Saturday, October 9, 2010

movie update #1

I recently wrote about the Bechdel test and the car-free test. I thought I would post each movie I saw and results based on those two tests, but I've seen a number of movies since then and have yet to blog about it. But, here we go...

My Brother is an Only Child
This is a really great Italian film about two brothers' political and personal evolution in the 60s and 70s. As it was based in mostly small-town Italy, walking and transit were not shown in an unfavorable light. However, as the movie progressed and the years passed, the automobile gained greater significance both as an object and as part of one's life. The older brother celebrated his first full-time factory job by purchasing a brand new car. The younger brother was given a car by his mistress as a sign of gratitude. In addition, a key turning point in both the brothers' relationship and political beliefs involved the local fascist group planning to burn one of the brother's cars. Overall, I think this portrayal of the automobile was not to specifically signal its prominence over other modes, but to accurately show the integration of the automobile into Italian life.

As for the Bechdel test, it failed. But given the name of the film, why would anyone expect differently? The movie does have at least two women in it. Four to be precise, but none of the four ever speak to each other. (This may not be entirely accurate. I think the mom and the sister may say one or two sentences, but it is definitely not essential to the movie as I don't remember it.)