Rust and Bone
Rust and Bone is a lot less focused on society and the surroundings of the characters than the other foreign movies I've analysed so far. It's much more character driven, and while poverty and conflict are still relevant themes, they're much less integrated in the narrative.
Family is another central theme in Rust and Bone. The protagonist's son is the main tool the director uses to make quite an unlikable character worthy of our empathy. The gradual evolution of the bond between father and son is perhaps the biggest reason for Alian's character arc.
Loss is another huge theme. The loss of Stephanie's legs, the loss of Anna's job, the near loss of Ali's son. Ali's life is littered with loss, through those he's close to. He himself feels he has nothing to lose, despite all he's witnessed, and it takes a combination of him causing his sister to become unemployed, him losing his relationship with Stephanie, and finally, almost losing his son to realize he has a lot to be thankful for.
Masculinity is a more subtle theme. It doesn't play a huge role but it's very evident in Ali's character. For example, his reluctance to show fondness towards his son. Even subtle signs like him leaning away from his son when his son attempts to hug him.
There are also a lot of similarities between both Ali and Stephanie's characters. For example, they're both quite hard to sympathize with. Stephanie, definitely more so due to her accident being completely out of her control, unlike Ali, who's problems are all dependent at least partially his fault. They're both slowly spiralling out of control with Stephanie getting into fights at night clubs, and then possibly attempting suicide after her accident and Ali turning to a life of crime and becoming detached from his son, however once their narrative's link, they start depending on each other to build on where the other's faults lie. For example, Stephanie is the one who puts an end to Ali's one night stands and demands a relationship, meanwhile Ali's the one who put her insecurities to rest and forced her to come to terms with her disability. It's his son that finally puts Ali on the right track, but Stephanie is surely an additional factor. The most notable difference I can see is that Stephanie doesn't appear to have a clear goal after her disability. Adjusting to every day life and perhaps regaining her past comfort but that's quite broad, meanwhile Ali is just trying to make ends met but certainly is striving towards becoming a fighter of some kind. In a way, they're also both quite masculine. Stephanie is quite aggressive in her initial encounter with her boyfriend and takes a lot of charge over Ali's life, meanwhile Ali is obviously quite passive, however he's violent, unattached and brutish.
There are also a lot of similarities between both Ali and Stephanie's characters. For example, they're both quite hard to sympathize with. Stephanie, definitely more so due to her accident being completely out of her control, unlike Ali, who's problems are all dependent at least partially his fault. They're both slowly spiralling out of control with Stephanie getting into fights at night clubs, and then possibly attempting suicide after her accident and Ali turning to a life of crime and becoming detached from his son, however once their narrative's link, they start depending on each other to build on where the other's faults lie. For example, Stephanie is the one who puts an end to Ali's one night stands and demands a relationship, meanwhile Ali's the one who put her insecurities to rest and forced her to come to terms with her disability. It's his son that finally puts Ali on the right track, but Stephanie is surely an additional factor. The most notable difference I can see is that Stephanie doesn't appear to have a clear goal after her disability. Adjusting to every day life and perhaps regaining her past comfort but that's quite broad, meanwhile Ali is just trying to make ends met but certainly is striving towards becoming a fighter of some kind. In a way, they're also both quite masculine. Stephanie is quite aggressive in her initial encounter with her boyfriend and takes a lot of charge over Ali's life, meanwhile Ali is obviously quite passive, however he's violent, unattached and brutish.
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