MovieChat Forums > A Walk in the Clouds (1995) Discussion > LANGUAJES (little spoiler)

LANGUAJES (little spoiler)

posted 15 years ago by kiaeremecol34
7 replies | jump to latest

So.........What the hell is wrong with the use of language in this movie? Im not saying that this must be completly in english or spanish but come on:

FIRST: They´re supposed that come from Mexico but theyre always talking ENGLISH, even when they talk spanish, and they let us know that SPANISH IS THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE.

SECOND: If theyre a really traditional familiy WHY THE HELL THEYRE ALWAYS SPEAKING ENGLISH?

THIRD: Ok they decided to talk english because theyre not "so traditional". So in that case....Why did Don Alberto yells Pedro because he makes her self call Pete? EXACTLY WHATS THE POINT.

HERE I COULD LEARN SOMETHING: A STUPID DIRECTOR (American guys who liked this film: Please try to get ZAPATA: EL SUEÑO DEL HEROE.) CAN USE LANGUAGE AT HIS WILL.

What do you think?
WAITING FOR ANSWERS.........KIAEREMECOL 34

[–] grumpybear_22 15 years ago

1) Yes they were from Mexico...last time I went to Mexico I heard this funny thing...English!
2)Yes they were a Mexican family...there are plenty of familes that speak more than one language.
3)The point of that scene is that his name is Pedro and don't change it to Pete, just to fit in. Be proud of who you are...what your parents named you.
I can kind of see your frustration but at least you could hear their accents...now in this Tom Cruise movie, he is in Germany, playing a German...and not a lick of German accent coming out of him...now that was stupid
daveramsey.com "Best thing to ever happen to us" Are you weird too?

[–] arirod 14 years ago

You are missing the point. Part of the charm of this movie is the difference and tensions between generations; Old Traditions vs. New Realities. The Aragon family originally came from Mexico but they are now living in the United States. The younger generation of any such family will prefer to speak English because that is the language that is spoken in school and used by their friends. They are probably English-dominant. There is also a tendency to anglicize their names to fit in with their friends. The older generation clings to their traditions and primary language.

The use of language captures that conflict between the old and the new ways of lives

Seize this day

[–] eljuma_1 13 years ago

Pffft what a stupid thread.

They are Californios:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Californio

They may identify as "Mexican" much like Al Capone identified himself as "Italian" but they are and were born US citizens and their language is English. Anglicizing names isn't that rare considering the time period (mid 40s) either.

In essence, they didn't "come" from Mexico. Mexico "got away" from them, if you know what I mean.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5956) 3 years ago

Was very surprised they didn't hire all Mexican actors. Instead we have a Spanish-Italian, an Italian, and who knows what else. Was Salma Hayek unavailable, for example?

[–] BourbonKing (5612) 3 years ago

That's the goofy thing about Hollywood. There's that other movie about Cubans called "The Perez Family" and it has mostly Italian-American actors and I think zero actual people of Cuban descent except perhaps a few background characters (I haven't seen it in a while).

Brian dePalma did the same thing with Scarface where a majority of the Latino characters were Italian-American and Anglo/Irish. Steven Bauer was the only high profile supporting actor of actual Cuban descent.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5956) 3 years ago

So the pattern is one of discrimination against Latin Americans?

[–] BourbonKing (5612) 3 years ago

It could be argued that it was, but these are films from 20+ years ago. More and more independent and original content from actual places are showcasing native talent. Only when Hollywood adapts an original story from Latin America and turns it into an American one casting white actors can they get away with it. Still, even with American Latinos Hollywood tends to white wash them out by casting non-Latino actors (ie - Ben Affleck in Argo or Matt Damon in the Good Shepherd)