In defense of Mr. Oscar Angulo:
Every movie needs a villain. Unfortunately, in real life, things are not as clear-cut black and white.
In defense of Mr. Oscar Angulo:
1. The couple met in Peru. He left his country, culture, language, and traditions to follow her to her country, her culture, her language & her traditions.
2. Housing projects, welfare, home-schooling vouchers, none of these social services exist in Peru. So, Mr. Angulo would be oblivious to their existence. The only one that would know how to apply for these programs would be the mom, Susanne.
3. Mr. Angulo grew up in Peru. His first language was probably some indigenous dialect or Spanish. Yet, his children grew up speaking English, their mother’s language.
4. Mr. Angulo is a dark skinned immigrant man with a thick accent. He probably suffered discrimination. The cold, hostile stares probably made him think that America was an evil, cold place. The only place he felt safe was at home with his wife. That is probably why he wanted to protect his kids from the cruel outside world.
5. Why didn’t they interview Mr. Angulo in his language, whether it be Spanish or some other indigenous dialect?
Addendum to my previous list of comments:
6. The family practiced the Hare Krishna religion. How did a Peruvian Indian boy hear about this weird, American hippie religion based on ancient Hindu scriptures? Most Peruvians are Catholic! The only one that had visited Tibet was the mom, Susanne.
7. If you see pictures of the mom, Susanne, when she was younger, she was a stunning beauty! The dad, Oscar, not so much. Poor guy didn't stand a chance! He followed her to a whole other continent!
8. The mom, Susanne, is much older in age and has much more world experience from her travels, she should have known better!
I wish someone would interview Oscar's Peruvian mom, and ask her what she thinks of the situation. In her eyes, some older blue-eyed "gringa" stole her little Indian boy, took him far, far away, and she never saw him again!
9. The father taught them how to play the guitar, so now they can pretend to be rock stars.
10. The greatest gift that their parents, their father and mother, gave them was each other. How many people have the privilege of growing up with 6 brothers? You will always have a friend that will understand your childhood completely, because they were there, too.
Finally, the children look more Peruvian than white. If it weren’t for the novelty of the movie and them being all together and so similar looking, things would be different. In other words, a Latino male in New York City suffers discrimination just like a black male. Sometimes, even worse, because people assume they are undocumented.
I would like to see the boys reconcile with their father and together visit the land of their Peruvian ancestors. The land of the Inca warriors and Spanish conquistadores.