The Poniente Film Analysis

Film Review: The Poniente What does it take to grow a tomato plant? For most people, perhaps a handful of seeds, a bag of fertilizer, and the occasionally trimming and watering would be sufficient enough to harvest the fruits in a few months’ time. Yet, as the film The Poniente has showed, the real cost behind these seemly average household items, are often beyond our imaginations.
The Poniente tells the story of a single mother, Lucia, who tried to lead the family business in a rural costal town. Upon learning that her father has recently past away, Lucia quitted her job as an elementary teacher in Madrid, and returned to tomato farm that he has left behind. When Lucia decided to pick up the pieces and to re-build a new future at her hometown, …show more content…
The unemployment issues have motived teenagers, such as Miguel’s son and Miguel himself to drop out of school. Although Lucia’s aunt insist that she did not work her whole lives to raised “fools” that would be satisfied by short-term and unsustainable goals, the impatient younger generation was certain that education is not the quick solution for their dilemma. Miguel’s son rejected this type of suggestion, and persisted in his own ways that to gain financial freedoms. Moreover, I found it interesting that The Poniente emphasized individual character developments throughout the film, rather than focus on the religion elements of everyone’s identity. All in all, the migrant workers and the tomato farmers are both victims of inevitable economic crisis. It is the aim for survival and resources that brought them together and divided them. For some to win, some has to lose. In the case of The Poniente, it required more than a village of labors, tears and even death to produce these small vegetables. Maybe, as Pepe muttered, sometimes dreams just aren’t worth