MovieChat Forums > Night Has Settled (2014) Discussion > Very odd that Oliver spoke to his nanny ...

Very odd that Oliver spoke to his nanny using informal spanish...


In Spanish, the "tu" form of a verb is used informally, to people who are friends and family, but NOT usually to older, more respected people, eg your parents or grandparents, or indeed a caretaker like Oliver's nanny. The Usted form of a verb is used for those types of people out of respect.

I feel like this is more of an error on the part of the writer or director than the actor, as he's just reading lines he's given. But any writer who's going to heavily add Spanish to their script should know when to use and not use the Tu and Usted forms of verbs.

It's not a big gripe, I just find it to be an obvious goof.

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Right now, we are alive... And in this moment, I swear... We are infinite.

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Why couldn't the housekeeper have asked the boy to use the Tu form with her?
I have Spanish people that work for me and that's what I told them.

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I sorta get what you're saying... But I still think that anyone who DIDN'T know that that is indeed what happened (including us, because it's never mentioned) would see Oliver as being disrespectful to his nanny. A Spaniard would shake their head at the kid for that. Just saying.

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Right now, we are alive... And in this moment, I swear... We are infinite.

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Aida was very clear about not being Oliver's mother, and when Oliver says 'You are my real mother', she slaps him in the face and tells him to never say that. She doesn't even directly castigate Oliver for smoking - the pressure put on him to not smoke is completely self-created and he doesn't want her to know he smokes not because she will yell at him or punish him, but because he doesn't want to disappoint her or tarnish her image of him as perfect. I would find it very out of place with the rest of their relationship if Aida had him speak to her with formal Spanish.

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He loved her like a mom, maybe that's why he spoke informally to her?

Esta es mi firma


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