Saw Looking for Alibrandi, an Australian coming of age story about an independent-minded Italian girl butting heads with the powerful traditions of her family and also with the traditionalism of Australian society. As one of her friends bluntly puts it, "each sticks with their own stock."
Fathers and lovers feature prominently. Both have impacted the lives of the protagonist and her mother (and her mother's mother.) The girl herself goes to a Catholic school, once again re-enforcing this struggle of tradition vs modern times. She hopes to ace her exams and become a lawyer or a politician or someone respectable and enviable. She has been warned by her family not to let men ruin her life (as they have the lives of her ancestors) but she is of an age where guys are difficult to ignore. Indeed, the film revolves almost entirely around the relationship between her and the men in her life.
True to genre, the film is breazy and sort of strident. We are meant to be left with the feeling that everything will work out somehow or other, but this is not the most satisfying. The film is satisfying in its untidiness however. After all we can't always know what happens next. Even in films with satisfying endings we could ask "and then what?"
This is a fun, pleasant little film. It didn't blow me away but then the target demographic is teenagers feeling the oppressive burden of family ties. The fourth-wall breaking is nice and serves as a fun break from the drama. I enjoyed the drama itself, mostly because it frequently tips into melodrama. A fun film.
No comments:
Post a Comment