Marshall Anne Caswell
Dr. Manuel A. Perez Tejada
12 March 2009


Life is Beautiful and Schindler’s List: A comparison of films breaking conventions

The Holocaust. One of the most detrimental periods in history that affected millions of people. It was an event that was so horrible that people rarely, if ever, spoke about it, much less made movies about it. In general, movies made and books written about historical events are most popular immediately after their occurrence. It was profoundly different with the Holocaust; it was repressed by America for thirty to forty years after the event (Novick, 1). Two contemporary directors, Roberto Benigni and Steven Spielberg, made films about the Holocaust. They decided that it was an important event in global history, one worth remembering. They broke the social convention that the Holocaust is not referred to, especially not in forms of entertainment such as films. The approaches, on the other hand, used by these filmmakers differ greatly. Benigni uses more of a comedy to show the underlying horrors of the time while Spielberg’s film is a drama. Although the styles of these two directors differ greatly, both are effective in conveying the director’s point.

First of all, Life is Beautiful, Roberto Benigni’s film, is about a Jewish man, Guido, his Gentile wife, Dora, and their son, Giosue. When the father and the son are sent to a concentration camp, the mother follows because she refuses to be separated from her husband and son. Throughout the film, the father pretends that all of the concentration camp is a game to keep his son’s spirits lifted. The result is a heart-warming story set in the midst of tragedy and humor despite the horrible conditions. At the end of the film, however, an adult Giosue recognizes the struggles his father went through in order to save him from realizing what was actually happening to them. In his film review “If only life were so beautiful,” Leibman writes, He “solemnly declares that he now understands the “gift” his father gave to him” (Liebman). The humor Giosue’s father was able to keep with him throughout their stay in the concentration camp is what saved Giosue.

This picture shows Guido and Giosue in the concentration camp; Guido is telling Giosue the secrets of the “game” so he will be safe

In addition, Benigni’s film was one of the first to be about a “comic character in an extreme situation.” It did have a predecessor, however, and that was Lina Wertmuller’s Seven Beauties. Wertmuller’s film was highly criticized, so Benigni was considered brave to attempt another such film (Liebman). Even though there were so many humorous elements to the story, the viewer is still able to realize how horrible concentration camp was. Guido is made to carry anvils all day, and if he so much as slightly slackens his pace, he will be killed. He also accidently stumbles upon a mountain of carcasses one night in the fog. The viewer knows what Guido is trying to keep from Giosue; the children are not disappearing because of the “game” they are all playing to win a ride in a tank, they are being killed. The showers are not showers meant to clean, but to kill. Dora must sit in the women’s camp day after day, not knowing if her husband and son are among the survivors or those who were killed. And even though Giosue eventually takes a ride in a tank, the first prize of the “game” he and his father played, a Nazi soldier shoots Guido.

Consequently, however sad the film seems, the theme that one person can truly make a difference in the life of so many is apparent. Guido does not just keep the spirits of his son lifted throughout their stay in a concentration camp; he also entertains the other residents of the shelter in which they are living. Also, by getting to the “PA” system of the camp, he is able to speak to his wife and reassure her of his and Giosue’s safety. The film also shows the sacrifice parents make for their children, a theme seen all over the world. Guido risked his own safety for the life of his son time and time again, and Dora, who did not even have to go to concentration camp, went to ensure the safety of her husband and son as best she could.

Similarly, Spielberg’s Schindler’s List shows how much impact only one person can have on the lives of many, even in the midst of tragedy. The main character of Schindler’s List is Oskar Schindler, a German businessman and Nazi party supporter who saved the lives of more than one-thousand Jews by employing them in his factories. He originally goes to Poland in order to make money by becoming a war-profiteer, but eventually spends his entire fortune bribing Nazi officials to save as many Jews as he could. As Schindler flees the Red Army, who was liberating the Jews, with his wife, he cries, as he considers how many more lives he could have saved.


Here Oskar Schindler is shown working with his Jewish accountant one of the many men he saved by employing him

Furthermore, Spielberg’s film has broken the conventions and awakened this subject as a topic of an entertainment form. The honors awarded to this movie “suggest that only the world’s most commercially successful director could have risked tackling this subject, deemed unfilmable, and made it successful”. The movie was filmed in black and white, giving it the feel of a documentary, which allowed the events to seem very real to the viewer. The darkness of the film also conveys the suffering felt by so many by symbolizing a “dark world.”


