Requiem for a Dream | Asleep in Life - Dormidos en vida || Review and opinion
Welcome 馃挅 Bienvenidos
Requiem is a word that comes from Latin and means rest. The rest of souls, so to speak, is also the name of some compositions used in masses for the dead or ceremonies before a burial. Interpreting the title of the film I am reviewing today, it would be something like the dreams of the dead, a meaning I understood after watching the film in the literal sense.
Requiem for a Dream is a 2000 American film based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Hubert Selby Jr. and directed by Darren Aronofsky, starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans. Although I saw it several months ago, I have not been able to forget it and I don't think I ever will. It stirred up many emotions in me and made me more empathetic towards people with mental health issues and addiction problems.
The story revolves around four characters: a mother and her son, his girlfriend, and his best friend. They are four different lives united by the same problem: addiction in general and drugs. The story is divided into three seasons or episodes titled summer, autumn, and winter. I like it when I realise that another stage of the story is beginning; spring never came.
Characters:
Sara Goldfarb: She is the mother, a widow who spends her days sitting in front of the television. She loves a game show that she never misses and dreams of being invited to appear on it one day. She is addicted to television and food and lives practically alone because she only sees her son when he steals her television, which I will explain in more detail later. She sees herself as fat, but in reality it is a distortion of her body image. She is a woman who has been depressed since the death of her husband and is still mourning him. She resists ageing and wants to return to the past and look as she did before.
Harry Goldfarb: He is the son, a young man who likes the easy life and quick gratification. He is addicted to drugs, and his only concern is running out of them. When this happens, he resorts to selling anything he can. He has a nice relationship with his girlfriend, they make plans to live together, and deep down he loves his mum, even though he makes her suffer a lot. He has no bad feelings and wants to start a business one day.
Tyrone C. Love: He is Harry's friend, a loyal companion who supports him in everything. He also loves his mother, is astute and honest. He is addicted to drugs because of childhood trauma.
Marion Silver: She is Harry's girlfriend, a beautiful but stupid woman who is also addicted to drugs and, because of love, has fallen into a dead-end tunnel.
! [Spanish Version]
Requiem es una palabra que proviene del lat铆n y significa descanso. El descanso de las almas por decirlo de alguna forma, tambi茅n es el nombre de algunas composiciones que se usan en las misas de los difuntos o ceremonias antes de un entierro. D谩ndole una interpretaci贸n al t铆tulo de la pel铆cula que hoy rese帽o ser铆a algo as铆 como los sue帽os de los difuntos, significado que comprend铆 despu茅s de ver la pel铆cula en el sentido literal.Requiem for a Dream es una pel铆cula estadounidense del a帽o 2000, basada en la novela hom贸nima de Hubert Selby Jr de 1978 y dirigida por Darren Aronofsky, protagonizada por Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly y Marlon Wayans. Aunque la vi hace varios meses no he podido olvidarla y creo que no suceder谩, me movi贸 muchas emociones y me hizo ser m谩s emp谩tica con las personas con problemas mentales y de adicci贸n.
La historia es desarrollada por cuatro personajes, una madre y su hijo, la novia de este y su mejor amigo. Son cuatro vidas diferentes y unidas por un mismo problema: las adicciones en general y las drogas. La historia se divide en tres estaciones o episodios titulados verano, oto帽o e invierno, me gusta cuando puedo darme cuenta de que comienza otra etapa de la historia, la primavera nunca lleg贸.
Personajes: Sara Goldfarb: Es la mam谩, una viuda que pasa sus d铆as sentada frente al televisor, le encanta un programa de concurso que no se pierde y sue帽a con ser invitada alg煤n d铆a, es adicta a la televisi贸n y a la comida, vive pr谩cticamente sola porque ve a su hijo cada vez que este le roba el televisor, esto lo detallar茅 m谩s adelante. Ella s茅 ve gorda, pero en realidad es una distorsi贸n de su imagen corporal. Es una se帽ora que tiene depresi贸n desde la muerte de su esposo, lleva un luto m谩s superado. Se resiste a envejecer y quiere regresar al pasado y verse como antes.
