This notion of entrapment applies not just to Katy, it is a central theme throughout the movie. Almost every character is shot in these extreme close-ups. Justiniano conveys the message that we are all trapped by our various families, environments, and minds. [This comment is very perceptive and the cinematic technique that is mentioned lends support to the comment.]
Another element that contributes to the feeling of solitude, is the cinematic technique of fading to black. Each scene of the film transitions using a fade to black. This isolates the audience from Katy and gives the feeling that the audience is pulling back and simply observing. [This comment identifies a technique used throughout the film and discusses its aesthetic effect.]
The ultimate purpose of the film is to portray the aspects that make the life of Katy important to her through her perspective. The film is a recollection of how the moments in Katy’s life played out and how they affected her life. Furthermore, the events in Katy’s life are portrayed through glimpses that do not last long. Each scene in the film is a recollection of what occurred and how they were seen through Katy’s perspective. [I like the perceptiveness of the comment and the suggestion that the dissolves are meant to trace or reconstruct Katy’s subjectivity.]
The majority of the camera cuts were shown with a fade in and followed by a fadeout. This made the movie seem like a giant montage with many small but significant clips assembled throughout the film and occasionally a long scene with more physical [action] occurring. [Montage is usually characterized by shorter-length segments and quick cuts, but I like the way this comment uses film vocabulary to describe the unusual technique that the director uses and I agree that it is essentially a form of montage with longer segments]
Katy is not a weak character, but rather resilient. [This is an astute comment in that the film explores resilience through the character of Katy.]
An example of this is the girl that Katy meets at the juvenile detention center. All the viewer sees is a couple of close ups of her face, one encounter with the headmaster of the school, and her final doom of being a prostitute. She gets no back story or future because she is one of the millions of girls, like Katy, who are a product of their environment. [I like the way that this comment recognizes the commonality between Katy and the girl she meets in the detention center and the way that the film shifts suggest a collective experience and not just an isolated experience of one person.]
B-Happy is a melancholic ride through the life of Katy. A coming of age tale that seems to water down the draw for glorified drama and thrill to the most basic human element of sentiment and empathy. The camerawork documents the segmented compilation of shots that quite literally take the time to show everyday living, like eating dinner or being in the classroom. This intensive intrusion into the life of Katy lets the audience connect to her experience on a much larger scale …. This movie certainly challenged the normative storytelling process of cinema, asking more of the audience to understand raw human emotion and thinking. [This comment shows an excellent understanding of the philosophy of neorealist cinema. Without mentioning Zavattini, the student touches on several characteristics that for Zavattini characterize neorealism, empathy for the characters being absolutely central to the viewer experience.]
The rabbit trapped in the snare demonstrates how youth is often trapped by their societal norms. For example, Katy feels sexually trapped by men because she lives in a patriarchal society. …. The oppression of women has been a constant theme in all of the films seen so far in class. [I like the development of the interpretation, which goes from the abstract or metaphorical to the specific. I also like the recognition of the film’s theme and its continuity with Los olvidados and City of God.]
It seems like Katy is leaving the city for many of the same reasons Rocket in the movie, Cidade de Deus, did. They both are leaving in hope for a better life and better opportunities. Neither of them seem to have anything left to stay for. [I like the way this comment draws a relevant comparison to a previous film and identifies a thematic continuity.]