THE DESCENDANTS

[maikuu]

[omaralazemi]

fantastic movie, can not be judged by someone who has not seen. But this is the first film did not take advantage of it I do not know why is it because of me or because the film was a very simple problems in the film was very unusual and repeated in films abound. The most important is bad language There was a lot of bad language and that is not good for students to watch[.]

Teacher's note: My thanks of appreciation to you for being the first student to respond to one of my favorite films of the last few years. I'm glad you think "The Descendants" is fantastic.

I would like to share my thoughts on "bad language" in movies. First, I am quite sure that the use of bad language is a universal trait, meaning that it exists in all cultures, all languages, and always has. So it must have a purpose. I've noticed from an early age that some people use it to demonstrate their version of maturity, to show off, and they may tend to use bad language in every other sentence. This is sometimes referred to as gratuitous bad language.

But most people let bad language escape from their mouths during moments of stress, moments of strong emotion. Under these circumstances, almost anyone would be inclined to use bad language, and so it must serve a purpose. A psychologist could explain it better than me, but it has something to do with "letting go" of bad feelings, so you can move on with your life. Psychologists would probably say that this is a healthy thing to do. It must be, since it is universal, right?

So if you want to learn English, I think it is imperative that you learn how to use bad language in a healthy way. Thus, you would not be judged badly for using bad language in English, in the same kind of healthy circumstance that you might use it in your native language.

"The Descendants" is a film that represents a family under an extreme amount of stress. Matt King must struggle with the land deal, Elizabeth's pending death, her infidelity, and his responsibility to his family. And his two daughters, Scotty and Alex, are struggling through their own version of the same hell. Is it any wonder that they might use bad language under such oppressive circumstances?

OK, this is just a movie, not real life. But it demonstrates how real people might use bad language to release their profound emotions in a true-life way. I believe that, under extreme stress, anyone from any part of our planet would be justified in resorting to bad language to release some of the pain they might feel. So I suggest that "The Descendants" does a pretty good job of showing people using occasional bad language, not in a gratuitous way, but in a healthy way as it has always been meant to be used, so I respectfully disagree with this author on his assessment of the use of bad language in "The Descendants". This is only an opinion. Each person should judge for themselves. Thanks for reading this, and feel free to respond.

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[Nicole_Shan]

First thing I want to say is, The Descendants is my favorite film in this semester. I think everybody has different living and growing environment, so we like different type of films, maybe on my mind I prefer family films.

I really like this film, sad and humor. I like the strange rocker Sid; Cute Tutu, think my daughter is little princess’s Liz father. And Matt’s family.
When we finished to watch this film I think in that moment I understand this name, and what is “The Descendants” mean. This story is about Hawaii descendants. Matt is the leading man in this film, because his wife suffered boat accident, he needs to go back to home. In my opinion, this is a destiny because Matt was very busy cause his wife have cheating other person, and for this reason, his wife has suffered boat accident.

I felt sad, when Julie said, I forgive you and Matt said goodbye my love. In the end, Matt go back to the family, decide keep his ancestries’ land, lived a tranquil life.

[s-al7arbi]

First of all, this is really the best movie that I saw this semester, very emotional and nice movie.

However, it was a very sad story and the most difficult part was with the two daughters to accept what happened to their mother especially for Scottie because she is very young girl. Nevertheless, They were able to pass this issue and go forward which means that they have strong personalties even though they cried but that is normal.

Finally, I think Matt king did the right thing to refuse to sing in the piper because he wanted to keep what his grand fathers kept from a long time.


Saeed Alharbi

[siyu1012]

The Descendants is a sad but beautiful story about love, forgiveness and growth. Matt King seemed to have a successful life, but his peaceful life was suddenly disturbed by an accident. Matt had to struggle through all the problems in his family and business. His wife was dying because of an accident, then he found out she cheated on him. As a back-up parent, he didn’t know how to get along with his two daughters because they’re so rebellious. At the same time, he was going to sell the island while the residents opposed to this land deal.

At the beginning of this movie, the land deal and the accident seemed to have nothing to do with each other. However, as the story develops, we found their link point—Brian Speer, the man who ruined Matt’s marriage and benefited from the land deal. When Matt knew his wife’s infidelity, he was initially mad at her; but he cannot, because she was dying. When Matt finally found out that Brian had never loved Elizabeth, he felt pity on her, forgave her mistake and wanted to protect her from the anger of Julie, Brian’s wife.

From my perspective, when Matt thought about this island, he was also thinking about Elizabeth and his family. Like the island, Elizabeth and his family didn’t receive enough care from Matt, and both the island and his family deserved better protection. He changed his mind at the end, because he wanted to protect the beautiful memories of his family and all of the island’s descendants.

The characters’ personalities in this movie are not simple; on the contrary, they have vivid figures. Sid seemed to be a stupid and carefree guy, but at the same time, he struggled with losing his father. Elizabeth’s father seemed to be tough and annoying, but he was also an old man who loved and cherished his daughter so much. All the characters make this movie very exquisite. The last scene of this movie impressed me a lot. Peace was restored in this family, when Matt and his daughters were watching TV and sharing the ice cream. We could feel that they were reborn and ready for starting a new life.