Harry Goldfarb: Es el hijo, un joven que le gusta la vida f谩cil y las satisfacciones r谩pidas, adicto a las drogas lo 煤nico que le preocupa es quedarse sin ellas, y cuando esto pasa recurre a la venta de cualquier cosa. Tiene una bonita relaci贸n con su novia, hacen planes de vivir juntos y en el fondo ama a su mam谩, aunque la haga sufrir mucho 馃槳馃ス. No tiene malos sentimientos, y desea emprender alg煤n d铆a un negocio.
Tyrone C. Love: Es el amigo de Harry, fiel compa帽ero y lo apoya en todo. Tambi茅n ama a su mam谩, es astuto y honesto. Est谩 en las drogas por traumas de infancia.
Marion Silver: Es la novia de Harry, una mujer bella y est煤pida, tambi茅n es adicta a las drogas y por amor cay贸 en un t煤nel sin salida.
Plot
It all begins when Sara receives a call inviting her to participate in a TV contest and decides to attend with a new look. She wants to feel renewed, like the woman she once was, so she takes an old dress out of the closet that she wore when her son graduated, but it no longer fits, causing her distress and anxiety. I think all women have been through a similar moment, and it certainly makes us sad, but Sara wants to feel happy again, like she did when she wore it for the first time. Back then, she felt beautiful, loved, and respected. To fill the void, she went on a strict diet to lose those extra pounds, believing that the dress would fit her. When it didn't, she felt even more frustrated, so she went to a doctor with dubious procedures and got involved in his diet plan. It was the worst thing she could have done.
While Sara's focus was on making drastic changes to her image without reviewing her inner self and health habits, her son continued to live the deceptive happiness of drugs and looking for money to pay for his addiction. This is where he repeatedly goes to his mother's house to steal her television, which he often finds chained to prevent him from taking it. I found these scenes heartbreaking. I felt the suffering he caused his mother by taking away her only entertainment. It was like taking her life away. Harry also suffered because he did not want to make his mother suffer. He consoled himself by saying that it was only temporary and that he would return it. In the end, the same woman recovered her pawned television, and the vicious cycle repeated itself. I cried during this scene.
At another point in the film, Harry found a way to make a lot of money as a drug dealer. We know that this business cannot be successful for long, but at this stage I felt a glimmer of hope, as he moved out, bought clothes, brought his mother a wonderful gift, and it seemed that everything would be better. In this episode, Sara was already very ill, both physically and mentally.
And in the last part, reality hit them all and they began to fall apart. At this stage, Harry's girlfriend takes centre stage, the business is over and their lives are in danger because of their debts, but the saddest thing is to see that Marion has become so addicted that she has no choice but to prostitute herself, even with her boyfriend's permission. 馃ゲ Very sad.
If this film was designed to send a message, it is that addictions destroy, they easily creep into a home where there are gaps and unhealed wounds. All addictions have something in common: the addict feels alone, loneliness is the void they fill with drugs, they are people who are sad inside and need to get outside with sweets, pills, and stimulants that make them feel good.
In terms of production, there were many shots that made me feel inside the characters, living their experiences. The shots were special for that, and the soundtrack heightened those emotions. It has a retro style, and although it was released in 2000, it gives the impression of being in the 80s or 90s. It is a film that, after the halfway point, makes you feel confused with so many camera movements, dark and fluorescent colours, and all those special effects, which I suppose are meant to make the viewer feel a bit drugged.
After watching it, I felt sad for the characters. I felt sorry for them; they were very vulnerable. I don't want to watch it again, but I don't rule it out either. It concluded by saying that people with addictions are dead; they only live in their dream world.
