Dias de Boda (Dogme #30)
Directed by Juan Pinzas, Dias de Boda is a Spanish stab at Dogme, with the films drama centered around the wedding of an aspiring, upwardly mobile young couple. Having seen my share of American Wedding films, where the conflict typically centers around madcap events that threaten to soil an idealized marriage ceremony, I was eager to see what the Dogme approach to a wedding would be. I certainly was not expecting a gazebo being burned down, or bridesmaids suffering from food poisoning. My expectations were not off the mark.
The film becomes an examination of the complex nature of human relationships. While the focus should be on the bride and groom, family enters into the scenario in an all to prominent way. The viewer is keenly aware that the real dilema lies in the fact fact that a wedding does not just bring together two lives, but two worlds.
Sonia, the bride, is caught between her manipulative and controlling mother and her adoring father who has always sought the best for his daughter-or so it seems. It turns out that the father of the bride is a cocaine addict who has a sexual relationship with his daughter's soon-to-be husband. This creates a mire into which all characters are drawn.
Dias de Boda takes the idea of the happy wedding story and completely strips it to a nightmare of human anxiety. While many Americans see weddings as happy occasions to celebrate the union of two individuals, Dias de Boda makes the wedding a communal event, dragging in all the baggage that comes with many flawed humans. It is hard to stomach the tension in the film, as the viewer wants so badly to see the happy couple that is seen at the beginning, and end of the movie escape all the turmoil. A slight note on that last sentence: Dias de Boda appears to break the here-and-now rule that was laid out as a guiding principle. The movie concludes with a scene of the couple enjoying a walk on a beach, a blissful scene that is a reprise of an earlier visual. Given the events that occur, it seems unlikely that this is a chronological development. Rather, it is an allusion to an earlier time. I found it odd that the film chose to end with this scene, despite the crushing suffering that is developed throughout the rest of Dia de Boda.
Robbie
I can relate to this movie because I am currently planning a wedding, and it is by no means an easy, non-stressful task. It is hard to consider the fact that this is my and my future husband's day when I have 50 million (a slight exaggeration) opinions and inputs on how to create the "perfect" wedding. From my experience as an engaged individual, I have learned it is best to be affirmative and know from the beginning what you and your future husband desire. Also, it is true that such a big and important event does cause two worlds to collide. For this reason, it is helpful to marry into families that are supportive of the couple's decision, which I am assuming from your review that the families of the couple in the film did not agree with their arrangement. It is hard to not take into consideration what family has to say about life decisions, but the hard truth is that they are not always right because they may not have all the pieces to the puzzle or all the information to make a factual judgment. Regardless, if a couple is in the hard position of disagreeing families, they must move on with thier dreams and love their families at the same time.
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