NJCU Italian Film: Spring 2023

The Golden Door Umberto D. Life is a fleeting thing, here one moment and gone the next. As we journey through life obstacles will continuously appear and alter our course.  Vittorio DeSica's story compellingly narrates the common everyday struggles. Umberto D. is a retired civil servant who's measly pension barely keeps him alive in the growingly lavish streets of post-war Italy. Yet, as Umberto confronts these harsh realities he is constantly accompanied by his pet dog, Flike. Faced with eviction, hospitalization, and never ending financial struggles it seems as though life is truly against Umberto. The fight against the world extends to Maria, the young maid in Umberto's building who also lives a life of fear and despair. The two must manage their own growing issues, unable to assist the other with their difficulties. Thrusted out onto the unforgiving streets of Rome, Umberto D. graples with the thought of suicide. At the last second Umberto choses life and rethinks his f

  Based on the clip that was shown about Love and Anarchy(1978) I was intrigued into watching the whole movie as I found the plot about wanting to kill Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to be quite a story to tell. I really liked the beginning of the film where it had lots of scenes of showing what Italy was going through and thought it was a nice touch. Many things were going on here such as sneaky romance between Tunin and Salome. I found her intentions of helping Tunin surprising until revealed that her husband was wrongfully killed by Mussolini's police and saw that there was a reason for Mussolini to go. I see this film as way of showing Mussolini as the bad guy. I always noticed how many years later, many directors started to show the bad side of dictators as that could not be shown during the time of their reign. 

  My family backstory is how my mom was born in Colombia in the 60's. My father was born in Queens in the 70's and at 9 months old relocated to Colombia. My mother moved to Queens in the late 80's as she had a aunt living in Los Angeles. My father lived in Colombia until 15 when he crashed my grandfather's luxury car and his punishment was to live in the United States with his uncle in New Jersey. My grandmother and grandfather ended up coming to the U.S to live with my father in the early 90's where once again he became a bad apple and got kicked out of the house and then he went to California for a one week vacation where he met my mother and a one week vacation turned into 9 months and a marriage. My other grandparents came to the U.S in the late 90's to be around for the birth of my sister and later on myself.

  The story of  The Godfather  is really a pretty simple story when you break it down into its elements. If we watch it directly from the point of view of Micheal, it is the story of a person who lived life one way but when faced with a hardship to overcome, he must change everything about the way that he lives his life. From the perspective of Vito Corleone, it is the story of predatory sharks trying to avoid becoming prey. When you break down the story this way it does not need to be told with the image of Italian Americans but I think it does so because it works well as a story of a rising underdog. The film was released in 1972 and I would think by then much of the discrimination towards Italian immigrants that had been present in the 40's had now dwindled down immensely. The film itself takes place in that era of the past as we see an already powerful family try and survive through a changing world. A good moment in the movie that helps bring this story closer to modern Americ