This picture shows the use of black and white in the film, as also gives the feel of the dreary world in which the Jews are living

The technique of a hand-held camera used throughout the film also makes the content of the film seem like more of a reality. The shakiness provided by the cameras also symbolizes the way the lives of the Jews became chaotic after the Nazi regime began their rule (White). After the Nazi party began their rule, the Jews’ rights quickly diminished, life as they knew it was over. They found that they had no options; there was nowhere for them to go to escape the oppression.

However, even amidst all the darkness, there is hope. There is a Christ-like figure who has made it his goal to save as many Jews from the horrors of concentration and death as possible. It would have been much simpler for Oskar Schindler to simply make as much money from his factories as he could; this would have meant letting all the Jews who were not crucial to the good of the war be shipped off to concentration camps. Instead of keeping his money for his own pleasure, he uses it to bribe a large number of Nazi officials to keep all these unnecessary workers. He saved over one thousand Jews, which is quite a large number. Seeing the impact that just one person can make on the world is inspiring, even in the present where no tragedy of such large proportions is taking place.

In conclusion, the Holocaust was a taboo topic for many years. However, the introduction of films whose main topic is such has ended the standard that the Holocaust should never be talked about. On the other hand, it then became admirable for directors to take the risk of talking about such a horrible subject, because the world needed to be reminded of the suffering that took place. The viewer is shown the dreadfulness of the time period. Even though both films contain this element, Schindler’s List is more effective in portraying this through the use of black and white and use of the hand-held camera. These techniques are more successful in conveying the fact that the Holocaust was a reality for many people. However, both movies are effective in showing that there can be positive lessons learned from such movies, as seen in Life if Beautiful and Schindler’s List. In both films, one can see the positive effect that one person can have on so many, through providing humor in what seems like a hopeless situation and through sacrifice to help others.




Works Cited:
Liebman, Stuart. "If Only Life Were So Beautiful." Cineaste 24.3 (June 1999): 20. MAS Ultra - School Edition. EBSCO. Georgia Institute of Technology Library, Atlanta, GA, 3 Mar. 2009 <>.
Novick, Peter. The Holocaust in American Life. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000.
White, Les. "Schindler’s List: My father is a Schindler Jew." Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media 39 (June 1994): 3-6. MAS Ultra - School Edition. EBSCO. Georgia Institute of Technology Library, Atlanta, GA, 3 Mar. 2009 <>.

The Matrix and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu Showing The Way of Life

Raymond Chian

Manuel Perez Tajada

March 11, 20

The Matrix and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu

Showing The Way of Life

The Matrix and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu are two completely different movies. The style, structure, and content are from complete different sides of the spectrum, yet both movies are extremely popular with the public. They dramatically changed the way films were made and added contributions that consumers enjoy experiencing repeatedly such as long takes, and bullet-time shots. The protagonists in each movie go through many struggles and must choose between quitting and persevering through the conflict. Both of them are facing the dangers of society and the system that tries to control them. Despite their differences, the stories they tell about people struggling in life and its unpredictability are a common theme.

This picture depicts The Matrix's famous bullet-time shot and the action found in the movie.

Both The Matrix and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu use many techniques to tell their story The Matrix uses many references to Alice in Wonderland, the Bible, and Greek mythology in order to tell its story. The movie uses direct quotes and symbols from the Bible and The Odyssey as proved by Carlo Cavagna in her analysis of The Matrix. She talks about how The Matrix alludes to the king of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar and how The Matrix relates to the king’s dream which is about the difference between the “real” world and the “fake” world. In The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Mr. Lazarescu is in pain throughout the movie and the doctors refuse to help him which only causes more pain to him. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu uses Mr. Lazarescu’s crucifixion in comparison to the crucifixion of Christ to try to bring awareness about the medical system and the state of society in Romania (Kennicott). This comparison with the crucifixion of Christ helps Mr. Lazarescu to be seen as a martyr in order to improve the medical system. The movie also uses stereotypes and subtle hints as tools to build the personalities of the many characters in the movie. These allusions to the Bible connect the movies to the many life lessons depicted in the Bible. This tells that the movie has a life lesson like the Bible. The movies tell about how life has its many sacrifices and there may or may not be a reward at the end of an arduous path. Also, people are not in control of their lives. Neo cannot control the conflict between the humans and the machines and how it affects his life. Similarly, Mr. Lazarescu controls the will of the doctors or the disease that is affecting his health. These shows the future is unpredictable and the conclusion to a conflict can be hard to see. Life obviously has its rewards, but as seen in The Death of Mr. Lazarescu it does not have any rewards sometimes.

