MovieChat Forums > Respiro (2002) Discussion > Men of the island

Men of the island

posted 16 years ago by bgil_1186
9 replies | jump to latest

Was anyone else annoyed by the males in this film...meaning all males, young AND old? I found them incredibley sexist to the point of being annoying. I wanted to slap the little kid upside the head when he mouthed off to his sister and starting bossing her around (althogh I understand that this was probably for comic relief). The older son isn't much better and the dad is the worst. This overly macho behavior was strange to me, as I am not used to it (I'm a guy from Minnesota). Are the aforementioned behaviors typical for rurual Sicilian men?

[–] bagelbacherjerome 16 years ago

Was it really sexist, or were they being protective? For example,
the little kid that you speak of was afraid his sister was being taken advantage of by the policeman. The boy and his brother had grown accustomed to having to protect their mother when her behavior made her look foolish or immoral (e.g., appearing topless at the beach so the crew on the passing fishing boat could oogle her and, later, trying to get on a sailboat with strange men). The young boy was probably trying to protect his sister from a similar fate.

What you call sexist behavior on the part of the father could similarly
be viewed as protective. He didn't want his wife to board the fishing
boat with the crew members who had just eyed her while she was frolicking in just her underwear and topless.

[–] bgil_1186 16 years ago

I'd say it could be protective, but it doesn't negate the fact that it is
sexist and overly macho (assertive) behavior. Does the mother really
need to be protected from the passing fishing boat? What is wrong with
her skinny dipping? The men on the boat were relatives and friends of
the family. I think the father was upset with her for exposing too much
of herself (which is usually the problem seen with skinny dipping). The
scene where the father yanks his wife's hair comes to mind. No one
seemed to have a problem with that behavior, other than the French men
who are travelers to the island. Beside the fact that they didn't
realize that the man was her husband, I think they felt that it was
pretty out of line to hurt her like that, thus they defended her.
Another scene that comes to mind is when the wife invites herself to the
conversation between her husband and his friends. She took his beer and
acted as if everything was okay. The look on the father's face was of
shock and confusion and his friends looked slightly disapproving. This
is another example in which a woman inserted herself into a man's
activity; extremely sexist.

The scene in the beginning, where the middle son tackles his sister is
very domineering and slightly disturbing; I felt it went beyond siblings
playfully fighting. I felt he was asserting his dominance over her, even
as a younger sibling. I felt the youngest brother, while possibly
protecting his sister, was mostly acting macho for the sake of it.
Before this scene, the kid mouthed off to the police officer and even
threatened him; there was already a dislike for him before the two
started dating. I felt it was more of an authority issue and a clash of
egos and machismo.

That's my opinion anyway. Don't get me wrong, I liked the film and the
actors were great. I am just curious as to what life is like in rural
areas like these in Italy; if it was true to real life?

[–] bagelbacherjerome 16 years ago

I don't doubt your appreciation of the film. Your observations
are insightful and, after a second viewing of the film, I see
some of your points.

Yes, I agree that some of the examples you give were a display of
excessive machismo. The pulling of her hair and the behavior that
provoked the Frenchmen's retaliation were indeed sexist.

I don't see how the "fight" between the sister and her
brother is more than a harmless sibling encounter. In fact,
I think both brothers are having a little difficulty accepting
that their sister has "come of age"; they treat her like a
little girl yet they're gradually accepting the fact that she
has become a woman. The younger brother seems to have the most
difficulty accepting this, and he is the most protective. I still
don't see this as macho sexism on his part. I think he's simply being
overly protective.

I don't see the skinny-dipping the same way you do. For his wife
to be caught topless by the husband's workers
(even if some may be relatives) was a major embarrassment.
Notice that her sons quickly try to get her her clothes when the
boat passes. The younger son tries to wave the boat away when he
sees the leering crewmen. I don't think her husband overreacted by his refusal to let her board the boat with the others. If he allowed her to board the boat, it would be embarrassing to let her mingle with men who, minutes earlier, had been the voyeurs of her foolish display of partial nudity.

[–] bgil_1186 16 years ago

You bring up good points about the sons and the public nudity (I agree with you on this now). I'm still not completley convinced about the sons though. I think I need to view this again and keep an open mind!

[–] bagelbacherjerome 16 years ago

I watched it again, and I noticed the great difference in
maturity between the older brother and the younger brother. As you
point out, the younger one is direct and obnoxious in his opposition to his
sister having a boyfriend. I think he's just not mature enough
to see his sister as a grown-up woman. The older brother doesn't
seem to be bothered with his sister having a love interest; or he
just accepts it as a natural fact of life.

I saw the same distinction in maturity level when the mother and father
excuse themselves to "get some rest". The younger one wisecracks something to the effect that they're not going to get much rest. The older one stops him in his tracks with a statement that it's none of his business what they do. Again, the older one seems accepting that his parents are going to have sex.
The younger one is just not ready yet to respond to this maturely.

Each time I watch this movie, I keep seeing different dimensions of the characters. It was a really well done movie.

[–] bagelbacherjerome 16 years ago

Some other subtle (and well acted) cues that these kids are growing up
include the daughter's willingness to stop the mother when she asks the
young policeman to come in and have coffee. For a girl that age to
contradict her mother's misguided actions (without causing a scene) was
brilliant. Also, do you recall when the daughter is confronted with her little
brother's boorish behavior when she wants to sit with the new boyfriend
(the policeman) on the hill looking out upon the ocean? Again, she handled
it with class. I believe that most girls that age (13? 14?) would have
freaked out if a little brother did something like that.

This plus (what I consider to be) maturity on the part of her brothers
make me think that the mother's manic-depressive condition forced them to grow up very quickly. Sometimes I think the children are more mature about the mother's condition than the husband is. They certainly show more compassion than he does.

On an earlier post, I mentioned how the older brother seems to be so grown up. The little brother, despite occasional silly actions, seems
he is maturing as well. For example, when his mother is
exposed on the beach and in the water, he seeks to have her cover up
and urges her to come back so she is not spotted by strangers semi-nude. Later, he scolds the local gossips who are so interested in
talking about his mother. I think these are some pretty grown-up actions
on the part of somebody his age.

How old do you think the characters are? Would you say the oldest boy
is 15, the girl is 14, and the younger brother is 10? Do you think I'm
off in my estimates of their ages?

[–] Mixalidis 12 years ago

Hm, I'd also guess the younger boy was 10, the older 13, the sister 14 or 15...?

Anyway, it must be pretty hard for someone from Minnesota to understand all the layers of this movie. Or even anyone who has no connection to the sea. And I don't mean that as looking down on anyone.

Such rough land won't soften your heart, that's for sure. The father would probably stay a couple of days out at sea, and with the mother being mentally unstable, the kids were the ones holding the family together as best as they could do it.

Yes, macho behaviour is present in this movie, but I never thought it crossed the line except when father pulled her hair.

Notice that boys were nothing but kind to their mother.

[–] timlin-4 11 years ago

Give us an update on your life 5 years later. If you haven't learned to be a man it's going to be a pitiful story of cowardice, weakness. Has any woman ever respected you?

[–] yan-trussart 10 years ago

You're a tool...