge” (Bondanella, 257) of his sister’s rape and death. He is a professional, who stalks his target from a distance with an assortment of rifles rolled up in his saddlebags; but to contrast with this cold delusion, Mortimer dresses in his black preacher’s costume and is a habitual reader of the Bible. He represents the older, wiser generation, which is destined to be extinct. Next, Leone introduces Mortimer’s competition and opposite, Manco (Clint Eastwood), a young stranger with his cigars and poncho, who blends with his surroundings. He is a bounty hunter who kills purely for profit and approaches his victims directly. Finally, the audience is introduced to a doped-up Mexican killer, Indio (Gian Maria Volonté), whose degenerate pleasure in violence is linked to the moment, years before, when the death of Mortimer’s sister traumatized him sexually, and is constantly reminded of the incident by the chiming of the musical watch he carries, which matches Mortimer’s. (Bondanella, 257)