This picture shows the start of Mr. Lazurescu's sickness

Mr. Lazurescu has gone through much pain and is going to die. He has gotten worse since the pervious picture.

The styles of the directors of The Matrix and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu differ in camera shots, and the display of the actions of the characters. In The Matrix, the camera shots are hectic and take many different angles to best show the fights between the humans and the machine. An example of the action is found in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX8Y5-BZLaM&fmt=6 (I tried to download the movie, but I could not figure out how to do it). The struggle of the human race throughout the whole movie is vividly displayed. The poverty and despair which the machines have inflicted onto the humans is evident throughout the movie. The determination of main characters in the movie such as Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus eventually bring the first victory to the humans. The Matrix shows that perseverance can lead to victory. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu shows a different path of perseverance. Using the effect of natural lighting and handheld camera, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu creates a more realistic feel than The Matrix. Although the action in The Death of Mr. Lazarescu cannot compare with the The Matrix, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu accurately depicts a long journey of a man and a nurse traveling from hospital to hospital when they could have given up trying to find someone who can save his life. In the end, they do finally find someone, but the rebirth of Mr. Lazarescu after he dies during the movie is unknown. (Kasman) Both movies have their character die within the movie; however, the rebirth is different. Neo goes through a reincarnation and then he returns as the one. This picture is a demonstration of his power after his rebirth. On the other hand, the conclusion to Mr. Lazarescu’s demise is unknown.

This picture shows the poverty the humans are forced into. They are enjoying a food called "Tasty Wheat."

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu uses many techniques to show the arduous quest of life and the frustration it contains. The movie happens in real time and contains many long shots of silence and idle chatting that make the movie seem longer than usual. This depicts life as slow moving and creates a realistic feeling in the movie. Before the illness, Mr. Lazarescu is a man going nowhere in his life. He lives on his pension and slowly decays in this apartment full of cats. This gives a depressing view of life. Similarly, the opening of The Matrix depicts life as boring. Neo starts out as an underpaid worker and a secret life of crime making fake credit cards. Neo’s apartment is a mess and he looks like he is just trying to get by. Unlike The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, The Matrix shows what happens when life gives a person an opportunity to succeed and earn a better life. The Matrix has a positive outlook on life and its rewards while The Death of Mr. Lazarescu has a negative outlook on life and its troubles.

The Matrix and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu give an important message about life to the audience. They explain that an ordeal in life has its difficulties and a person can quit the ordeal at anytime. In The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, the nurse could have sent Mr. Lazarescu back home after many failed attempts to have a doctor cure him. In The Matrix, Neo could have stopped believing in himself and taken the other pill. If he did that, he chose to quit the challenge life threw at him. He also could have not believed in himself. Through the decisions of the characters and the storyline, the movies display how life is unpredictable and has disappointments, accomplishments, and uncertainties.

Works Cited

Cavagna, Carlo. “The Matrix(1999).” AboutFilm.com. 3 March 2009.

Kasman, Daniel. “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu..” D-Kaz. 3 March 2009.

Kennicott, Philip. “Romanian Film's Crystalline Lens.” The Washington Post. 3 March 2009.

Once Were Warriors

The reputation of the once respected native Maori people has fallen. The Maori used to be strong warriors. But, as Lee Tamahori explored in his film, Once Were Warriors, many urban Maori families live in slums, and struggle with poverty, alcoholism, drug addiction, and domestic violence. They also have lost many cultural ties to the ancient Maori people.

