Carla's Song

source: Carla's Song

A revolution in a war torn 80's Nicaragua, controversial American intervention and a Scottish bus driver caught in the middle. I liked how this is a story of two very different halves and transitions to show the contrast of the two protagonists inside of their home countries and usual surroundings and how things invert when the tables are turned in the second half. Robert Carlyle shines in this and first time actress Oyanka Cabezas won me over before long, but the romantic angle wasn't that believable to me. I wasn't feeling it. Also, the subject matter is very interesting, but the film can't.. quite.. deliver. All in all it's a decent movie, it feels almost documentary-like which I'm fine with. Definitely not one of Loach's best but it's still entertaining nonetheless. Shocked to see so few views for it.

source: Carla's Song

(SPOILER) So Carla will stay there, with her disfigured, mute ex-lover. This was not a surprise, and was not interesting. When I say not a surprise, I don't mean it in a praising way or to call it organic or inevitable given the rest of the story. It's inevitable and predictable only from the viewpoint of the script's very dutiful political consciousness. It wouldn't be noble, uplifting, inspiring, etc. etc., for Carla to opt out of the struggle and go back to Scotland with George. Please let me be clear, I am not objecting to the script's sympathy and engagement with the Sandinistas. I am not objecting to a film having a political outlook, nor do I object to that outlook being on the Left (which is my own standpoint anyway). What I do object to is conditioning the characters' choices according to an imposed external view of what is okay, rather than what has been developing in the story.

In CARLA'S SONG, Ken Loach focuses his brand of UK social realism on The Contras and Sandinistas. The film recounts the story of a Scottish bus driver, played by Robert Carlyle, who falls in love with a beautiful woman from Nicaragua. She has been physically and psychically wounded in the revolutionary conflict of that country, and they both journey to Nicaragua in an attempt put her life back together. At face value, this seems like a weak or far fetched premise for a film, yet CARLA'S SONG demonstrates a very real and intense chemistry between the two lovers. Robert Carlyle is most convincing with his extemporaneous ad libs and off-hand comments, and they really added a sincere warmth to his character. However, subtitles were desperately needed for the Spanish speaking parts of the film, and a large chunk of the Scottish dialog was nearly uninterpretable. Overall, CARLA'S SONG renders an accurate portrait of 1980's working poor in Scotland, and a realistic view of the Sandinista Freedom Fighters as seen through the prism of a world class love affair.

Back in 1969, director Ken Loach made one of the best coming of age films, which is currently ranked in the number seven spot of ten films for the British Film Institute. That movie is called 'Kes', and is about a boy and his falcon. Criterion even added it to their collection. It was then that Mr. Loach came into the spotlight from directing television series to feature films and fell into his own unique style, which was focusing more on characters than anything else really. Over the years, Loach has shown us the good and bad sides of ourselves, usually using some sort of political or social backdrop to tell his story, which is the case in his 1996 film 'Carla's Song'. This film is almost like two films in one, as it drastically takes a turn mid way through and offers up something different. The film follows a Scottish bus driver named George (Robert Carlyle), who wants more out of life than driving a bus and coming home to his fiancé. He seems to be a good man and thoughtful as he allows people who can't pay the bus fare on his ride. Perhaps he feels like a superhero to them, making the world a better place for people less fortunate than him. He soon crosses paths with a Nicaraguan woman named Carla (Oyanka Cabezas), who he immediately seems very fond of, even though she can't afford to pay the fare for his bus, but he looks the other way. After their first encounter, he begins to see her everywhere, which we soon realize, he is pretty much stalking her. He never releases a creepy vibe, but we all know it's there, as he is very persistent to get to know her without being violent. It's a very strange and odd feeling to watch this character unfold, as we might expect something awkward or sadistic to happen at any moment. Even when Carla pushes away his advances and tells George that she has a boyfriend back in Nicaragua that she hasn't seen in a while, he buys her and himself tickets to go find him, even though they are having a very weird love affair. This is where the film changes, as these two people enter Nicaragua during the U.S. backed Contra war against the Sandinistas. George finally sees all of the horrible chaos an destruction that Carla has been through by traveling to her home, as they look for her family and lover. This is where George sees Carla for who she really is, and it takes a toll on him. Carlyle is great in this role and very different from his work in 'Trainspotting' and '28 Weeks Later'. You never know if you want to like or root for George, and Carlyle plays this mysterious "every man" to a tee. While the acting is spot on, the story and narrative loses its balance from time to time here. It's hard to focus on the first half of the film, and then change into something as drastic and chaotic as these two characters wander the streets of a war torn Nicaragua. Loach does tend to surprise us though with the abnormal ending and twists, which most filmmakers and studio executives today would not allow, which makes 'Carla's Song' such a unique film, despite its flaws.

I will always recommend a picture that reflects the reality of a place, and Carla's Song shows Nicaragua very authentically. That, in addition the fact that the film was a quality piece overall. You will see the Nicaragua that I saw, very faithfully represented (I'm not talking about the politics, an issue I will stay away from. Just the reflection on the feel of the country.) As the story developed in Scotland, I said to myself "I just know this is going to turn into a hokey travelogue when they get to Nicaragua". But that's not what happened. Bravo!

