7.04.2011

Bad habits


Can you name your bad habits? Ok... you don't drink, you don't take drugs, you exercise, you don't smoke, you don't curse, you don't eat your fingernails, you don't touch your hair all day long, you don't stop taking showers for 5 days in a row... Are you really so perfect and free of bad habits?
What if your bad habits are related to food, and so hidden by society you don't even notice them?

Bad habits is a Mexican movie released in 2007. It talks about bad habits, but not such as taking drugs, or biting your fingernails. It's more about food.

I realised food in Mexico is a big deal when I was leaving outside. There's a whole food culture here in Mexico, and I'm so happy about it. The problem is that we also give further meanings to food, food consumption, pleasure... well, I think you know where am I going.

Another big issue in Mexican culture is religion, being Catholic religion the most popular one here in Mexico, with lots of big churches, saints, statues, and a whole culture built around it, mixed with cultures of our past to create what Mexico is today.

This movie mixes both, in a strange way. Ok, all the problems are in one family, so all the "bad habits" can be shown and related in some way, let's say it's just an excuse to relate stories, so I don't think it's THAT bad. The interesting thing is that we are not seeing the classical teenager throwing all she had for lunch to be accepted at school, or the big chubby guy with problems who is bullied all the time. Here, the characters are everyday people in Mexico city and the way they see food... well... it represents lots of things.

Here you can see the story of a mother who is obssesed with her weight, an anorexic, in fact, not eating and exercising a lot. You will find the story of her daughter, who is a little girls and a bit chubby and how she hates that, and the eating disorder she is provoking to the little girl. You will find the story of her husband, an architect of a prestigiuos and religious university who ironically loves food and cheats on his wife with someone who also loves food. He is looking for an explanation for the flood of the school he's working. Guess what? realted to food as well. You will also find the story of a nun who's extremely narcisist and has serious food issues that lead her to crazy things and hallucinations.

Food can be seen as a pleasure, a need, a sin, a prize, a monster chasing you, love, nourishment, the most threatening stuff, a punishment, a sex toy, a temptation... well.. everything food is and represents to different people.

Talking about light, I find it really interesting how light and sound are related. Most of the movie is darked and in whispers. It's on the rainy season, so darkness is not a real problem, I think it enhances the feeling of the places, speacially the church and monastery. I have always found those places really creepy and I don't like going inside them as I get goosebumps. In lots of movies, this is not shown, but in this one... well, places are creepy, university is working in daylight and looks so common, the house looks so unpersonal... I think they didn't make a huge effort with the lighting, but they didn't really fake it, so I guess the atmosphere was captured, and it was fantastic how they could match it with the sound levels.

Hope you like it.

Lots of love!

Orquidea