Once Were Warriors tells the story of the Heke family. The father, Jake, is unemployed for a majority of the movie, and as a result spends his days and nights drinking in a local pub with his friends. The men seek the unity found between the ancient Maori people by having parties together, either at the pub or later at the Heke’e home. Although he may come across as easygoing, after drinking his terrible temper comes out, and he physically attacks anyone who crosses him, including his wife. The divide between men and women is clear; the women are powerless against the men. Conflict is shown not only between men and women, but also between Maoris and Europeans. The judge who sends Boogie to a foster home and the police officers that pick him up are all white, and feel they are superior to the Maroi’s. This is seen when the two police officers bring Boogie home the day before his trial and Beth reacts very defensively to them.

Tamahori uses a very realistic style in his movie. The fame of New Zealand landscape is seen in this film the sink the images into the viewer’s mind. The pictures of the landscape where Beth grew up and where Grace was buried is representative of how good Beth’s life was before she married Jake. The contrast is apparent when one sees the dump that Beth, Jake and their five children live in presently. When Beth leaves Jake to return to the beautiful land she grew up in, her cultural roots, it is representative of the fact that their family is healing. Once Were Warriors is a powerful film showing the struggles of the Maori people in present day New Zealand.

-Marshall Anne Caswell

Once Were Warriors

Once Were Warriors portrays the life of the Maori people in a very brutal realistic ways. Lee Tamahori focuses on painting a very realistic picture for his audience. The plot focuses around the Heke family, which is used as a symbolic figure to represent the life of a certain group of Maori people. Beth, the mother left her hometown and married Jake Heke against her parents’ will. They live in a downtrodden neighborhood and the family is shown as disconnected from both their Maori heritage and Western culture.

The film begins with Jake loosing his job and he continues to remain unemployed throughout the movie, spending most of his time drinking at a local pub with his friends. Nig, the oldest son, despises his father’s brutality and leaves the family to join a street gang. The gang members all have facial tattoos, which represent their Maori heritage. However, the gang members are also shown having ties to Western culture when they are shown drinking at bars and taking drugs. The second son Mark is often involved in minor criminal offenses and is shown getting arrested for a car theft early on in the movie. The court places him in a foster home due to his parents’ situation. Mark is extremely frustrated at his situation, but eventually comes along and becomes intrigued and somewhat passionate about his culture’s history. Grace, the youngest daughter is thirteen who represents to more ambitious and educate aspect of the family. She enjoys writing stories, which she uses as way to escape her vicious real life. She often spends time with her best friend Toot, who is a bum that lives in a run down car under a bridge. Grace is an essential element of the plot as it is her death that makes the family realize their pathetic situation and make a change. Grace is sexually assaulted by her Jake’s friend Bully. This adds to her depression and she commits suicide. Beth refuses to continue to live their life and wants to move back home. Jake who is shocked refuses to attend Grace’s funeral and spends his time drinking at the pub. Beth reads Grace’s diary and reveals to Nig and Jake that Grace was raped by Bully. Jake, true to his nature, beats Bully to pulp and stabs him with broken bottles. Beth and the rest of the family leave Jake and return to Beth’s hometown. Beth states that the Maori people were once warriors, but not the kind of warrior that Jake is. She tells Jake that he is still a slave to his brutal nature and worldly vices. She also says that her Maori heritage gave her the strength to put up with Jake for so many years and that it will continue to give her the strength to leave Jake and his control.

Throughout the movie Tamahori uses a very real setting and regular camera lighting. Also, there was usually no music in the background, which added to the real element of the film. The movie has a very blunt nature, which is one of its strengths. Every point the movie attempts to make hits audiences hard. The movie is also a contrast to the general view that the world has of New Zealand. New Zealand is generally portrayed as having a beautiful landscape and joyful people. Once Were Warriors paints a very different picture of life in New Zealand. Every building shown in the movie is run down and every car is broken, just like the Heke family. 

- Arun Duraiswamy

No Man's Land

Unlike the average war movie, No Man's Land is not focused on neither the action nor the conflict, but the confusion and the disorder that occurs during war. As the title states, the movie is about a scene that happens in no man's land which is the area between the front lines of either side. Set in the middle of the Bosnian war in 1993, two Bosnian Muslim soldiers named Ciki and Cera and one Bosnian Serb soldier name Nino are stuck in a trench in no man's land for one day. Ciki and Nino confront each other inside the trench trading insults, jokes, and control. Through out the movie Cera cannot move because he is laying on top of a bouncing mine which will explode if he sits up. Out of friendship, Ciki stays with his friend Cera and forces Nino to stay in the trench so his side will not shoot. They deperately call for help by dancing around in their underwear. The UNProf, who are known for being ineffective in stopping the war, investigate the scene.