Carla's Song (1996) was directed by Ken Loach. The time is Glasgow, 1987. Robert Carlyle portrays George Lennox, a decent enough guy who drives a bus. He meets and falls in love with Carla (Oyanka Cabezas), a beautiful young woman eking out an existence as a street busker. George (and we) learn quickly that Carla has had horrible experiences because of the Contra war in her native Nicaragua. Hoping to help Carla find the answers to vital questions, George brings her back to Nicaragua to find her former lover, who was wounded and captured, and who may be dead. This is the first movie I've ever seen that depicts the Contra war for exactly what it was--a U.S.-driven attempt to crush the Nicaraguan revolution. It wasn't subtle at the time, and it isn't subtle in the film. The CIA and the White House considered Nicaragua "The threat of a good example," and they used force to re-establish U.S. dominance. I was in Nicaragua--although not in the war zone--in January, 1988, just months after the events in the film were taking place. Loach got it right--the enthusiasm of the people, their hopes for a better future, and their attempts to survive continual attacks from the U.S.-trained and U.S.-supplied Contras. The drama of Carla's life--past, present, and (we assume) future--is the link that holds the film together. Nicaragua was--and is--filled with women like Carla. There are ten thousand movies that someone could make to tell their stories. Ken Loach has made this film about Carla, and he has done a service to all Nicaraguans and to us. Notes: We saw the film on DVD. It would work better on a large screen, but I don't know if it is ever shown at festivals or even at Nicaraguan solidarity events. The Glasgow dialect is almost incomprehensible to our ears in this movie. It was much easier to understand the Nicaraguan Spanish! Personal note: one of my friends, Anita Setright, plays the part of a member of the U.S. solidarity organization Witness for Peace. Anita is a U.S. citizen who drove an ambulance in the war zone during the Contra war. She never knew whether the road in front of the vehicle contained a land mine. She is one of the bravest people I know.

I really enjoyed the first part of this movie which takes place in Glasgow Scotland following Robert Carlyle as a double deck bus driver who falls for a Nicaraguan woman after she gets caught not paying the fare. "George" takes Carla under his care, finds her a place to live and her story slowly comes out as they fall in love. Carla is emotionally tortured, as a Nicaraguan refugee she has witnessed much violence and devastation in her country's civil war. Eventually George buys them tickets back to Nicaragua so she can look for her family and a former lover, who was brutalized by the Contras during an ambush. I didn't like the second half of this as much, although the volatile environment of the country is well portrayed it just didn't hold my interest. The characters got vague as this become more of a political vehicle then the drama/romance we had with in the first part. In their search to find Carla's boyfriend they meet up with (Scott Glen), a bitter American aid worker who helps in the mystery of where her boyfriend is. As the war and violence takes over their lives, both of them have to make decisions. Ultimately I came away underwhelmed about the whole thing even though I think this movie was meant to move me on some level. I always enjoy Robert Carlyle, he does a great job here and was the main reason I watched this. 3/18/16

Without any money and financial support, how could it possible that Carla ran away from Nicaragua and across the Atlantic Ocean and landed in Glasgow, England? Where she got the money for her long journey? Who helped her to get through the British customs? Did she get any sponsor to help her making all this possible? By viewing this film, we could easily see that she was totally alone, a stranger in a strange land. By judging from the film's scenario background, we also easily understood that she was just an ordinary country girl in Nicaragua, so where she learned the English language and could achieve the level of even an interpreter to be so fluently to translate between two totally different languages orally? We didn't see any proof that she got a very good education background where she grew up, yet she could speak and understand English so well. Then, let's talk about this bus driver's character. By judging his job performance, he could barely stay with his job as a bus driver, suspended due to his so opinionated attitude to almost anything. He was just a poor sod with limited means for a normal living. Yet during this insecure period, he seemed to be not worry at all and still could afford drinking coffee or beer as other guys in Glasgow. He already got a girl friend who loved him very much, yet he changed his heart and fell for an illegal alien from Latin America. A guy who got limited means even for his own living, yet he still could afford buying two tickets for this Nicaraguan woman and accompanied her to go back to her country. Then another of the unavoidable logic problem comes up: He already knew she got a lover in her motherland. One of the main purposes why she wanted to go back was to look for her boyfriend Antonio, yet this Glasgow native who once was a bus driver, would have such a big heart and interested in helping her finding her old boyfriend? This guy is either a pea-brain moron or a complete idiot; there's nothing in between and, where's the logic? Now here comes my last logic101 question: Why Carla escaped from her war-torn country and migrated to England; what's the purpose of doing so? By finally made a friend with the bus driver, who later became her temporary lover, then with his support (for her air ticket fare and other general expenses) she would again return home with this white man. What made her consider running away from her Nicaraguan country in the first place would have become no big deal once she made acquaintance with the skinny and jobless white guy and then made her strong enough to go back to her country? Why she left and why she decided to go back? Why she simply stayed in her country and did the search by herself? Did she use the bus driver only for her financial support? By making a new boyfriend in England, then it would make her going back to where she came from? Why she chose England to escape to? This film in certain way is not a bad film, but so many nobody-questioned against the basic logic questions simply put me not to be so easily convinced of its believability besides its absurdity.