Teacher's note: While reading this report on "The Descendants," I felt that this author could truly feel the story and really feel the purpose and struggle of each character in this beautiful presentation of an American family. I think in particular, this author is especially able to understand and articulate the complex emotions that Matt feels for Elizabeth as she lies dying, unable to speak for herself. How on Earth can a man forgive his spouse for what she did? How far does he have to journey in order to learn the truth?

I think "The Descendants" does a superb job of showing us in a subtle way how the universe flows through all of us, and if only we can tune in to its resonance, we might hear it talking to us and telling us what to do. Matt isn't even sure if he's doing the right thing by following his intuition and confronting the truth of Brian Speer, but in overcoming his reluctance and doing so, he is lead to the truth and eventually able to forgive Elizabeth before it's too late. Imagine if Matt would have to spend the rest of his life not knowing the truth?

Thank you, Siyu for this wonderful report.

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[YihanLiu]

The Descendants is a family movie.

Elizabeth is a really important role in this film with no words. Personally, I think this movie is a flat one. Although there are some turning points like the affair or the land selling thing, it tells us the story in a gentle tune. Maybe it is not dramatic enough, it still touches us in the normal way.

[Miyu]

This movie made me sad because main character, Matt tried to be a good father for his wife and daughters. However his wife Elizabeth would get divorced with Matt and one of his daughter Alexandra and some people knew about it, so when I think about Matt, my feeling we're very sad.

Scottie was good character because she really liked her mother purely even though she was tormented by other students at school. I thought that she expected recovery from mother than anyone else. When I saw the scene about Scottie was crying for her mother, I was very sad.
In addition, Scottie's older sister, Alexandra helped her father with her friend's Sid. I understood the feeling that Alexandra took good care of a family well, so I thought that she valued her family.

I like this movie because this movie taught me that family is very important for our life. At the end of the movie, the family sat sofa together and use the same blanket. I really like this scene because only this scene my feeling became warm. Moreover, I think that this movie is very good as human story.

[tiffanyfu]

The most exciting part of the film is Matt talking with Brian Speer,face on face.Matt find Brian Speer,who his wife’s lover.At the first ,he just want to tell him that his wife is going to die, please go to see her, and say goodbye.But he couldn't do that at last. He is entangled in when they met, and if they have been to their bedroom.Matt asks Brian Speer if they love each other. His heart is very contradictory.He hopes that Brian Speer does not love Elizabeth, if they love each other, he really became a joke. He also hopes that he loves Elizabeth, the love of his wife has rewarded.Even her heart is not belong him anymore.

He kiss Elizabeth’s lip and say:goodbye，my love，my pain，and my joy.Goodbye,my lover.I forgive your betrayal, because you make me painful but also you make me happy. Because you are my life, but I lost you.

He stands at the top of hill with his daugher,overlooking their land.He says they had never paid anything for their land. They took it for granted, until they are going to lost it.But he finally understands that his past, his legacy, his land, is very important in his life.He believes that no one can love the land more than he does. His cousin reminded him,:you only have seven years,after seven years you won't have the initiative. He said: we will figure out a way to keep it.Elizabeth did not give him the opportunity to retain her. This time, he will fight for his land.

tingyi FU(TIFFANY)

[YihanLiu]

The Descendants is a family movie based on Hawaii.

Matt King is a attorney and his family have owned a large amount of land in Hawaii island. However, during the time they decided to sell this descendant land, Matt's wife, Elizabeth, had an accident and was in a coma. Matt was firstly guilty because of his irresponsibility as a husband and a father. However, when he was told that Elizabeth was cheated on him by his large daughter Alex. He was not guilty anymore. He tried to find the lover of his wife and told him the situation. He took his two daughters and found this man, Brian. Brian had a family and said he loved his wife and children. Finally, Elizabeth passed away and Matt decided to keep the land because Brian would be beneficial if he sold the land. And the story end with a scene of Matt and his two daughters watching TV harmoniously.

Elizabeth is a really important role in this film with no words. Personally, I think this movie is a flat one. Although there are some turning points like the affair or the land selling thing. It tells us the story in a gentle tone. Maybe it is not dramatic enough, it still touches us in the normal way.

[chihyi]

The Descendants is comedy-drama film.

The film sets in a paradise, Hawaii. However, it is a depression story. Under extreme stress, Matt King deals with a lot of things at the same time, such as selling the land that his family owned for many generations, the boat accident for his wife, and the worst of all, his wife has a secret romance with other man. When he is ready to be a real father and husband, he already loses the opportunity. When he realizes family is more important than business, his wife won’t wake up. Fortunately, he makes a good relationship with his daughters finally on the last moment. In other words, they have time get along with each other, for instance, they watch TV together. Because of those events, they get closer and be a real family.

It is hard to forgive someone but it is indeed needed. As long as you learn to forgive, you also release yourself. Therefore, Matt says goodbye to his wife and he still love her very much.

According to the experience they undergo, and the decision he keeps the land, we all can understand the meaning of the film. As the descendants, the most essential things is that love can unite the family. They need to remember who they are and no matter where they go, they always be related to the land.