! [Spanish Version]
Argumento Todo comienza cuando Sara recibe una llamada de invitaci贸n para el concurso de TV y decide asistir con una nueva imagen, quiere ir renovada como aquella mujer que un d铆a fue, saca del closet un vestido viejo que us贸 cuando su hijo se gradu贸, pero no le queda caus谩ndole angustia y ansiedad. Creo que todas las mujeres hemos pasado por un momento parecido y sin duda nos entristece, pero Sara lo que busca es sentirse de nuevo feliz como cuando lo us贸 por primera vez, en ese entonces se sent铆a bella, amada y respetada. Para llenar sus vac铆os, se someti贸 a una dieta estricta para bajar esos kilos de m谩s creyendo que el vestido le quedar铆a y al no ser as铆 m谩s frustrada se sinti贸 por lo que fue a un m茅dico de dudosos procedimientos y se meti贸 en su plan diet茅tico. Lo peor que pudo hacer.
Mientras el enfoque de Sara estaba en hacer cambios dr谩sticos de su imagen sin revisar su interior y h谩bitos de salud, su hijo segu铆a viviendo la felicidad enga帽osa de las drogas, y buscando dinero para costear su vicio, es aqu铆 donde reiteradas veces va a la casa de su madre a robarle el televisor, que encuentra muchas veces encadenado para evitar que se lo lleve, estas escenas me parecieron desgarradoras, sent铆 el sufrimiento que le causaba a su mam谩 por quitarle su 煤nico entretenimiento, eran como quitarle la vida, tambi茅n el hijo Harry sufr铆a porque no quer铆a hacer sufrir a su mam谩, 茅l se consolaba diciendo que era moment谩neo y que se lo regresar铆a, al final de cuentas la misma se帽ora recuperaba su televisor empe帽ado y el c铆rculo vicioso se repet铆a. Llor茅 en esta escena.
En otra estaci贸n de la pel铆cula, Harry encontr贸 la forma de generar mucho dinero como revendedor de drogas, sabemos que este negocio no puede ser exitoso por mucho tiempo; sin embargo, en esta etapa sent铆 una leve esperanza, ya que se mud贸, se compr贸 ropa, le llev贸 un tremendo regalo a su mam谩 y parec铆a que todo estar铆a mejor, en este episodio Sara ya estaba muy enferma tanto f铆sicamente o mental.
Y en la 煤ltima estaci贸n fue cuando la realidad los golpe贸 a todos y empiezan a desmoronarse, en esta etapa tiene mayor protagonismo la novia de Harry, el negocio se termin贸 y sus vidas corren peligro por las deudas, pero lo m谩s triste es ver que Marion se volvi贸 tan adicta que no le qued贸 otra cosa que prostituirse a煤n con el permiso de su novio. 馃ゲ Muy triste.
Si esta pel铆cula fue dise帽ada para enviar un mensaje, es que las adicciones destruyen, se meten f谩cilmente en un hogar donde haya vac铆os y heridas sin sanar. Todas las adicciones tienen en com煤n algo, que el adicto se siente solo, la soledad es el hueco que llenan con las drogas, son personas que en su interior est谩n tristes y necesitan conseguir afuera con dulces, pastillas, y estimulantes eso hagan sentir bien.
En relaci贸n a la producci贸n hubo muchas tomas de direcci贸n me hicieron sentir dentro de los personajes, viviendo sus experiencias, los planos fueron especiales para eso, adem谩s la banda sonora aument贸 esas emociones, tiene un estilo retro y aunque fue publicada en el a帽o 2000 da la impresi贸n de estar en la 茅poca de los 80 o 90. Es una pel铆cula que despu茅s de la mitad te hace sentir confundido con tantos movimientos de planos, colores oscuros y a la vez fluorescentes, todos esos efectos especiales para que el espectador se sintiera un tanto drogado supongo.
Al terminar de verla, me sent铆 triste por los personajes, me dieron pena, eran muy vulnerables, no deseo repetirla, pero tampoco lo descarto, y concluy贸 diciendo que las personas con adicciones est谩n muertos solo viven en su mundo de sue帽os.
Cover image created by me with canva Source with resources from imdb