MovieChat Forums > Somos lo que hay (2010) Discussion > Read the title, people.

Read the title, people.

posted 12 years ago by TheManInOil
2 replies | jump to latest

This movie isn't just nonsense - it's about something. You have to appreciate what it's really about if you want to get anything out of watching it. It's not a movie for a passive audience.

The movie is about the consequences of being different, as well as the consequences of trying not to be different.

The patriarch of a dysfunctional family has found a way to ritualize order and identity upon them. It's not natural, and the cannibal aspect reflects both the unnatural nature of their pretense and the viciousness of forcing people to be other than what they are. The mother doesn't love her husband or her children, the brother sexually desires the sister, and Alfredo is in denial of his homosexuality. They all bury their instincts in order to adhere to the order of things as prescribed by 'the ritual' and the incessant ticking of clocks. Only the sister seems truly to identify herself by the observances pushed upon her since childhood, when any identity of her own was obliterated.

But when the father dies the facade of order disintegrates because Alfredo is unwilling/unable to maintain the pretense. This is why things begin to fall apart. The cracks in their illusions begin to show and they are unable to continue unnoticed in society.

This brings in the second level of the story, which concerns the fact that a society - even when built on dishonesty and corruption - will not tolerate deviation from the norm. Ultimately the family is destroyed because the world at large is just as ritualized and artificial as their own family life, and crushes those who do not adhere. Only the sister survives because only she can maintain both levels of pretense. Ironically she is a soulless and evil shell of a person with no notion of who she is beyond that which has been stamped upon her by her family and the world around her.

The whole thing could be taken for an allegory of homosexual repression enforced upon Alfredo and the damage that does to him, but really it's broader than that. It's significance applies across the board to any kind of deviation from what's considered 'normal'. It's about the damage caused to human beings by having identity forced upon them rather than living as they must - as themselves.

"I'll book you. I'll book you on something. I'll find something in the book to book you on."

[–] miya6550 11 years ago

Thank you TheManInOil. This is very well written. But something I still don't quite get. What's the deal with the father? His staring at the mannequins, his addiction to "whores", and why the coroner say he's poisoned or what exactly is the cause of death? How do we put all these together to have a better understanding of the father's role in the movie?

Do you mean the sister is the only one in the family true to herself? She knows what she is and she doesn't deny it.

Two bathroom scenes. First, younger brother secretly wants to lead the family and also is obviously jealous of Sabina's feelings for Alfredo. Second, Sabina bathes in the tub and hugs younger brother when Alfredo is out. Does it mean Sabina succumbs to the affection of the younger brother because the family must have a leader (maybe she isn't sure if Alfredo is ever going to return)?

[–] spookyrat1 8 years ago

What's the deal with the father? His staring at the mannequins, his addiction to "whores", and why the coroner say he's poisoned or what exactly is the cause of death? How do we put all these together to have a better understanding of the father's role in the movie?

And yet supposedly such a great family leader? I agree. I think the father's role and the "ritual" itself needed greater exposition that we received in this film.🐭