The first half of the movie I was convinced on awarding the film five stars, but in its latter half things started repeating themselves a bit, and the story started losing its emotional grip. Somehow I believe that due to the strong emotions on children, Mammoth will affect more those people who have children on their own. After all the biggest idea behind the story is that children and parents need time together.
The people in this film aren't ignorant or arrogant; they're aware of the often-awkward social boundaries that money creates. They know the unfairness of the Western system, yet they are powerless to change it. They unwillingly feel themselves becoming cogs in the machine, when- like the mammoth- all that'll be left of them in the end is bone. (Who knows, maybe one day human bone will become a commodity as well). The tragedy in the film is that Leo an Ellen are so wrapped up in their own worlds of pain that they don't recognize the true depth of Gloria's pain.
It shows the children collecting garbage and selling themselves for tourists in the Philippines, it shows both the beauty and the ugliness of the tourism in Thailand, and it shows also how a seemingly normal life in New York can be so filled with emotions that are not getting fulfilled. And also it shows that in a world full of technology that should keep people more easily connected to other people, people still need each other in person and not just as a voice, sms or email.
Just a reminder to everyone, please make sure to properly cite direct quotations from outside sources if you are using them in your blog posts or in any of your writing for that matter. This entire middle paragraph is extracted from Lucy Tonic's piece on the movie that was given as assigned reading and proper citation should be given to the author or else it is plagiarism.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that the word Mammoth means "mother" in Tagalog, I would never think about that! For me, it reinforces the movie's purpose of highlighting the importance of the relationship established between parents (especially mothers) and their kids. One of the most sad scenes in my opinion was when Anthony died, and Ellen started crying like he was her own son.
ReplyDeleteComment by Michelle: This movie deals with human relationship and how modernism has a impact on it. I agree when Mariana said in her last paragraph about the technology. However, I think that this is the consequence of the modern world, we are losing close contact, but I do not think this is so bad. Thanks to technology we have more broadly contact with other people. Whereas, regarding to family relationship, I personally think that we must value and save some time with them no matter how hard it could be.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Rayane. Also, I think that the movie ends with this struggling idea that nothing is going to change. They can't find the solution, although they want to. They are trapped in what they are, what they know, what they become.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Mariana when you say that the movie was a litlle bit repetitive, however, I believe this repeticion let the movie message clearer to everyone. I would give it 4 stars.
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