There are 5 women in this movie.
- Vicky
- Cristina
- Sally tabachnick
- Maria Elena
- Judy
And every woman I have met falls in either one of these categories... (you are welcome to point out a 6th one) or more than one depending on the phase in her life.
For eg. A vicky,if after discovering what she wants, goes ahead and has it, despite the consequences, however disastrous they are, would come close to being Maria Elena. Else she will end up being a Judy.
A Cristina, if she overcomes her chronic dissatisfaction, will either choose to be a vicky or a maria elena or a judy or a sally. She either fights for 'the meaning' or gives it up totally… And mostly she will be forever resigned - like judy.
A maria elena will always be maria elena.
And a judy will always be judy.
A sally can become a vicky if she accidently discovers someday that life can be more interesting (if she tastes blood… and then cant help but have more of it) and then go the judy way or the elena way.
Mostly judy.
I guess the best way to be is to be maria elena. Tough though it is. Coz her life is one of no pretentions.
She believes in her philosophy of life, which she has herself discovered and not adopted from the society.
Though, the character they have shown in the movie is wasted (which is a little exagerated), which is partly coz she doesnt fall for the right guys and partly coz it is tough to survive in materialistic society with a non-practical viewpoint.
Sally's life is not beautiful. Her life is 'non-ugly'.
Sally is the blissful category. her life is where she has shut her thinking doors and lives blissfully ignorant of a possibly more meaningful life she could have had.
Or better still, she is aware but prefers the simple life.
The scary category is the Judy category.
Its when it is shit, and you know it is shit that it becomes painful. Ignorance is bliss as they as say… this is the category when you prefer adventurous life, but get a simple one.
Or when you thought you prefer simple life, but got a taste of the adventurous one, and once you have sort of tasted blood, cant like the simple food you once thought was delicious.
And its too in-your-face for ignorance...
Vicky. I guess many a girls of today will relate to her. It is not difficult to fall for mr cookie cutter mold. Its too tempting coz it is so easy to get the social acceptance with it. Coz they fit perfectly in the society we live in currently. Plus life is a cake with them.
And plus, since you are in that society, they are not too difficult to find either.
But that is about the social part of it. Perfect in social terms. What about the personal terms?
That is where the problem comes. They are perfect for this society. So much so that they are equally calculated, practical and well mannered (read almost pretentious at times) in their personal lives too… zero adventure therefore. No roller coaster stuff.
Boring, if you are a vicky (but not for sally).
Cristina.
Chronic dissatisfaction. That is what maria elena says cristina has.
she knows exactly what she doesn’t want. Her ideas about life are depressing. She believes that materialistic things are not what life is about. She looks for deeper meaning of life. But is at the same time scared to find it.
She is the one who is, part in the 'materialistic' world, and drawn towards to the 'meaningful' one and is not able to leave either.
She keeps travelling between the two. She is comfortable in the 'meaningful' world, but then after some time starts getting scared of it not lasting forever. She is scared of shutting exit options.
The reality strikes after some time, leaving her wanting to go back to the 'at liberty' phase. It is so comforting to be in a position where you still have the choice, even if that means u never take any decision - but always have the option to do either.
She longs to be in that phase forever. She wants everything, and so she gets nothing.
Maria Elena. She is what cristina longs to be. It is that life she wants to live but at the same time she is not sure if she will be able to go through with it forever. What if she gets over her fascination for it someday?what if she finds the deeper meaning and doesn’t like the meaning and prefers the materialistic world?
She loves her life too much to ever regret anything.
But not maria elena. She knows the real 'meaning' of life. Which for her is to enjoy the beauty of nature. Of love. Of feelings. And she believes in it. And she lives it. She is a true artist. One who truly appreciates the beauty of the world. And is gifted to express what she feels in multiple ways.
But that also leaves her quite crazed. It is a road less travelled. And it is usually bumpy.
All in all, a nice movie. Loved the music too.
