Free «The Analysis of "Partisan"» Essay Sample

Partisan by Ariel Kleiman is a thought-provoking movie. It impresses and bewilders the viewers making them rethink their values and beliefs. The paper focuses on the key aspects of the movie and analyzes the societal issues the director aims to address.

Film Partisan by Ariel Kleiman reveals the disturbing and crucial for the society problems. First of all, Partisan focuses on the corrupt and cruel society which is full of injustice, severity, greed, and misunderstanding. The society brings some people to the top of the world while the others, like Gregory and the single mothers, are discarded and unprotected. Moreover, the film underlines the sanctity of family ties and the relationships between its members. For the main characters of Partisan, the family appears to be everything they have. Because of this, their duty is to protect it by all means. The depiction of patriarchal and tyrannical family relationships underlines the importance of freedom and choice. The moral problematic of the movie is in the ambivalent philosophy of Gregory: the man wants to save and protect women while killing other people and involving children in this. In the film, his attempts to create the utopia for mothers and their children fail. Alternatively, the new artificial society becomes the center of anger and cruelty.

The name of the film has a symbolic meaning and a direct connection to its theme. Gregory performs the role of partisan by secretly fighting the injustices of the world. Gregory leads his own war with the external reality thinking that it is his enemy. As any partisan wants to protect his country, the man cares about his family and his children.

Gregory loves the children, but he seems to be their commander or a chief rather than a father. The man can be demanding with the kids, but he can also play and sing with them. Gregory creates a strict discipline and unbroken rules in his community depriving children of an opportunity to choose or express their ideas and thoughts. He cannot be a good father since he loves the kids only when they listen to him. If somebody disagrees with the man, as Leo does, Gregory kills this person. The children seem to be happy, but they show it in order not to make their father become angry. Children love and, at the same time, respect Gregory. They never contradict him. The atmosphere in their world may be fun, but not liberated. For instance, when the children are singing karaoke, they are not happy or amused by the song as they do not understand its lyrics. They sing it because their father says them to do so.

Gregory experienced many troubles as a child. Those events influenced the man and inspired him to think about a creation of a new happy world. The outside world is dangerous and cruel for Gregory. Thus, he wants to protect his children by isolating them from the reality. The man does not recognize anything good in the society, but injustice and pain.

The film also depicts peculiarities of a visual organization. Scenes repeat for several times, especially the episodes with the karaoke or when Gregory and children are playing. The director slows down some moments in Partisan to attract the attention of the viewers and underline the monotony of their world. The fountain made in the form of a woman becomes the central point which is showed in the film several times. Firstly, the fountain can embody all the women and their uneasy life and maternity. It can also be a reflection of poor life which continues as the children are growing. Finally, this statue of a woman can represent the whole family and the desire of Gregory to create his own safe world.

The central moral problem of the film lies in the jobs of the kids and philosophy they are taught. Children cannot be responsible for their actions and cannot fully understand what it means to kill a person. Helplessness and naivety of the kids are masterfully used by Gregory. He teaches them to be cruel, to hate other people, to be mean and pitiless. The director illustrates that sometimes a real monster can hide under a cute and innocent mask not only of a child but also of a kind father, mother, or a stranger.

Gregory appears to be strict to Alexander since he is his first son and is old enough to evaluate critically their world and to doubt the power of the man. Gregory treats him as a soldier or a worker waiting from him quick answers. Initially, Alexander respects and loves the father fulfilling all the tasks correctly, but over the course of events, the child changes his attitude to Gregory and starts to doubt his rightness and authority. When Alexander begins to contradict the father, Gregory cannot cope with the boy and uses his physical force.

If Gregory can influence Alexander at the beginning, Leo appears to be strong enough to neglect the power of the man. Leo comes to the family, not like other children in their first year of life, but as an experienced boy who has certain views, values, and beliefs. Leo does not obey any rules; he expresses his thoughts freely and protects what he likes. Gregory understands that this boy can be a threat to his authority as well as to the whole family. Leo argues with the man and provides logical arguments, thus, Gregory liquidates him using the naivety of the boy. At night, the child and Gregory go to gather the feathers under the tree and then Leo disappears. The man lies to the family that the boy ran away. Although the mother of Leo was trying to find the son, she stays with her grief in the community. Only Alexander knows the truth, and that mean action of the father changes his attitude towards Gregory. The boy does not believe the man anymore, doubts his intentions, and decides to stop Gregory.

In the film, the children are evaluated with the system of golden stars. This simple system has numerous drawbacks in the upbringing process. This method leaves the kids without a choice to do what they want to. It deprives them of an opportunity to express their own ideas and desires. The essence of it is to receive as many as possible awards for the fulfilled tasks. This system does not require the children to think what they have to do in order to receive a star. It makes them focus only on the golden stars and generates concurrence and competition among them.

There are interesting episodes in Partisan which help to reveal the principal issues of the film. The karaoke scene with Gregory repeating the lyrics of the song after Alexander expresses the great love and dedication of the man to his family. Gregory has good intentions to protect his children, but he uses immoral methods to achieve them. The lyrics of the songs depicts the support and unity of people. The line “it is hard to reveal the truth” underpins the main theme of the film: adults continue to lie to the children and themselves with a hope to escape the real world. This song suits the philosophy of Gregory that family members should support each other even in the bad intentions.

A symbolic meaning has a dream of Susanne who goes down the hill together with Gregory, although the top of it is really attractive. Alexander interprets the dream concluding that for his mother it is easier to go down than up. This dream describes the philosophy and life of Gregory and all women. Instead of fighting and changing the society, they decide to escape from it, to hide in the imaginary world. These women, who are disregarded by the community, do not try to defend their rights, to live honestly. They prefer to hide and kill other people with the help of their children.

Alexander appears to be the one who is not afraid of the real world, who can recognize its good sides. He cares about his brother and wants to show Tobias a free and wonderful world where the boy can choose what to do, what to say, and what to like. Alexander could be a good father who would respect his children, protect them, and give them a choice in life.

Partisan gives people one precious lesson. It is vital to defend their rights, beliefs, and values. The real world can sometimes be dangerous and full of sorrows, but people should not escape all the obstacles. By hiding and avoiding the problem, the questions and troubles will be never solved. People should face the reality and overcome injustice and humiliation together.