Film review: Ghett' a life

1. Who was your favorite character (s) from the film? Why?

My favorite character of this film was the Dawn Thompson, Derrick's mother, because she stood against her husband and the tugs for her son, overcoming her fears. I think that the fact that she was shot instead of her husband (even though he was useful to the mafia) is proof that she became a menace against the bad guys.

I also liked the friend from the other bang, Gully Rat, who was able to forgive the main character background to be friends united by boxing. It was so sad that he died at the end, I don’t forgive violence, but I respect his will to protect his friend and stop him from dirtying his hands.

2. How does the film compare to the other Jamaican films from the 70s? (Besides visual effects, think about the plot and character development).

I find similarities between the environment in which the story developed, I mean, none of them had lots of money (even though in Ghett'a  life they seem better of), it’s also similar in the way how they use violence to solve all of their problems, and in all movies they organize in groups it’s integrants.

I think in this one the main character was way more developed.

I also respect the fact that women had a bit more of screen time (like with Derrick's mother, who was able to rise again his husband for the sake of her child and his dream), but it was poorly displayed.

It also developed in the main plot, because in this movie the context was way deeper than the others, this had clear influence in how this film portrayed every character story.

3. How are woman portrayed in this film? Is it a little or big advancement compared to the films from the 1970's?

As I said before, I think it is a development compared to the others, where the women barely had any screen time and all her roles were so minimal. I have lots of respect for Derrick's mother, because she stood against the bad ones and spoke her ideas. I didn’t like that sometimes the cámara focus went to the girls legs and breasts, that’s kind of awfull. It was also bad that the boxing teacher granddaughters was so poorly portrayed, because at the end she just did whatever for the man she fell on love with.

Even though this movie did not have strong women, it was better than in The Harder They Come and Rockers, where women had no role at all, the were just company for the men and a tool for them to be successful.