The Characters in the Film Lone Star - Movie Review Example

All of the characters in the film Lone Star are in some way affected by the history of their region. They all belong to an ethnic group, whether white, Mexican, Native American, or Black American, and these groups have been involved in struggles for land, for power, and at times for survival in the border region between America and Mexico over the last few hundred years. It is striking how much the sons in this film all seem to see themselves as their fathers: Sam can’t live up to Buddy’s reputation; Delmore Payne cannot forgive his father for leaving him, but cannot relate very well to his son. Pilar’s relationship with her mother is also strained. There seems to be a break in connection with the past. This can be a good thing, however, because it forces the next generation to carve out a new way for themselves and escape from the weight of history that has been handed down to them.
The flashbacks help to put history into context.

Question 2.
The town of Frontera, whose name means frontier or border, is at the meeting point of North America and South America, and it is also where the different mentalities of these two worlds meet. The differences between them are brought down to a scale that the viewer can understand and identify with: “Lone Star, in contrast, convinces us because it is told through the conversations and experiences of characters leading ordinary lives and because it is grounded at the scale of a small place.” (Arreola: 2005, p. 41) In the lives of each person, the age-old boundaries are tested. For example, when Pilar and Sam have a relationship, they are breaking an age-old taboo about mixing races. The film director makes this even more of a personal issue when he adds the dimension of incest. What people tend to do in situations of strict boundaries, is to break them and this can be a way of asserting power over rules which are too harsh: “Viewers see the power as well as the limitations of desire to change the antagonisms between Anglos and Mexicans in the borderlands.” (Assigned Reading. P. 100) The film creates expectations, based on older histories, and older film types, but changes them into a new mix. This has been referred to as a multicultural menudo, or spicy Mexican stew: “one-third modern Western, one-third love story with a twist and one-third murder mystery” (West and West: 1996, p. 1)

Question 3.
Sam and Pilar’s relationship is one of the main themes of the film. They are very close friends as children and throughout most of the film, the audience is not aware that they are related by blood through the same mother. The film teaches us that life does not easily fit into strict rules and old traditions. The ending suggests that they might stay together, even though their relationship would technically be forbidden, but it leaves open the possibility that they might stay friends and not be lovers. Their situation is a bit like the situation of America and Mexico – they are tied up in the consequences of what older generations have done in the past. It is not possible to start again without all of the complications, but the characters seem to say that it is possible to change the meaning of the past by interpreting it more generously, and not letting it dictate what happens in the future anymore. Read More

 

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