entry 7

Charlie Hynes

English 440

Professor:  Michelle Kells

Journal entry #9, Antonia’s Line

            Antonia’s Line was a nice movie, pretty long, but there was a lot of story to tell.  I enjoyed the journey through Antonia’s life line beginning with her mother’s death and her own re-emergence into the small farming village where she was born.  Antonia brings her daughter home to witness her mother’s passing, and to take over the family farm.  From here we are introduced to the villagers, and one by one their backstories and personas. It is a shame there aren’t more communities like the one from the movie.  I felt like once you were a part of the community, you were in essence a part of an extended family. 

            I think it was interesting that we started with Antonia’s passing, or her final day, then went onward to her mother’s death.  There is so much death in the movie, as well as so much life reborn.  I felt that was a strong theme.  Near the end Antonia is explaining to her granddaughter, Sarah, how when people die there is always something left behind for the growth of others, the dead’s ashes fertilize the soil for new life, and it is all just a cycle, that life wants so hard to go on living that it fertilizes the soil in its death to perpetuate life.   Crooked Finger was always talking about the misery of life; he never saw things improving so he killed himself.  He, however, might agree with the cycle of life notion that Antonia shared with Sarah.  The story was not very considerate of organized religion anywhere.  I also appreciated that part to the story.  The only thing organized religion does for Antonia’s philosophy regarding life and death and community is give her and her family a place to go and be with the community.  I hope that makes sense because I did not feel a lot of religious dogma being brought to the story.  Antonia brought her daughter to the city to get knocked up, because she wanted a baby, and not a husband.  When persecuted at church Antonia and her boyfriend set the priest up with his own sexual scandal so that he will retract his evil oratory about Daniela, Antonia’s unwed pregnant daughter.  I wondered why they would even go to church, until I realized that it may have been one of the few occasions where they could dress up and be in their community.  They needed to have something to do outside of farm work. 

            I enjoyed the rhetoric within the movie, especially between Teresa and Crooked Finger, and I enjoyed the simplicity of speech within the movie.   Again I felt people did not waste words, they were well thought, and said.