Looking for Alibrandi

1. Which part of them film was the most enjoyable?
The part that I found most enjoyable in the film was when Josie hit Carly in the face with a history book and broke her nose. Carly and her father both wanted Josie kicked out of the school and sued for what she did, until Josie called her father into the school to help her out with what happened as her was a barrister.

2. What message do you think the film-makers wanted to convey? I think that the message the film-makers were trying to convey is that no matter what religion, race or country you are from people will always be out to judge you no matter who you are, it also shows how differently people live from each other and how their lives are, like John Barton’s family had his whole future planned out for him, whereas Josie had the choice to do what she wanted with her future. It also gives you the message to just discover who you really are.

3. What questions do you have at the end of the film? Would you change anything? Does Michael ever decide to go back to Adelaide or end up staying with Josie and Christina and do they start and new life together as a family? I wouldn’t change anything in the film I enjoyed the way it was set out. It had a good story line.

4. Does the title mean anything different to you now that you have seen the film? I never really understood the title in the first place so now that I have seen the film I understand that the title is telling you that Josie is searching to find herself.

5. Is Josie a likeable character?

I liked Josie I thought she was a good enjoyable character who quite a few teenagers would relate too. Although she did do a few things that I didn’t like, like the way she treated her Mum and Nonna. Even though she loved them to death she just seemed to treat them with little respect most of the time. Josie played a good character and was very enjoyable throughout the film.

6. How do you feel about Nonna? Did your opinion change throughout the film? I didn’t really like Nonna, she seemed to be so hard on both Josie and Christina and didn’t want them to live their life how they wanted to, she seemed to be in control. Even though she was trying to keep them both safe and protect them she did it in the wrong way. In the end when you find out about how Francesco wasn’t Christian’s real father you see that it was so wrong of Nonna to keep that a secret from Josie and Christina for such a long time, even though it was for the best.

7. Write a character profile for two other major characters. Jacob Coote

Jacob’s appearance is a very casual chilled out look, he doesn’t care what he looks like or what anyone else thinks of him. He has a nice personality that makes Josie like him, he is a funny guy who makes lots of jokes but he can also have a bit of a rude stubborn side to him. He is a very caring person who cares a lot about Josie and looks out for her. He doesn’t really seem to relate to any other characters in the film as he is a bit different to everyone else, most of the characters his age are all rich and rude. Although him and Joise relate a lot and that’s why they get along so well most of the time. I really liked Jacob, he was one of my favourite characters in the film. I liked him simply because he was different from everyone else in the film he had his own style and he didn’t care what anyone else thought of him. Carly Bishop

Carly has an appearance of that rich girl kind of look. She is pretty, has blonde curly hair and a nice smile. She is always wearing nice new clothes which always look pretty on her. Carly’s personality is quite rude though, she is the kind of person who looks down on people and thinks she is better than everyone. She loves herself and family and uses that to her advantage. She doesn’t have a good personality at all, she was just lucky she was rich and pretty. Carly only relates to her friends and John Barton, as all her friends are exactly like her and John and Carly are good family friends and both come from rich family’s. I didn’t like Carly at all, she was my least favourite character in the film, she was always so mean to Josie and always acted like she was so much better than everyone else.

8. Where is the film set? Describe the main indoor and outdoor settings.

The film is set in Sydney Australia around the city, Josie and Nonna’s house and the school. This is where all the main parts of the film were set. Josie spends a lot of time at her Nonna’s house during the film. It’s a cute little house which seems very welcoming, there are lots of photos around the house of Nonna when she was younger and in her early life. Josie also has quite a small house as it is just her and Christina. A lot of the film is also set at the school. The school seems to be set out like a dark horrible place everything is dull and grey and has no life to it whatsoever. You also see lots of other places in the film, some of them being Jacob’s house, the city centre, the local football ground and Josie’s father’s apartment.

9. Identify two major themes or issues in the film. How are they explored? One major issue in the film is teen suicide. During the film the boy Josie likes John Barton commits suicide because he doesn’t enjoy the way his life is beginning to turn out so he decides to end it. The film doesn’t really explain much about the death of john but it shows the grieving of the ones that loved him and how they react to his death. Another issue that is explored in the film is racism. In the film Josie is bullied a lot during school because she is Italian and not Australian. She gets called names such as ‘wog’ Josie has put up with this her whole life and just tried to ignore it until one day she snaps. The film show’s that people who come from other countries or races are usually not welcomed into the community by others and are bullied or teased.

10. What in your opinion is the most significant event in the film? In my opinion the most significant event in the film would be when Josie finds out that Nonna has being lying to Josie and Christina their whole lives telling them that Francesco is Christina’s real father and Josie’s grandfather. It was such a big thing to lie about for such a long time but you realise she only did it to protect herself and her family. Her family would not have accepted her or Christina if people found out that Marcus Sandford was Christina’s real father. 11. What has Josie learned over the course of the film?

Josie learns to be accepted in the world no matter what religion, race or colour you are. She learns to accept new people into her life and respect them. She also learns that you don’t always get what you want in life and that things get harder as you grow up, she has to deal with the fact she lost one of the people that meant so much to her and how to move on and get past that. Josie was a strong girl and was very open with her thoughts and opinions which helped her a lot through life. She also learned how sometimes lying is the best way to protect people.