SofiaTalksFilm

  I absolutely love when a movie can change my perspective on certain genres, and Better Luck Tomorrow accomplished this. I do not like films that center high schoolers. I think they usually have surface level plots and unremarkable characters. This film changed my perspective on movies that focus on high schoolers. I forgot at certain moments that the characters were even in high school, but that might be because the actors were in their thirties.  The incredible part of this film is that the director plays with the Asian-American identity, flipping the role of model minority on its head. Although these characters may show the model minority stereotype to their parents and teachers, but the audience gets the closest look as to what these characters are really like, without their model minority mask.  The director is taking this idea of 'Asian and Nerdy', and they deconstruct how the audience may perceive the character versus how the characters actually act throughout the...

  Today, with social media that is used to document every aspect of our lives, individuals have the ability to tell their own stories with ease. Despite the easy access we have to documenting our daily lives, it is difficult to find stories that are as open to the idea of documenting the life of the individual in its rawest form.  In aka Don Bonus , the filmmaker is not afraid of discussing his own emotions of loneliness, grief, frustration, and fear. He describes his feelings to us, while explaining where those feelings are stemming from. He does this openly and without judgement, but the audience understands that he may not share these feelings and emotions to the people that he interacts with in his daily life. It is a venting piece, a piece of documentation as well as a work of art.  Despite our technological connections to other people, there is always the question of an online persona. Even though people want to share their lives with others, there is a disconnect t...

  The release of the 2018 film, Crazy Rich Asians , introduced an Asian American experience to mainstream media. The fully asian cast allows a surface level view of Asian and Asian American experiences. Although this film attempts to display these characters as a fully developed people, it does not succeed in many ways.  Hollywood films rarely stray away from the structure that they are accustomed to. There is a conflict to overcome, and in this case the conflict is being accepted as a poor foreigner into a wealthy home. The characters react according to their surface level character traits. The male lead is supposed to take over the family business while his love interest attempts to leave in order to give him that future. The tropes that this film uses allow the audience to already know the conclusion, because a Hollywood film needs a happy ending with everything wrapped in a bow.  Although casting a fully Asian cast is an achievement for Hollywood, it feels the sa...

    400 Blows, in my opinion, is one of the greatest childhood coming-of-age films I have ever seen. It accurately portrays the disconnect between children and adults, and the desperate need to be seen and understood. It also shows a trouble maker that does not necessarily want to cause trouble. The use of realism in this film is what makes it so meaningful. Either you grew up knowing a child like the main character, Antoine, or you were that child. The story is realistic and understandable. You empathize with this boy that just wants to be seen and understood by the adults around him.       The adult influences around him, from his parents to the police officer, treat him as though he is unwanted in this adult world. At the end of the film, it is even revealed that his mother did not want him and his mother does not hide the fact that Antoine is nothing more than a nuisance that prevents her from living her life. His step-father seems like he tries, but in...