Chronicle of a death foretold. - An Interpretation

Cronaca di una morte annunciata (original title) Dir:
Francesco Rosi Seen at the Jerusalem Cinemateque Tue 5th Jan 2016

Not having read the book I can’t say how close this movie sticks to the story by the great author, Gabriel Garcia Marques. The scenes in this movie are works of art, joined together and put in a sequence that gradually reveals a multitude of plots all woven into one. Long after seeing the movie, the scenes, of their own accord come back into my mind, like a tune that once heard is never forgotten, demanding to be considered the main plot.

A man, on the prow of a river boat looks at the approaching land. The scene, without words, only the thudding motor of the boat, feint sounds of voices coming from the land, the brilliant white of an elegant mansion, contrasting with the dark gold of the water and a glimpse of narrow alley ways opening on to a wide plaza, hints to us that dramatic events, now memories, are going to be revealed here.

Even now, more than a week since seeing the movie, I ask myself, what I can learn from this tragic story.

The town’s folk have just celebrated a fairy tale marriage of a young woman. Immediately her prince like husband reveals her lost virginity on her marriage bed and returns her to her mother as spoilt property.

The lesson I learnt from this movie is that a woman whose honor has been taken away has the right to name the price for its recovery. Her price is the life of the most popular young man in town, full of the joy of life and hope in the future. It doesn’t matter whether it really was he who had robbed her of her virginity. The fact is that a fallen woman is dangerous; she can name the price of her lost honor. She chooses him to be the sacrifice, because he is worthy.

He is killed just like a sacrifice, stabbed to death in the town’s main square, while all the people of the town, his friends look on.

I wouldn’t have come to this conclusion had I continued, like most viewers, I suppose, to dwell on the mystery of whether it was really he who had taken away her virginity. If it wasn’t him, then who was the true defiler? Why didn’t she give him up to be murdered? Was she protecting someone? Who was she protecting? Was it the doctor? Or was it someone in her immediate family? Maybe even her father or one of her brothers?

Rocco and His Brothers. Directed by: Luchino Visconti.

Rocco and his brothers. Dir: Luchino Visconti 1960. From the 3rd Ear at the Jerusalem cinemateque. Sun 5th Dec. 2015

This wonderful movie focuses on the tragedy of farmers who are forced to migrate to the big city, because of circumstances, in a modern world, where the big cities offer the means of earning a living, no longer possible in agriculture.

The dream of returning to an earlier, ideal world, where one was honored and life was beautiful, even though it was hard and they were poor, motivates the desire to be noble, despite the dishonorable temptations of the the city. This leads to making absurd sacrifices to achieve the the goal of attaining honor and nobility.

The hero becomes like a knight in shining armour, he is a veritable Don Quixote; he sacrifices the object he loves most in all the world, the woman he loves, and who he rescued from dishonor, and so allowing his immoral brother to have her, causing her, in her disappointment, to return to her original immoral situation.

Israel wants peace the Arabs want submission which they call Peace

The Palestinians policy of carrying out terrorist attacks exactly when the prospect of settling the Israel-Palestinian dipute by peaceful negotiations seems brightest is not aimed at putting an end to the Peace process as many people, especially Israelis think.

Terror attacks show, however that the Palestinians want more than peace, they want peace by submission. This kind of peace is valuable because it affirms the honor of the Palestinian nation and honor, as everyone knows is very important in Arab society. We only need to look at the number of wives and daughters who have been murdered to save the honor of an Arab family.

If Israel gives up territory in response to a terror attack or demolishes a settlement or places a moratorium on the building of settlements as America and Europe are constantly demanding it promotes the honor of the Arabs.

If giving up territory etc. is achieved in a peaceful atmosphere Arab honor isn't satisfied. Submission must be achieved and that can only be achieved when relinquishing land or building takes place  in the wake of terror or war.

The only way that the Palestinians can feel strong is when terror or war brings Israel to its knees.

Either the Palestinians can't distinguish between peace and submission or they can but they want peace as an instrument of submission and eventual oppression, a very popular phenomenon in Arab societies.

Citizens of practically all the Arab countries are right now struggling, most unsuccessfully to rid themselves from oppression and here, in Israel, the so called bright enlightened nations like Europe and America are demanding that the free country of Israel succomb to that same sort of Arab oppression that the citizens of those countries are suffering from and are trying so desperately to break free from..

Oppressing Israel would give them a feeling that revenge has been achieved.

As far as the Palestinians are concerned peace can only be established with Israel after revenge has been achieved as when two families who have been at war with each other peace may only be acieved when revenge has been taken.

In their way of thinking there can't be peace with an enemy who has harmed you and you haven't avenged the harm. Harm and injury must be avenged. Honor requires this vengeance.