Isabel Coixet

From Catalonia today, nº 326

Isabel Coixet is a young woman who works in filming industry. She has also worked as publicist. Her films explore human nature and relationships, and it touches the deepest and more hidden people feelings. She works with famous actors but also with actors that are just beginning. Personally I like Isabel Coixet's films, I think they're a different kind of films, deep and very personal. But as special they are, they could cause a very good effect in people, or however, they could seem to be very weird. That's why I like them because they are located at the extrem, and they're not consciously thought to be the most sold, but to cause a real impression.

When is the ideal time to get married?

From CNN living, February 8, 2010.

As we know, nowadays there's a lot of people that is married. We can say it's almost a tradition. People feel that desire to be tied to the other person for all eternity, or perhaps girls just want it because they want to wear a white dress and an alliance, or also may be a marriage of convenience, such as in the movie Pride and Prejudice, that we've seen in class. Maybe is just a question of religion. But the topic of the report isn't the reason why people get married, but whatever the reason, what is the ideal age for marriage?

Most people interviewed in the article think that there's no specific age for marriage, there's no rule. Love, maturity, respect, experience. According to respondents, these are the reasons that depend on the ideal age for marriage. Some of them believe that we mustn't waste life with only one person, so you have to wait, while others think that while unconditional love exists, marriage can be at any time.

And this is where I want to give my opinion. I can say there's no age to get married, because just to get married seems absurd to me. I think that if you really love a person you don't need any paper to confirm that fact, no need to tie to a person legally. I think the best is life together, because you live in the same way that a marriage, and if you get tired in the worst case, you can always go away, instead of feeling like you have a shackle that haunts you your whole life. I believe in love but not in marriage.

FILM REVIEW

"Good bye, Lenin!", to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

A great and beautiful story about white lies, in order to keep alive a mother.

October, 1989. Alexander's mother falls into a coma, a woman proud of her socialist ideas. She doesn't wake up until eight months later, and the doctors say that she must be at rest, and she can't afford big trouble, so Alex doesn't want her to know that the Berlin Wall has fallen, and he will have to invent his own newscast and his own country's history to hide it.

In general, I like the film because of the idea of a son lying and getting caught in his own lies, in order to keep his mother alive. It's wonderful all the things the character can do to keep his lies, to not to give a trouble to his mother. I also like the main character, because he's very passionate. I've seen almost all his films and I with this film, as I thought, he didn't disappoint me. I think Daniel Brühl is an excellent actor.
It's a film that transmits humor and deep emotion at the same time, with very good performances.

I think I can't say anything I don't like, I've seen this movie more than three times, and it always seemed to me just as perfect.

This movie has been a European success,it has succeeded mostly in France, Italy and Germany. More than six million people have seen it, I think it can be recommended to everybody.
My final rate is ***.

WELCOME MAIL

Well, first of all, my name is Anna, and I'm seventeen years old. Now I'm living in Castelló, but I've lived in Empuriabrava and Barcelona as well, I'm living here since five years, more or less. Generally I like to do all the typical things like going out with friends or go to the cinema, having a good time. I like so much listening rock music and I'm learning to play the electric guitar. I'm a little bit messy and I don't like to take responsibility, but this year I've to be very responsible, cause my closest goal is to enter college in the medical career, in Girona. The mark is very high, so I'll have to do a very very great effort. If I succeed I will be very satisfied with myself.And I think that was all I wanted to say...

THE PIANIST

Wladyslaw Szpilman is a Polish Jewish pianist. The Nazis attack while he's playing Chopin on the Polish radio. He's deported in the Jewish ghetto, where he struggles to stay alive, alone, separated from his family, hungry and cold. With the help of some people, he escapes from the ghetto and he hides in the capital, which is in ruins. He finds an abandoned house, and in that house there's a piano. A Nazi officer discovers him, but he loves his music, and he helps him and spares his life. Wladyslaw's musical talent saved his life.

In fact we couldn't finish watching the movie in class, because the movie is very long and with only an hour we had no time. But I had seen it before, and I could sum up it more or less. Personally I like the Nazi-themed movies, but they are very hard movies, they really show you all the injustices that that people suffered. The pianist, specifically, I think it's a very good film, but also very hard, the way the protagonist has to survive, makes you think how he could suffer so much, and how people can be so unfair. I think this movie deserved to win the 3 Oscars it won.

HUMAN RIGHTS

1. What are human rights?
Human rights are the rights you have simply because you're human.

2. When did human rights start?
They started at 1945

3. Why were they created?
They were created to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person.

4. How many human rights are there?
There are 30 human rights.

5. Which human right were you not familiar with?
I had never heard of the right to play. I don't see any relation to the others, but I think it's fine.

6. Choose one human right and discuss:

- Is it fully respected in your country today?

There are more than one human right no respected in this country, but I decided to choose the right not to discriminate, because I think it's one of the rights that I can see almost every day.

Currently there are many people that are treated differently just because of their gender, religion, culture, social class, and especially racial disriminación. If we are all equal and we all have the same value as people, why so much discrimination?

- Do you know if it has been respected in the past?

Absolutly not. There has always been discrimination in the world, perhaps the reasons have changed, but not the problem.

- Where in the world is this right not complied with?

When I look for examples of publications in violation of this right, I find cases virtually worldwide, not just in a specific country.

7. Are Humans rights relevant in the world today?

They should be relevant, but they aren't enough. Millions of people are mistreated every day, treated as objects without feelings, without rights. Every person deserves dignity, and we all should be at the same level, be equal, regardless of our condition. We're all citizens of the world, we are all people, that's why human rights should be relevant and respected throughout the world, and with this, get the freedom of the individual.

ORAL PRESENTATION

Oral presentation



























SELF EVALUATION

My intention is to comment every aspect that evaluate the oral presentation. I will also comment on things I've done ok, and also things that I should improve.

First of all, I want to comment the presentation:
To make the presentation more entertaining, we decided to use some resources, such as the power point and YouTube videos. We made a slide show. We worked hard in the presentation, and I think that at last it was ok, although not perfect. That's why I put the 9%.

Body language & eye contact is always the hardest thing for me because I'm not used to explain something in front of many people. I didn't gestured enough. I looked at the audience, but not everyone in general, only some people.

The structure of the presentation was quite good I think, I don't put 10% because I don't think it was perfect, but it was quite good.

I think the content was appropriate, it was original and entertaining, and in some aspects it was funny. Perhaps it was a little bit long, with lots of information, but I think it deserves the 39%.

The language together with the pronunciation and intonation I think that were the worst things, language was perhaps a little simple, I could have used language more appropriate for my English. The pronunciation wasn't well enough, but I tried to pronounce it right and I think that in some ways it was good. So I decided to put a 6%.