Similar to last week, we addressed another harrowing part of history in the form of film and reading. There is something to be said about art as a gateway to remembrance and therefore prevention of atrocious acts. I am apart of filmmaking because I hope to educate as well, recognizing this is the greatest force of art. 

One of the commentaries about Neo-Realism I enjoy discussing is outlined by Zavattini in “Theses on Neo-Realism”. He writes that cinema should abandon the overstylization and dramatization of events and instead follow everyday life. I feel close to this movement as an Italian, maybe, but also because I believe strongly in the value of casual drama and truth. Overstylization today has made it difficult for people to relate to characters without attempting to become like the characters themselves. I enjoy the acknowledgement that our “regular” drama is a story worth telling. 

This week was certainly a story worth telling. The film did not sugarcoat the situation or hide our faces away from gore and trauma. In the very beginning of the film, the viewer witnesses bloody guts on the street. For me, I believe this often brings about a certain gratefulness and acknowledgement of sufficiency in our own lives by the brutality of others. 

As I said in class, my favorite moment was the clever act of making the father’s death a still image. That was extremely clever and brought a moment of solemn truth to my emotional reaction. It felt like what death truly appears to be, still and stagnant.