The 11th Hour (Movie Review)
The 11th hour is a story about Maria, a woman who has suffered many miscarriages in two years. Maria loses her consciousness, but when she comes back to life, her uterus is damaged and it is unlikely that she will ever be pregnant. Maria`s husband Peter has lost the will to try, but Maria is still determined. She hears a child`s voice telling her to come and take her. The voice is a source of inspiration to Maria and it follows her wherever she is, including in Hamburg, where prostitutes sell their children. The paper provides my personal perspectives on Maria’s journey in search for a baby.
By all standards, Maria is a successful and intelligent woman. She has accomplished many things. However, the fact that she lacks a baby that she can call her own is very troubling to her and her life appears incomplete. Accordingly, this explains why she decides to take matters into her own hand and embarks on a risky journey in order to make her dream of having a baby a reality (Morgenthaler, 2014). Evidently, Maria has lost touch with reality. She listens to no one, including her doctor and husband. Maria seems to be in a dilemma. On one hand, the whispering voice of her unborn child continuously pleads with her to give birth to her. On the other hand, Maria faces the harsh reality of child trafficking in Europe.
One question that came to my mind after watching the film is whether the whispering voice is Maria`s future child, or is she living under illusion? Regardless of the answer to this question, Maria appears to be irrational. She welcomes a complete foreigner along her journey. She makes a series of dreadful mistakes (D’Angelo, 2015). She trusts the worst people, not because she sees anything positive in them, but because her desire to get a child has blinded her to the extent that she can no longer think straight.
It is worth noting that Maria has suffered numerous miscarriages. Certainly, a miscarriage, even one, can have devastating consequences. However, Maria appears unbalanced from the word go. She is so agitated and so difficult to reason with, which makes it nearly impossible to side with her. Throughout the movie, I asked myself, why should I follow this woman through such a perilous journey? Many viewers would most likely find Maria to be too alienating. Even worse, all bad things that befall her are a consequence of her own failings, since she steadfastly refuses to reason. Beside, Peter and Maria are wealthy couples with powerful and secure jobs, and evidently have love that they can share with a baby in need. One therefore wonders why the couple could not have pursued the adoption route. They commit to life risking pregnancies as their only alternative, which is unrealistic.
In conclusion, the film draws the viewer`s attention to Maria`s internal world. The movie demonstrates the extent to which some women will go to have a baby. The need to give birth is, for many women, their most important of desires. The 11th hour captures this desire. Nonetheless, Maria`s story is to a large extent distant from real human behavior. Maria has reached an age in which motherhoods is no longer possible. Although she is conscious of her limitations, her desire for a child continues. As a viewer, I feel her anguish despite the fact that she consistently makes the wrong decisions.
References
D’Angelo, M. (2015). The 11th hour: Reviews. The Dissolve. Retrieved 9 July 2017, from https://thedissolve.com/reviews/1649-the-11th-hour/
Morgenthaler, A. (2014). The 11th hour. United States: Zentropa Entertainments32Cast. Retrieved from https://solarmoviez.to/movie/the-11th-hour-18997/571854-14/watching.html.