Mixed with some comedy, this war drama shows the problems of war and the tensions help between enemies of a common background. Not supporting either side of the conflict and not even supporting the nuetral UN, No Man's Land provides an unbyist insight to the Bosnian war which may differ from common views on the war.
-Raymond Chian

Turtles Can Fly

When I hear war movie I think of movies like Rambo and Saving Private Ryan, but after watching the film Turtles can Fly I’m going to have to rethink my preconceived notions of the war movie genre. Turtles can Fly takes places during the present day Iraqi-American war, but instead of being from a soldier’s perspective, it takes the viewpoints children. The film’s protagonist, Satellite, takes care of the village’s children by finding work for them which includes clearing mine fields, renting guns, setting up satellite dishes, and various other odd jobs. The movie also is centered on the story of two refugees, Agrin, and Henkov. After first laying eyes on Agrin, the only female lead, Satellite immediately sets out to woo her despite his ignorance of her troubled past. The film goes on to reveal more about these two refuge brother and sister and their “little brother” through a series of flashbacks slowly revealing the plot behind the movie. In the end, Turtles can Fly is a story about the harshness of everyday life for children in a war torn country.

                One of the items in this movie that struck me as important was the rope Satellite gives to Agrin in the beginning of the movie. At first it symbolized his interest in Agrin because he had given it to her for no charge. Later on in the film it, after more of Agrin’s story was revealed, it came to symbolize something else. The rope that was used to keep Agrin’s “brother” tied down so he wouldn’t escape also tied Agrin to the child and to her violent past. And the rope was used again in the end of the film to tie down her problems permanently so she could finally leave.  It was powerful use of symbols like the rope and others, such as the red fish, which give this movie its deeper meaning.

                Turtles can Fly was a unique perspective on the Iraqi people. Something we as Americans don’t get to see very often.

-David Brown-

Joint Security Area

Joint Security Area is a Korean film about the conflict that ensues between North Korea and South Korea after two North Korean soldiers are found dead. Major Sophie from the Neutral Nations Supervisory Committee is sent to investigate the incident. What she finds out as the truth begins to unravel is that there is more to this incident then just a kidnapping or a simple shooting.
Joint Security Area definitely conveyed some nationalist themes, such as the contrast between tradition and modernity. After The Korean War in the 1950’s, North Korea and South Korea were two countries populated by members who despised each other. During this movie, made in 2000, soldiers are seen trying to overstep this bond of hatred and enjoy each other as brothers. They are trying to overcome the decades old idea that they must hate each other. The movie also seems a critique on the social situation of the day; it seems to make fun of how important each side hating the other had become. For example, the scene when the two soldiers, one from each side, were guarding the boarder and one soldier told the other that his “shadow was over the line.” That is just a ridiculous notion, and yet representative of how the two countries acted towards each other.
Although this film contains many nationalist themes, I believe it could also be seen as a global film. First off I found it fascinating that much of the movie was conducted in English, especially in the interaction of Major Sophie and the other Swiss and Swedish members of the NNSC. It shows how English has really become an international language. Secondly, I think this film can relate to many countries that have found themselves in the aftermath of a civil war. One of the big elements of this that other countries I believe could relate to is competition in the production of goods. This is seen with the moon pies; the Northern soldiers loved the moon pies and hoped someday to be known for making the best sweets on the peninsula. This emotion is felt not just between two sides of one country around the world today, but between two separate countries competing for customers of the same good.
One of the big elements of mise-en-scene used by the director Park Chan-wook was lighting. There was a lot of dark lighting and shadows used to convey the secrecy and the lies that occurred all throughout the movie. One example of this is the shadows cast upon Major Sophie and Sgt. Lee Soo-hyeok when she is trying to ask him about his deposition. The lighting plays a large part in the viewer’s understanding of the film.

-Marshall Anne Caswell