A
MAN AND HIS DOG
By
Darin Skaggs
There
are many different types of films that I respond to, genres like science
fiction films or most recently the Western.
There are films that get a big reaction out of me. Those are the films with real simple stories
that are over shadowed with large amounts of emotion that is most of the time
held in until the climax of the picture.
Films that fit the criteria are Ikiru,
Kes, Bicycle Thieves and 1952’s Umberto
D.
Umberto D. is a film about an older man
who slowly but surely loses every possession he has. The film starts out with Umberto in a protest
against the government. He is around
other older folks who are poorer. Umberto at the beginning of the film has no
job. He begs for cash, desperately
trying to sell his watch. We find out
soon enough that he is trying to do this because he needs to pay rent to his
uptight landlord.
Throughout
the film he continues to lose several of his possessions. At one point he is taken to the
hospital. He is a little upset, but
still goes on. He is in danger of being
evicted but does not give up or show any sign of stress. He is shown constantly sad but still has a
bit of optimism during his constant struggle.
There are a few things in his life that he cannot seem to live
without. The first thing is his dog
Flike. While in the hospital he gets a
visitor, she says that Flike it outside.
This makes him get up at a fast pace to go see his dog. This moment and others make you feel a real
connection with this dog. It is a
connection that he seems to share with no one else. The only person that even comes close is his
next door neighbor, a pregnant young lady.
Throughout the film he is lecturing the young women on what to do with
her life. Yet, Umberto is not judging
her for not being married and pregnant or for living in such bad
conditions. This man is giving her
advice because he really seems to care for this woman; he only wants the best
for her. He wants her to have the best
life she can and he takes on the father role for this young lady.
This
film is about Umberto but the director occasionally will focus on the struggles
of random characters. These people get
one scene usually but are used in the film to show that the elderly are not the
only ones who are in rough times. All
walks of life during this time were in challenging circumstances and like
Umberto it all depends what your mood will be like when you face the reality.
Most
of the film Umberto handles life pretty well but because he’s human he gets
aggravated and takes it out on the one he loves the most. Sometimes he has to
let go for the best solution to his problems. This leads to the ending of the
film, which is one of the most heartbreaking yet uplifting endings in all of cinema. By the end you know our protagonist will be
just fine, he will still struggle but that will not stop him from finding
peace.
Umberto D. is a heartbreaking film. At
the same time when I see it the film gives me hope to carry on and I think I’ll
make it through.
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