A subject so difficult, so unpleasant and, at the same time, so common, that it is not easy to portray. Gender-based violence unfortunately continues to claim many victims in 2018; and not only do I want to take lives in the literal sense, but also deprive victims of any quality of life, of any possibility of living fully. In the film Pelos Meus Olhos (2003), 1999, Script Bollaon captured the sequels, consequences and context of this type of violence in the film Pelos Meus Olhos (2003).
Bollaon is characterized by a faithful cinema reflection of reality, a natural cinema, whose characters are far from our everyday reality; language, costumes, gestures and scenarios. . . everything reflected in his films is loaded with irresistible realism.
- The director.
- In addition to repeatedly repeating how necessary the presence of women behind the camera is.
- Also stated that.
- For her.
- Cinema is a path of change.
- A door that opens to try to improve what is wrong with society.
Through my eyes tells the story of Pilar, a woman who flees with her son to her sister’s house, flees tired of the situation she lives with her husband, Antinio, who physically and psychologically abuses her.
Pilar got a job in the church that houses the painting The Burial of the Count of Orgaz as a cashier, where he became involved with some of his companions and became interested in art, while Antinio will participate in the sessions. that will help him control his anger and try to get his wife back.
The interest of the film is the way it addresses the problem, the naturalness with which each character is treated and the different points of view that it presents to us. It is very easy to judge the victim when the circumstances around her are unknown, it is very easy. It’s easy to say ‘leave it or stay away because it’s not good for you. However, it no longer seems so simple when the abuse leaves the victim in a state of confusion, loss of identity and self-esteem.
Through My Eyes, it allows us to reflect on gender-based violence, on the treatment we give in society to the situation of the victim, but also that of the aggressor. This drama, which aims to be a conscience, a step towards change, towards a better and more egalitarian society, proposes.
Gender-based violence does not necessarily have to be physical or exclusively related to the domestic sphere. Gender-based violence, as the name suggests, is exercised on another person on a gender-based side; i. e. , consider?superiority?one sex over another. It is generally associated with violence against women, but attacks of homophobia or transphobia, which are deeply linked to this so-called “superiority”, should not be excluded.
Violence also doesn’t have to be physical, it can be psychological and sows a strong sense of insecurity, fear and low self-esteem in the victim. Besides, it’s much harder to get out of it if the person doing the violence is our partner or someone we trust, as with Pilar in the movie.
The patriarchal system has made women “weak sex,” a definition that until recently remained widely accepted.
This system remains very well established; just look at the definitions that men and women still give to prove it.
The term woman still has pejorative connotations regarding the term male. Does this idea that the masculine represent the strong, the virility, the courage?He made our company build according to these statements, without wondering if they are true.
Then, in the film, we see Pilar’s own mother, though she saw her daughter flee, telling her that a woman is nothing without a man, who must return to her husband because it is her duty.
Similarly, men who go to therapy with Antinio also do not question the seriousness of their actions; they are the ones who work, bring money home and, therefore, their wives must get involved in household chores, they must always obey and accept their conditions.
These men depicted in Pelos Meus Olhos are the fruit of countless generations who grew up in the most ingrained machismo; at home, it was their mothers and sisters who did everything the man asked of them, they took care of the house and the family.
Over time, women have managed to establish the the the world of work and thus achieve (in part) their independence. Independence also achieves division of tasks, but it is very difficult to change the mindset of a number of generations.
Pilar saw in her own home how her mother was a victim of this system, how she did everything expected of a “good woman”: marry in church, have children and stay at home to care for them.
His sister Ana, for his part, has a more critical character in relation to this social model, being able to see the suffering and injustice lived by his sister, the mistakes of his late father and even the creation of a healthy relationship. egalitarian with your partner.
Ana’s husband represents the “new male reality”, a man who collaborates in household chores and treats his wife like an equal. All this contrasts with the strong conservative character of his mother and Pilar, whose self-esteem has completely deteriorated and he cannot imagine a life without Antonio.
Thanks to the work of the museum, Pilar discovers the art, which will be an escape, an exit and a hope, he will begin to take an interest in the progress of his work and eventually return to dreams and aspirations.
Also in the museum, Pilar will meet her companions, very different women, with different dreams, but all independent, these women look more like Ana, some have more or less stable relationships, others talk to men on the internet, but they all live. their lives, without any dependence on any man.
Icaar Bollaon draws this new reality for women that mimics a patriarchal past still deeply rooted, each character represents a reality, the male therapy group assumes this still persistent portrait, where men do not understand that their wives are not the object of their possession.
In My Eyes, he does not leave a common thread, it encompasses all facets of domestic violence and a society in which we inherit institutionalized machismo, nor forgets the silent victim Juan, the son of Pilar and Antinio, nor the consequences that all these years of abuse have left Pilar.
On the other hand, it shows some hope. This shows that something is changing in the world, that women now assume different roles, that masculinity can take many forms, that men also cry and, above all, allows us to reflect on an issue that unfortunately continues to shatter lives.
“Let nothing define us. Can freedom be our own food?-Simone de Beauvoir-