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Word: molinas (lookup in dictionary) (lookup stats)
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While in prison, Molina diverts Valentin, who is stingy with his pleasures (a stereotypical Marxist?), by recounting scenes from a Nazi propaganda film. These sepia-toned passages tell the preposterous tale of a French nightclub singer (Sonia Braga) meeting and loving a ranking SS commandant and are intended to showcase the salvation that is the movie theater--a promising motif. Unfortunately, the film-within-the-film is a let-down, unamusing...

Author: By Ari Z. Posner, | Title: One Cell of a Film | 9/26/1985 | See Source »

...offensive subject matter doesn't bother Molina, who protests something like, "I hate politics, but I love the leading man"--in other words, fantasy's healing power is in the spellbinding, not in the political message. By acting out the parts in the gloom of his darkened cell for his initially reluctant cell-mate, Molina saves his sanity and helps break the ice with Valentin--proof positive of fantasy's rich payoff for reality. As with Spielbergism, style subordinates content for our protagonist...

Author: By Ari Z. Posner, | Title: One Cell of a Film | 9/26/1985 | See Source »

Believable for someone as attuned to injustice as Molina? Not really, but then it's the sentiment he's after--he hasn't yet been converted to consciousness by the Marxist...

Author: By Ari Z. Posner, | Title: One Cell of a Film | 9/26/1985 | See Source »

Spider Woman turns on Molina's love for Valentin. Without giving too much away, the pair's involvement results in a kind of personality transfer. Molina, upon release from prison, sheds his early effiminate ways to become a classical hero, sacrificing himself for the ideals of his friend. Valentin drifts off into fantasy, easing the pain of another police beating by dreaming of a deserted island and his girlfriend...

Author: By Ari Z. Posner, | Title: One Cell of a Film | 9/26/1985 | See Source »

...Molina's selfless behavior in doing a favor for Valentin and his cadre of revolutionaries rings partially true as another example of romantic posturing. But his pitiful end seems inconsistent with the elevated claim Babenco has made throughout for fantasy. Does hanging onto our dreams make us, finally, irrelevant? Molina's final sacrifice is supposed to prove his redemption; just as his leaving home is supposed to indicate newfound maturity. Unfortunately this sort of pandering to what conventional audiences expect in a hero undermines Molina's integrity...

Author: By Ari Z. Posner, | Title: One Cell of a Film | 9/26/1985 | See Source »

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